Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown intervenes in a half-hour debate on food security and farming to highlight that inflation is primarily affecting staple foods and emphasises the senselessness of taking grade 1 and 2 agricultural land out of production here, only to fly in food from all around the world.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con)
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on securing this very important debate, short though it is. With food inflation at 18%—which hits poor people particularly hard, because staple foods are going up the most, not luxury foods—does she agree that it makes no sense to take grade 1 and 2 land out of production here, only to fly in food from all around the world, increasing the carbon footprint?
Wendy Morton
My hon. Friend makes a really important point, which I will touch on a little later.