'Travesty': £22m pounds of fruit and veg wasted due to labour shortage, NFU warns

clock • 2 min read
Credit: iStock
Image:

Credit: iStock

Food waste driven by lack of pickers prompts concern over impact on farmers, food supplies and the climate

As much as £22m-worth of fruit and vegetables have been wasted across the UK during the first half of this year because there aren't enough people to pick the crops, a fresh survey by the National Farmers'...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Waste

Councils urge government to review fly tipping sentencing

Councils urge government to review fly tipping sentencing

Local Government Association argues fly tipping sentencing is failing to reflect the seriousness of the offence, the environmental damage it causes, and the costs faced by councils

clock 06 March 2026 • 2 min read
'Not a victimless crime': Annual fly-tipping incidents rise to over 1.2 million in England

'Not a victimless crime': Annual fly-tipping incidents rise to over 1.2 million in England

New government guidance encourages local authorities to seize and crush vehicles used to dump waste while also naming and shaming the criminals online

Mia Willemsen, Farmers Guardian
clock 26 February 2026 • 4 min read
Nature holds the missing key to fashion's textile waste problem

Nature holds the missing key to fashion's textile waste problem

Decomposition offers a viable end-of-life pathway for difficult-to-recycle textiles, writes Amanda Sturgeon from the Biomimicry Institute

Amanda Sturgeon, Biomimicry Institute
clock 04 February 2026 • 4 min read