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Although I agree with George Monbiot’s analysis of the serious risks that we face from a breakdown in the UK food supply chain, there are two important points we need to recognise (We’re letting big corporations gamble with our lives. Act now, or the food could run out, 25 March). First, we must seek to increase food production on UK farms because this has been falling for several decades.

Food self-sufficiency in the UK fell from 78% in 1984 to 62% in 2024. The decline is largely due to the loss of farmland to non-farming use: buildings, roads and railways, conservation and wildlife schemes, solar farms and recreation. We need to plan for a scenario where imported food may not be readily available.

Second, while we must encourage a more plant-based diet for health and environmental reasons, it is wrong to believe that this necessarily uses less land and resources than cow and sheep meat. Beef cattle and sheep are raised in the UK extensively on both improved and semi-natural grassland and mountain heath and bog. This land category makes up 38% of UK land area. This receives little fertiliser and no chemicals, and animals are fed around 80% on grazed and conserved grass. Very little of this land could be used for any other type of cropping. We simply cannot afford to waste this food production resource that has little commercial alternative value.
Richard Harvey
Oakham, Rutland

• I share George Monbiot’s concern about food supplies, but don’t lose hope – we can change things even as individuals. I would like to pass on the advice I was given many years ago: use your “loaf” when shopping and cooking. This means try to ensure that all your food ticks at least one of these boxes: local, organic, animal-friendly, fairtrade.

Grow what you can – it’s surprising what even a small garden can produce. Use seasonal products and support local ventures. Organic farmers avoid the use of synthetic fertilisers and the goods are better for us too, as is a diet with little or no meat. Fairtrade products benefit small producers that are already feeling the impact of the illegal war. And please, cook what you can rather than buying readymade meals.
Joy Webb
Penistone, South Yorkshire

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