Therese Coffey’s advice for people to “cherish” turnips had already fallen flat – and now it appears the vegetables aren’t even in season, according to a farmers’ union chief.
The environment secretary has been roasted for urging the public to prioritise British-grown vegetables following a salad shortage caused by poor weather in Spain and north Africa (although some blame Brexit, too).
The Conservative MP told her colleagues in the Commons that – as the minister in charge of food supplies – the UK should “cherish the specialisms” it has, and a “lot of people would be eating turnips right now” if seasonal produce was prioritised.
But on Good Morning Britain on Monday, the president of the National Farming Union (NFU) explained they’re not even in season right now.
Host Susanna Reid asked NFU’s Minette Batters: “Have your turnip farmers seen a move in business?”
She smiled, and said: "Turnip season is actually earlier on, it’s sort of more in the autumn than right now, so a parsnip might have been –”
Reid said: “So was the environment secretary wrong to say, ‘Never mind what you can’t buy, buy the turnips’?”
Batters explained: ″I think it showed an unfortunate disregard for the huge challenge that we’re facing into.
“People rightly expect to be able to buy salad all year round and we can produce so much more here – having left the EU, it’s absolutely vital that we have a change in approach and that we do invest in growers in our own country.”
“So the environment secretary got her farming vegetable schedule wrong,” Reid concluded.
Batters already clashed with Coffey last week at her union’s two-day event.
While interviewing the minister on stage in front of an audience, Batters listed off all the problems with the UK’s food industry.
Coffey just denied that there were major problems, and said “we’re not necessarily seeing market failure”, which triggered some booing from those in attendance.
NFU’s vice-president David Exwood also hit out at Coffey over the weekend, telling Sky News: “We can’t rely on other countries to keep feeding us. So we need a plan that involves producing at home here as well as imports.
“Otherwise the situation we see will carry on. We had a billion less eggs produced in this country last year compared to 2019.
“Apple orchards are being grubbed up as we speak. This is a serious situation.
“We need the government to take it seriously rather than make flippant comments about turnips.”