It’s no great wonder that Foods We Can Trust are thought by many to be boring and bland, as well as being expensive and increasingly difficult to buy or access.
The alternatives often taste good. Always seem to be available whenever and wherever we want them, and in terms of the cost of everything we buy today, the most convenient Foods also appear to be the cheapest.
Ask anyone how many natural, locally or UK produced Foods they could find at a shop they regularly use to buy today, and the list will probably be short and at the same time confirm everything that I’ve just outlined above.
However, the number and variety of Foods We Can Trust that are available across the U.K. and that may be growing on a farm, in an orchard, in someone’s allotment, or perhaps are being docked at a fishing harbour near us today is much greater than many of us think.
We will talk about nutritional values, seasonality, production and other really useful things to know about how we make Foods We Can Trust available to everyone as a part of normal life in other posts.
But for now, becoming aware of and understanding the list basic Foods, or Foods that are either available or could become available to us that we can grow, farm, harvest or catch locally across the UK or around our coastline, is a very important place for us to begin.
A Work in Progress
The information that I am about to share is based on what I either know already, or what I have been able to research using sources such as those that I will link later on this page.
One of the reasons that I began Foods We Can Trust is that I hope to share information about Food Production that isn’t widely known or acknowledge about the Foods We Can Trust that are already widely available, or could be, if we decide to take a different approach.
As such, I hope that the following Tables will be updated and will in time be accompanied by posts, videos and resources that will come from other contributors.
If you notice any errors, glaring omissions or would like to add something yourself, please get in touch!
For now, the Foods We Can Farm, Catch, Harvest and Grow Locally in and around The UK will be broken down into the following groups, with a little detail to help with each:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Crops
- Livestock
- Wild Livestock & Game
- Natural Fish and Seafood Landed at UK Ports
- Natural Fish that can be Line Caught from UK Rivers etc.
- Dairy Products that can be made from UK produced Milk
Please note that the inclusion or exclusion of anything may not be deliberate and anything you are aware of may be added later.
Equally, inclusion is not making any statement upon the views and perspectives of any individual or group that believe certain foods should be included or excluded for ideological, religious or other reasons. This is about being practical and realistic about the food that we can grow, produce and that is otherwise available across the UK.
Table 1: Fruits that grow or can be grown in the UK
Table 2: Vegetables that grow or can be grown in the UK
Table 3: Crop Types that grow or can be grown in the UK
| UK Crops | |||
| AKA | Food Use | Other Uses | |
| Barley | Bread, Soups, Stews, Ingredients | Brewing, Distilling, Animal Feed | |
| Beans (Faba) | Animal Feed, Green Manure | ||
| Linseed | Flaxseed | Bread, Biscuits, Cakes, Snack Bars, Porridges, Curries, Stews | Oil |
| Oats | Porridge, Overnight Oats, Granola, Flapjacks, Flour | ||
| Oilseed Rape | Canola Oil | Cooking Oil, Mayonnaise, Margarine, Food Ingredient | Biodiesel |
| Peas | Soups, Casseroles, Pasties, Curry | Animal Feed, | |
| Rye | Flour, Bread | Animal Feed, Cover Crop | |
| Sugar Beet | Sugar | ||
| Wheat | Bread, Cakes, Biscuits, Flour | ||
Table 4: Livestock that is Farmed or can be Farmed in the UK
| UK Livestock (Farm Produced) | |||
| Food Use | Food Produced | Other Goods | |
| Chickens | Chicken, Breast, Fillet, Thighs, Drumsticks, Burgers, Cold Meet, | Eggs | Feathers |
| Cattle (Cows) | Beef, Joints, Ribs, Steak, Burgers, Sausages, Cold Meat, Dripping | Milk (All Dairy) | Leather |
| Deer | Venison, Burgers | ||
