Theguardian iconTheguardianAug 13, 2026 ~1 min source read

Britain's scorched fields mean a food crisis – and the government is ignoring the one measure that would help | George Monbiot

This summer's extreme weather and wars in Iran and Ukraine have made our need for food stockpiles more pressing than ever. Any sustained state intervention attracts the prefix "Soviet-style", and triggers vicious attacks across the billionaire media.

Britain's scorched fields mean a food crisis – and the government is ignoring the one measure that would help | George Monbiot

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Useful takeaways from this story.

This summer's extreme weather and wars in Iran and Ukraine have made our need for food stockpiles more pressing than ever.

Any sustained state intervention attracts the prefix "Soviet-style", and triggers vicious attacks across the billionaire media.

In Britain, where soils have parched, market analysts warn that we're facing the most severe food security crisis in decades.

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The useful part

This summer's extreme weather and wars in Iran and Ukraine have made our need for food stockpiles more pressing than ever. Any sustained state intervention attracts the prefix "Soviet-style", and triggers vicious attacks across the billionaire media. In Britain, where soils have parched, market analysts warn that we're facing the most severe food security crisis in decades.

How it works

  • In normal years, crop failures at home don't threaten our security, thanks to global trade.
  • This is one of the reasons why hunger and famines are rarer and less deadly than they used to be.

What to take from it

This may explain why we no longer maintain strategic food reserves. This is not a normal year, because the problem is now global.

Details worth keeping

When a business makes long-term plans, they call it prudence. When a government makes long-term plans, they call it communism. So governments have developed a bias against long-term thinking.

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