Members of Parliament (MPs) have warned that chronic labor shortages in the agricultural and farming industries could lead to price hikes and a greater reliance on imported food in the UK. According to a study by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Committee, COVID and Brexit had a big impact on the sector. Ministers should make it simpler for competent personnel to speak in English, and the seasonal worker visa program should be expanded, according to MPs. The DEFRA has stated that it will continue to collaborate with the industry.

In the food and farming sector, a sharp reduction in offshore labor resulted in more than half a million job openings last year, out of a workforce of four million. Due to a lack of qualified butchers and abattoir workers, 35,000 pigs intended for sausages, bacon, and chops were incinerated or rendered, turning them to fat. When a shortage of labor and Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers threatened the supply of Christmas turkeys, the government intervened and set up a temporary immigration system. According to the committee, industry members had been warning the government since April 2021, and this was too little, too late. Animal welfare, food security, and worker mental health all suffer as a result.