Why is there a salad and tomato shortage in the U.K.?

LONDON — Some British supermarket chains are rationing lettuce. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

The country's shortage of salad ingredients, including tomatoes, stems from poor weather in southern Europe and North Africa affecting harvests and energy price hikes hitting farmers in Britain, government and industry officials say. It has also prompted a debate about the importance of tomatoes in the cuisine.

"What do we want? VEG!!!! When do we want it? NOW!!!!" read the front page of Britain's Daily Star on Thursday, alongside a photo of a man dressed in a tomato costume, standing in front of Big Ben. The tabloid promised 12 packets of vegetable seeds for every reader.

Metro newspaper — decrying "the great fruit and veg shortage" — reported the tale of a woman who said she was stopped from buying 100 cucumbers in a Lidl supermarket, despite telling staff she needed to make detox drinks for her business. "SEIZE HER SALAD," was plastered on the front page.

Supermarkets, including Tesco and Morrisons, have limited sales of goods such as lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers.

As British residents posted photos of empty shelves on social media, expats in the European Union taunted them with their own photos of fully stocked shelves. Some dubbed this "Vegxit," blaming supply disruptions and labor shortages due to Brexit.

But Farming Minister Mark Spencer told reporters the main reason was "frost in Morocco and Spain in November and December which damaged a lot of the salad and brassica crops which we have traditionally relied for imports at this time of year."

"That has created a gap in the market," he said at the National Farmers Union conference earlier this week.

The union's president, Minette Batters, also blamed the country's heavy reliance on imports during winter. She said the rise in energy prices had pushed United Kingdom greenhouses that grow salad products during winter to cut back operations.

These supplies are dwindling as Britain already faces record inflation and a cost of living crisis that is hiking food prices, with the war in Ukraine also driving up energy prices around Europe.

The lack of lettuce follows a range of shortages in Britain in the last two years, from fuel to beer, that were blamed on factors including the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit.

While people expressed alarm at the salad rationing, others on social media didn't seem as concerned. "Chonky lads (like me) don't eat salad so this shortage has no impact on my life," one person tweeted.

"I have preempted the national food shortage by selflessly not eating salad for three decades. We’re all in this together," another wrote.

Some used the moment to showcase their homegrown fruit and vegetables, or pointed customers away from supermarket giants toward local farm shops and market stalls.

Tomorrow's Paper Today 📰The great fruit and veg shortageSEIZE HER SALAD!🔴 Lidl manager stops shopper with 100 cucumbers in trolley🔴 Rationing spreads as farmers hit by weather and energy costs#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/SjuU5GkzvS

Facing scrutiny from lawmakers on Thursday, the U.K. minister for environment and food, Therese Coffey, acknowledged the reliance on imports in winter and the role of energy prices, while putting the blame on unusual weather. "I appreciate there are industrial greenhouses that could grow some of these materials. … We’ll continue to try and work with the industry," she said.

"I’m hoping this will be a temporary issue," Coffey added.

In the city with U.K.'s highest cost of living, leaving home to stay warm

The British Retail Consortium trade group said "temporary restrictions, introduced by some retailers, will help ensure that stock lasts a little longer," with the shortage expected to last a few weeks. "Rest assured retailers are doing all they can to sort it!" it said.

This isn't the first time the weather in Spain, a major vegetable exporter in Europe during winter, has affected British food retailers — snow in Spanish farmlands reportedly hit supplies of zucchini during the "courgette crisis" of 2017.

The last time leafy greens made headlines here was in October, when former prime minister Liz Truss was upstaged by an iceberg lettuce. That head of lettuce, adorned with a blonde wig, rose to fame after the Daily Star asked the public whether it could survive longer than Truss. She became the country's shortest-serving prime minister soon after.