UK minister urges food stockpiling ahead of 'largest ever' El Niño — SkimNews
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- Dame Angela Eagle (Environment Secretary) urged UK households to stockpile food ahead of what she called "the largest El Niño that has ever been seen," warning of drier summers, wetter winters, and more extreme storms in Britain, with the greatest damage expected from flooding in Asia.
- A National Audit Office (NAO) report warned Britain's food supply chain is vulnerable to cyber-attacks, plant or human disease outbreaks, and extreme weather, and criticized Defra for over-relying on private companies to handle disruptions.
- The NAO found UK households are less prepared for emergencies than those in Finland, Sweden, and EU nations, and recommended ministers adopt those countries' approaches to household preparedness.
- The UK government announced plans in July for a household preparedness strategy covering food and water shortages, due to be unveiled by the end of 2026, aimed at aligning the UK with European emergency preparedness standards.
- Phil Pluck, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, said Britain was "pretty close to crisis," warned that Russian cyber-hackers are targeting food supply pinch points, and endorsed "sensible stocking" in every household.
Why it matters: UK households and vulnerable consumers face potential food price increases and supply shortages as El Niño approaches, while the government itself admits it is structurally behind Finland, Sweden, and EU peers on emergency preparedness — a gap the new strategy due by end of 2026 is meant to close.
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