- Classic British sandwiches may soon be a thing of the past, according to Politico's latest report on the impact of a no-deal Brexit.
- A large proportion of the UK's favourite sandwich fillings, from ham and cheese to salad and tomatoes, are actually imported.
- While now may seem the perfect time for a "home-grown produce boom", the reality is that British farms just won't be able to keep up with demand.
Very soon, the quintessential British ham and salad sarnie may well be reduced to mere bread and butter.
Yesterday, Politico finally dropped the news that everyone needed to fully understand what kind of impact a no-deal Brexit will have on the UK.
It's all here, from a telling infographic deconstruction of how many countries are needed to create a ham, cheese, tomato and lettuce sandwich in this modern world, to comments from a despondent director of the British Sandwich Association, to equally alarming news for those who substitute their ham for tuna, with director general of the British Importers & Distributors Association, Walter Anzer, saying that there's "a risk that tuna could become very expensive".
The short version goes something like this:
Bread— the majority of bread comes from the UK.
Butter— 25% of the UK's butter is imported.
Ham— 60% of the UK's pork is imported.
Cheese— over 60% of the UK's cheese is imported.
Tomatoes— 80% of the UK's tomatoes are imported.
Lettuce— 93% of the UK's lettuce is imported.
Looking at the above statistics, a no-deal Brexit scenario would leave even a relatively simple sandwich looking soberingly bare, pretty much consisting solely of bread, butter, and — in half the current cases — some ham and cheese, if you were lucky.
You might think this translates to the perfect opportunity for a "home-grown produce boom", but the British farming industry simply can't grow enough produce — or grow it cheaply enough — to meet demand.
There are some telling quotes from the spokesperson from the British Leafy Salads Association on the subject in a Politico article.
This chart, created by Quartz, puts the fast-approaching March 29, 2019 deadline into alarming perspective for butty-loving Brits:
And this is real: Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday the possibility of Britain leaving the EU without striking any deal with Brussels was "uncomfortably high".
In even worse news for British lunches, a former UK ambassador in Washington has said the Trump administration will try and "force" the UK to apply American standards — think "hormone-treated beef and chlorine-washed chicken"— in return for a trade deal after Brexit.
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