Be prepared to buy wonky vegetables, farmers tell UK

Shoppers and supermarkets should be prepared to buy wonky vegetables in the coming months, a farmers body has said amid fears of crop damage as an official drought has been declared across 14 areas of England.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has urged British shoppers to “pull together” and accept buying wonky vegetables, as the drought threatens to produce shrunken onions and potatoes which might not ordinarily meet with supermarket quality standards. 

Tom Bradshaw, the NFU’s deputy president, has warned that the extremely dry conditions are likely to affect the aesthetics of other staples like cauliflower and parsnips. 

“Consumers need to have a bit more flexibility because potatoes might be a bit smaller, onions might be a little bit smaller,” Bradshaw told The Telegraph. 

“And that’s still the case of everyone just needing to pull together a little bit to accept that it’s not been a perfect time.” 

Bradshaw warned that there will likely be issues with “your carrots, your parsnips”, adding: “Then you’ve got your broccoli, your cauliflower, they’re all being impacted at the moment by their growing conditions. 

“There isn’t anything which is not impacted if it’s grown in a field that isn’t irrigated.” 

Lack of rainfall has placed stress on domestic harvest, putting a question on supply of fresh produce in the coming months. 

Bradshaw also called on supermarkets to be more flexible in their criteria for acceptable vegetables, allowing shelves to be filled with products in unusual shapes and sizes, if the autumn harvest yields wonky vegetables. 

“Once we know what the quality will be, that’s when the supermarket will have to decide,” Bradshaw said. 

“And I think they will do everything they can to minimise wastage, because during this cost-of-living crisis, they don’t want to be seen to be contributing to the problem.”