A new report has cautioned that less than half of the UK's fruit and veg is homegrown, and that 90 per cent of it is picked by EU-born workers.
It states that the UK has come to depend on the EU, and that by leaving it a new "mandate for change" will have to be triggered to grow more British food and look after the countryside better.
It also says that by growing home-grown food, the average British diet would improve, with latest estimates putting the cost of obesity at £16 billion a year.
The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission is launched on Wednesday (1 November), and will look at creating a "safe, secure and sustainable" food system after the UK leaves the EU. Sir Ian Cheshire of Barclay’s UK is the chair of the Commission.
It has released a report entitled 'Growing a mandate for change' which outlines some of the changes in the UK’s food, farms and countryside since the UK joined the then European Economic Community in 1973.
Laws from Brussels
Over the past 40 years, British farmers have come to depend on rules and money from Brussels, including laws that protect wildlife and the environment.
It says that of the £3.6 billion made by UK farms in 2016, £3.1bn is from EU farm payments.
The report also reveals that UK rural areas have lost population equivalent to Cardiff, Manchester and Edinburgh combined; from 12.7m to 11.3m.
To environmental matters, the report says that the UK has lost 51% of farmland birds, several species have become extinct, and over 1,000 species today are threatened with extinction.
And the study cautions that less than half of the UK's fruit and veg is homegrown, and 90% of that is picked by EU-born workers.
'Rely on the countryside'
Sir Ian Cheshire, Chair of the new Commission, said British people "rely on the countryside", not only for food.
“We have come to depend on EU laws and money but they haven’t been working well enough, and they are set for the biggest shake-up in a generation,” Sir Ian said.
“Farmers groups, conservation charities and others are already putting huge thought into this. But they don’t have all the answers and might not agree.
“The role of this Commission is to learn what other people want, as well as the established experts, what’s working in the communities around the country, to come up with some creative answers and find a way through.”
Imported veg
The Commission aims to take this "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to engage the public in how the UK can renew its food, farming and countryside polices and practice.
Sue Pritchard, RSA’s Director of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission said: “The UK is a net exporter of meat and biscuits and a global leader in food manufacturing, but we rely on imported fruit and veg.
“We’re at the vanguard on environmental technology but are one of the most wasteful countries in the world.
“And we while some consumers have huge choice in organic and fresh veg, the impact of poor diets in the UK means for too many the reality is the modern day breadlines of food banks, which means little fresh food.”
