Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Livsey of Talgarth (Liberal Democrat). It was answered by Lord Davies of Oldham (Labour) on Thursday, 9 July 2009.

Agriculture: UK Food Production

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current self-sufficiency rate of United Kingdom food production; and how consumers can identify food produced in the United Kingdom.

Answer: My Lords, UK self-sufficiency in all food currently stands at 60 per cent and was 59 per cent in 2007. UK self-sufficiency in indigenous food—food which can be produced domestically on a large scale which is economically viable—stood at 73 per cent in 2008. Under European legislation, there are specific requirements to label certain food groups with their country of origin. For other foods, the food labelling regulations require the labelling of origin if failure to do so might mislead.

Secondary information