In Britain, let us root around for a salad

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

“What on earth is going on in Britain?” a friend in Wisconsin asked the other day.

He didn’t mean generalities — the cost of living crisis; Brexit’s effect on supply chains as well as small and medium businesses; trouble over Northern Ireland’s peace agreement; the salient issue of Scottish independence. He was referring specifically to the UK’s current “salad crisis”, which is to say news that major supermarkets have begun rationing produce like lettuce and tomatoes.

It’s good the Wisconsin friend didn’t ask Britain’s environment secretary, because she would’ve simply insisted that the food system “remains resilient” even though fruit and vegetable shortages would continue for a fortnight or a month. And she would’ve offered a turnip as an acceptable substitute. Or a swede. Or a celeriac.

Asked in parliament about the food shortages, more specifically if consumers could help avoid shortages by eating more seasonal produce, Therese Coffey said: “A lot of …