A survey of 2,000 British adults has suggested that most people (75%) have not got a clue what fruit and veg is grown in the UK and when it is in season.
The survey commissioned by LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) concludes that many consumers didn’t know that British farmers even grew foods such as aubergines (19%), blueberries (63%), sweetcorn (62%), iceberg lettuce (37%), cauliflower (29%), carrots (21%). These findings sound totally crazy to me! What is even more shocking is that 1 in 5 people – remember these are British adults – did not realise that we grow apples in the UK.
The survey goes on to highlights that less than 6 in 10 people knew that strawberries were a summer fruit and 1 in 5 did not even know that British farmers grew them at all. Winter produce fared no better, with nearly half of consumers (46%) unaware that in December you could buy British brussels sprouts, a vital part of a traditional Christmas dinner.
The research also showed that those born in the 1990s have significantly less knowledge than previous generations. Meanwhile, many adults born in the 1990s also thought that the UK commercially grew oranges (16%), bananas (8%), kiwi fruits and mangoes (both 5%).
When there are increased calls within the farming industry for consumers to buy more local food, it shows there are still alarming gaps in knowledge about food provenance. I would never have guessed some of the results of this survey but it is clear that this issue is one limited to the last two generations.
– Emily
This is dreadful. The area in the SE of England used to be predominantly fruit & veg
Even the supermarkets publise where there rpoduce originates from! Obviously, shoppers do not read when making their purchases.
loraine
Only last year I heard my former boss telling her New Zealand nanny, “Britain doesn’t farm beef anymore because of Foot and Mouth”!
I’m not surprised – they don’t teach life skills at schools. I’ll bet they don’t know what a mortgage is when they leave school either. The curriculum doesn’t prepare people for life.
But the supermarkets could do a lot more to promote British goods.
Multiculturalism has robbed British people of our history and identity.
Hi Chris – I am not sure that multiculturalism is at fault. Many people enjoy the richness that other cultures have bought to the UK over hundred, if not thousands, of years. Britain has an outstanding place in history plus many traditions and rituals that deserve to be celebrated and preserved and we have the right/duty to do just that. This can be achieved in a multicultural society.
I take a less pessimistic view and feel that on the whole Britain has gained far more from multiculturalism than it has lost, if it has lost anything at all.