Prince Charles encourages people to grow vegetables and food in their gardens in post-Covid world

Prince of Wales praises ‘dig for victory spirit’ as people grow their own produce in the pandemic

Olivia Petter
Friday 26 June 2020 10:29 BST
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(Getty Images)

The Prince of Wales delivered two spoken essays on how the world might be changed after the coronavirus outbreak.

On Friday, Prince Charles took part in BBC Radio 4’s Rethink project, which is examining how the pandemic will impact global issues in the long-term.

The Royal offered his thoughts on the environment and and the future of food production.

Prince Charles also addressed how food shortages during the pandemic have forced people to think about more sustainable ways of consuming and producing food.

For example, he praised the UK’s ”dig for victory spirit”, referring to those who have started growing their own produce.

Prince Charles also spoke about how the coronavirus outbreak could transform the UK’s agricultural systems.

Speaking on Farming Today, the Prince told listeners: ”It appears that most of us have given much more thought than perhaps has usually been the case to the story behind our food during Covid-19.

“Food availability was clearly an early issue; perhaps food shortages prompted many people to think for the very first time about whether they could depend on secure and reliable supplies of food in the post-Covid world?

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“I was fascinated to hear that sales of vegetable seeds reached an all-time high as a ‘dig for victory spirit’ swept through the land and urban and country dwellers alike decided to requisition their gardens, allotments and window boxes to grow food in a way perhaps not seen since the Second World War.”

He continued by asking whether or not the “explosion of interest in local food, in box schemes and online sales” could revolutionise the way we produce and consume food forever.

Speaking about the environment on the World Service’s Newsday programme, Prince Charles called for the restoration of biodiversity.

“With so much opportunity in front of us, let us rethink our relationship with nature and reset for a better future. We have no time to waste,” he said.

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