Zack Polanski, a Green Party Member of Parliament for Brighton Kemptown, warned that the food system in Britain is close to collapse [1, 2].
The warning highlights a growing crisis in the agricultural sector where labor shortages and low wages threaten the nation's ability to produce its own food. If the workforce continues to dwindle, the UK could face increased reliance on imports and higher food prices.
Polanski said that the current state of the industry is unsustainable. He said that low wages and unsustainable practices are the primary drivers threatening food production [1, 2]. To combat these issues, he proposed a basic income of £1,000 per month [1] for agricultural workers.
"If we don’t act now, Britain’s food system will collapse – we need a £1,000‑a‑month basic income for agricultural workers to keep farms alive," Polanski said [1].
The proposal aims to provide a financial safety net for those working in the fields, which Polanski believes would stabilize the sector. By ensuring a livable wage, the Green Party MP suggests that farms can attract and retain the necessary labor to maintain production levels [1, 2].
This call for intervention comes as the agricultural sector faces multifaceted pressures, including economic volatility and labor gaps, that make traditional farming models increasingly difficult to maintain. Polanski said that the basic income is a necessary step to prevent a total systemic failure [1].
“Britain’s food system is close to collapse”
The proposal for a guaranteed basic income for farm workers represents a shift toward treating food security as a critical infrastructure issue rather than a purely market-driven business. By decoupling a portion of worker income from farm profits, the plan seeks to mitigate the risk of labor flight and systemic collapse in the face of rising operational costs.
