Quick Bites: Snap analysis of England's horticultural sector

Our latest Quick Bites webinar featured Lord Redesdale, Chair of House of Lords Horticultural Sector Committee and a Liberal Democrat Peer.

We got him on to discuss the cross-party Committee's Sowing the Seeds: A blooming English horticultural sector report, which contains 167 recommendations for the Government to better support the horticulture sector, including the publication of a national Horticulture Strategy as promised in the Government Food Strategy.

At present, the UK only produces 35% of our total fruit and vegetable supply. This leaves our supply chains vulnerable to climate risk, as shortages of fresh produce this year have illustrated.

Despite this, the UK itself is much less vulnerable than other countries to the effects of global heating, which leaves significant scope for growth of horticulture across the UK.

As we will discuss in the webinar, increasing our domestic production of fruit and vegetables is important for increasing our consumption of fruit and vegetables, a necessary part of improving the nation’s health.

Watch a recording of the webinar below 👇