Vegetable shortage threatens traditional roast

The current heatwave and ongoing CO2 shortage means roast dinners could soon be off the menu, experts warn.

“Our sweltering summer is leading to a shortage of so many key ingredients for our traditional lunch that we could soon be left with nothing but the gravy,” The Sun reports.

Peas are the latest casualty of the unusually dry and warm weather, with growers reporting yields of 20 to 30% below their normal levels.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

According to the Met Office, June was the driest on record in some parts of the country, with temperatures more than ten degrees above the average.

Ian Keyes, director of Swaythorpe Growers, one of the biggest growers in the UK, says pea plants are currently yielding between three and four pods - rather than the usual six to seven.

He told the BBC: “It's a combination of drought and heat, and peas are not standing up to that very well.”

And farmers say that potatoes, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower are also at risk.

A separate shortage of CO2, used in slaughterhouses and the meat-packing industry, has affected the production of pork and poultry.

Guy Smith, the deputy president of the National Farmers Union who runs Wigboro Wick Farm in Essex, said many are comparing the current weather conditions to the great drought of 1976.

“I haven’t seen rain for 40 days and my fields are turning the colour of a digestive biscuit,” he said.