Food for thought for inquiring MPs

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By Sarah Mukherjee Environment correspondent, BBC News

MPs want to get the public involved in important questions about food

The heavy pine scent of blue-green Christmas trees. The sharp tang of yellow and orange citrus fruit. The warm, buttery aroma of baking pastry.

Markets all over the world are places full of sound, scent and colour, and Borough Market in South London is no exception.

It's still dark when the first market traders, their breath frosty white in the cold winter morning, start unloading their vans - full of fish, meat, bread and produce from all over the country.

It's a foodie paradise, salivated over - sometimes quite literally - by writers in glossy magazines, the sort of people who would spend hours here searching for the best unpasteurised farm produced cheese.

But as supermarkets are quite thin on the ground here, it's also the local shopping centre for many people.

On Thursday morning, it was also hosting a branch of the Mother of Parliaments.

For, possibly, the first time, a Parliamentary Select Committee used a public meeting to launch one of its enquiries.

The amount of food we are producing in this country is declining dramatically Prof Tim Lang, City University

The Commons' Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee is looking at the security of food supplies, and looking into what retailers and the government have to do to meet the challenges of billions more mouths to feed.

But is Borough Market really the right place to talk about the future of food security?

Surely that debate is going to take place in supermarkets?

Falling supplies

One expert says the issues are the same whether you are a big or small food producer.

"The amount of food we are producing in this country is declining dramatically," says Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University. "The Committee needs to investigate how far we are prepared to let this fall."

Peter Kendall, the President of the National Farmers' Union, agrees and is particularly concerned that the scientific knowledge which shapes how we grow our food is declining dramatically.

"The amount we are spending on agricultural research and development is about £20m a year," he says. Experts say not enough is being spent on identifying future food sources

"You don't even get a half-decent Premiership footballer for that, so what does it say about the state of our food policy?"

As the morning wears on, lunchtime shoppers replace those popping in to buy a snack on the way to work.

Maria, who has run the cafe in Borough market for many years, and rightly prides herself on her bubble and squeak, is in no doubt where the problem lies.

"My family come from Parma. When I go to Italy, a tomato tastes like a tomato. We've forgotten how to eat food in season - and to value taste and freshness."

The committee will be taking evidence over the coming months - and they are urging members of the public to submit their views.