Today there is the anticipated massive leap in consumer energy prices and a major contribution to the current 'cost of living crisis'. A number of factors are coming together (most recently Russia's invasion of Ukraine among them) to cause this, and the situation is likely to get worse.
One particularly concerning area is the cost of food. The agricultural sector has warned that costs in relation to grain shortages, the increasing costs of fuel and energy and the cost of fertilisers, as well as more tortuous supply chains following Brexit, all feed into this. What is also clear is that the UK is yet to experience the full effects of increases in food costs.
Today a predicted egg shortage is in the news. The increase in production costs, exacerbated by avian flu, has already resulted in some egg producers going out of business with warnings that more will follow.
It is a mistake to believe that the current situation is down simply to recent global political events and short term economic fluctuations. There are some fundamental structural problems about how we produce food, how it is distributed and retailed as well as who has access to a healthy diet, that come into play. Interacting with all this is the climate crisis. I hope to explore these issues further here at another time.
In the short term, and probably almost certainly in the longer term, the case for growing whatever you can yourself is becoming ever stronger.
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