§ 3. Mr. DickensTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the duration of United Kingdom self-sufficiency in food in the event of docks and airports being unavailable.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Nicholas Soames)Food stocks would be sufficient to maintain the current levels of supplies in the United Kingdom if port and airport facilities were disrupted. In the unlikely event of long-term disruption, adequate supplies of food would still be likely to be available.
§ Mr. DickensI thank my hon. Friend for his reassurance. Does he accept that we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the farmers of the United Kingdom, and that self-sufficiency in food is of paramount importance? It is no good having the greatest nuclear deterrent in the world and placing ourselves in a position to have to submit through starvation. [Interruption.]
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. Let us hear the answer.
§ Mr. SoamesI think that my hon. Friend would do extremely well in those difficulties. He is perfectly correct in recognising that British farmers and growers are second to none in the world in the efficiency of their production. It is nevertheless true that we need to do more to ensure that the marketing of our food is better. If we were at any time placed in the difficult circumstances that my hon. Friend has described, I hope that he would take comfort from Mr. Jonathan Porritt, as reported in The Star today, and eat squirrels.