Brace for summer of shortages: Chicken and pork among products facing crunch from Middle East crisis as ministers ‘plan for rationing CO2’
Britons are bracing for summer famine with warnings that chicken and pork are among products at risk from the Iran war.
A ‘reasonable worst-case’ scenario drawn up by the government suggested a disruption in carbon dioxide supplies from the Middle East could have major impacts.
Ministers are playing the war game by prioritizing gas for healthcare and civilian nuclear power, which is vital for equipment such as MRI machines.
However, this could affect slaughterhouses, where most pigs and chickens will be killed using gas. Breweries and soft drink production could also be hit.
That possibility would raise fears of problems with diesel, jet fuel and fertilizer as turmoil from Donald Trump’s war on Iran continues.
According to The Times, officials from No10, the Ministry of Defense and the Treasury were among those taking part in the ‘Turning Stone Exercise’.
Although general food shortages are seen as unlikely in the Government exercise, there were concerns that shoppers would see less choice (file image of supermarket)
Keir Starmer is said to be deeply involved in emergency planning
He considered a situation where the Strait of Hormuz was still not opened by June and there was no permanent ceasefire.
Factories can be ordered and, if necessary, legally forced to focus all their efforts on producing CO2.
While food shortages are generally considered unlikely, there have reportedly been concerns that shoppers will see fewer options.
Business Minister Peter Kyle sought to allay concerns when he toured broadcast studios this morning.
Asked if there was CO2 in the country, he told Sky News: ‘It’s not an economic issue at the moment.’
He added: ‘If any of this changes I will be public about it in advance so we can prepare.
‘But right now people should just carry on as they are, enjoy their beer, enjoy their meat, enjoy their salad.
‘But there are also critical uses for CO2: MRI scanning, for example water purification; ‘It’s also involved in our nuclear industry, our civil nuclear energy industry and some of its defense uses.’
Mr Kyle refused to comment on the details of the leak but told Times Radio the public needed to be careful.‘I assured them that we were doing that kind of planning and that we were doing that kind of scenario planning’.
The prospect will raise fears of problems with diesel, jet fuel and fertilizer as turmoil from Donald Trump’s war on Iran continues.
‘I can tell you this because I’ve been in these meetings, the Prime Minister has been there from the very beginning and he’s personally been going through these conversations and doing a deep dive into many areas of resilience in our economy,’ he said.
Mr Kyle highlighted his own decision, near the start of the conflict, to reverse the scrapping of the Ensus bio-ethanol plant on Teesside to secure carbon dioxide supplies.
He added: ‘People need to be reassured that we are taking such actions behind the scenes to maintain the resilience of our economy, so that you have a Government that acts with creativity and courage as we face the full extent of what may or may not emerge as this situation is still unfolding in the Middle East.’
