MAKES LUMPY SPAGHETTI SAUCE

UK

Eat turnips instead of tomatoes during shortages, Therese Coffey suggests - 

Chris Price
Thu, February 23, 2023

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said we would be 'eating turnips right now' if Britons ate seasonally - Jacob King/PA Wire

Shoppers should consider eating turnips as a shortage of fruit and vegetables leaves supermarket shelves bare, a minister has suggested.

Therese Coffey, the Environment Secretary, said people "would be eating turnips right now" if the UK was more focused on seasonal eating.

She was responding to an urgent question in the House of Commons on ongoing food shortages of some items including tomatoes.

Tesco, Asda, Aldi and Morrisons are rationing the number of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and other fresh food that people can buy.

Tory MP Selaine Saxby said that "we should be eating more seasonally and supporting our own British farmers" and "if we were actually to move to a seasonal line of eating, many of these problems would be avoided".

Ms Coffey replied: "It's important to make sure that we cherish the specialisms that we have in this country.

"A lot of people would be eating turnips right now rather than thinking necessarily about aspects of lettuce and tomatoes and similar, but I’m conscious that consumers want a year-round choice and that is what our supermarkets, food producers and growers around the world try to satisfy."

The shortage of fruit and vegetables has been blamed on poor harvests in southern Spain and Morocco due to inclement weather.

However, the former chief executive of Sainsbury’s Justin King, blamed Brexit as the UK was "uniquely exposed to imports at this time of year".

Blackadder the third - Baldrick : I'd get a great big turnip in the country.