UK Facing Broccoli Shortage Due To Changing Climate

The UK could experience a broccoli shortage this spring due to unpredictable weather patterns caused by the changing climate.

A wet autumn and mild winter means that Britain’s surviving broccoli plants are coming up early. This could lead to national shortages of broccoli, cauliflower, and other brassicas around spring. Experts have linked the UK’s significant rainfall to the climate crisis.

Hannah Croft, an agronomist at the organic vegetable box company Riverford, told the Guardian that there could be “tight periods for broccoli supply” after the UK’s particularly wet autumn and mild winter caused early crop losses last year followed and early growth now.

If there is a spring shortage, Croft said that consumers can replace broccoli and cauliflower with leafy greens and other cabbages. “Spring greens, protected under nets, are on track for harvest from January through April, and will take over as curly kales finish up,” she added.

Read more: Portugal’s ‘Groundbreaking’ Climate Plan Includes Plant-Based Protein Strategy

The climate crisis and food shortages

A spring brassica shortage will exacerbate the UK’s annual “hungry gap” of April to June, a difficult time for farmers when few crops are ready for harvest. During the hungry gap, sellers typically supplement British vegetables with imports from mainland Europe.

However, extreme weather has also affected growers across Europe, including in Valencia, Spain, which experienced torrential rain and floods. According to Euronews, Spain supplies eight percent of the UK’s vegetable imports and 25 percent of its fruit imports.

The UK experienced the wettest 18 months since records began during the 2023 to 2024 growing year, resulting in failed crops, shortages, significant price increases, and the second-worst harvest since 1983. The climate crisis made this record-breaking rainfall four times more likely and 20 percent heavier, and experts warned that 2025 could be the same.

The climate crisis makes heavy rain and storms in the UK 10 times more likely. Meanwhile, last summer was the hottest since records began, and 2024 was the first year to pass the 1.5C global warming limit. Unless the climate crisis is addressed, extreme weather events will increase in severity and frequency, and the global food system will continue to deteriorate.

Read more: Hundreds Of Climate Scientists Predict Global Heating Of At Least 2.5C