Salad Days?

The Lea Valley Growers Association (LVGA), near London, was more than 180 hectares of glasshouses, operated by 80 growers. It was the UK's biggest salad-growing hub and a focus for locally-produced foods (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/06/cucumber-capital-growers-selling-up-as-brexit-and-energy-crisis-hits-britains-vegetable-industry). Brexit, concerns about the Home Office foreign workers scheme and the rocketing cost of energy have combined, convincing one third of LVGA growers to pack up salad production. They have been granted planning permission to knock down 60 hectares of glasshouses. Salad growing will be replaced by housing estates, warehouses and small factories. This hardly helps food self-sufficiency!