| Ducks | Duck | Feathers | |
| Geese | Goose, Goose Fat | Feathers | |
| Pigs | Pork, Chops, Sausages, Sausage Rolls, Burgers, Ribs, Hams, Crackling | ||
| Sheep | Lamb, Mutton, Joints, Chops, Burgers | Wool | |
| Turkeys | Turkey, Burgers, Cold Meat | Feathers | |
Table 5: Wild Livestock & Game found in the UK
| UK Livestock & Game (Wild) | |
| Food Use | |
| Boar | Boar |
| Deer | Venison |
| Grouse | Grouse |
| Hares | Hare |
| Rabbits | Rabbit |
| Wood Pigeon | Pigeon |
| Pheasant | Pheasant |
Table 6: Natural Fish and Seafood that is or can be landed at UK Fishing Ports
| UK Landed Fish (Seafood) | |
| AKA | |
| Anglerfishes | |
| Atlantic Cod | |
| Atlantic Halibut | |
| Atlantic Herring | |
| Atlantic Horse Mackerel | |
| Atlantic Mackerel | |
| Ballan Wrasse | |
| Black Seabream | |
| Blonde Ray | |
| Brill | |
| Catsharks | Nursehounds |
| Clams | |
| Common Cuttlefish | |
| Common Dab | |
| Common Edible Cockle | |
| Common Octopus | |
| Common Prawn | |
| Common Shrimp | |
| Common Sole | |
| Cuckoo Ray | |
| Cuttlefish | Bobtail Squid |
| Dogfishes and Hounds | |
| Edible Crab | |
| European Anchovy | |
| European Conger | |
| European Flat Oyster | |
| European Flounder | |
| European Hake | |
| European Lobster | |
| European Pilchard | Sardines |
| European Plaice | |
| European Seabass | |
| European Smelt | |
| European Sprat | |
| European Squid | |
| Garfish | |
| Gilthead Seabream | |
| Great Atlantic Scallop | |
| Green Crab | |
| Grey Gurnard | |
| Haddock | |
| John Dory | |
| Lemon Sole | |
| Ling | |
| Lumpfish | Lumpsucker |
| Manila Clam | |
| Megrim | |
| Megrims | |
| Mullets | |
| Norway Lobster | |
| Pacific Cupped Oyster | |
| Periwinkles | |
| Pollack | |
| Pouting | Bib |
| Queen Scallop | |
| Rabbit Fish | |
| Red Gurnard | |
| Saithe | Coalfish |
| Sand Sole | |
| Sandeels | Sandlances |
| Sea Trout | |
| Shortfin Squids | |
| Small-Eyed Ray | |
| Small-Spotted Catshark | |
| Smooth-Hound | |
| Solen Razor Clams | |
| Spinous Spider Crab | |
| Spotted Ray | |
| Starry Smooth-Hound | |
| Thornback Ray | |
| Tope Shark | |
| Tub Gurnard | |
| Turbot | |
| Undulate Ray | |
| Velvet Swimming Crab | |
| Whelk | |
| Whiting | |
Table 7: Natural Fish that is or can be line caught from UK Rivers and Watercourses
| UK Fish (Wild/River) |
| Barbel |
| Bream |
| Chub |
| Common Bream |
| Common Carp |
| Crucian Carp |
| Dace |
| Grayling |
| Gudgeon |
| Perch |
| Pike |
| Roach |
| Rudd |
| Salmon |
| Silver Bream |
| Smelt |
| Tench |
| Trout |
Please note that whilst links to information sources used to create this page are listed later under ‘Worth a Look’, I have added a link here to Gov.UK – Freshwater rod fishing rules, as there are clearly stipulated fishing allowances for anyone wishing to catch fish with a line from UK Rivers and Watercourses.
Table 8: Fish that is or can be Farmed in the UK
| UK Farmed Fish (Aquaculture) |
| Atlantic Salmon |
| Lobsters |
| Mussels |
| Oysters |
| Rainbow Trout |
| Sea Bass |
Table 9: Dairy Products that are or can be produced from UK Milk
| UK Dairy Products |
| Butter |
| Cheese |
| Cream |
| Milk |
| Yoghurt |
Worth a Look
I researched the content for the 9 tables listed above on 9 May 2025 using mostly Google Searches made from Cheltenham.
There are a number of very useful websites that will follow from where I sourced most of the information that I have pooled together to construct these Tables. There are others and these have been used because the information they offer is easy to use.
Please note that whilst there is every reason to believe the information linked below is both credible and from organisations considered the same, the inclusion of these links is neither an endorsement nor recommendation of the information these organisations provide. Their referencing here makes no suggestion of there being shared views or objectives, even if there are areas relevant to this page which are aligned.
The NFU (National Farmers Union) Seasonal Guide to British Fruit and Vegetables
The Vegetarian Society – Seasonal UK Grown Produce
The National Trust – Guide to Seasonal Food
DEFRA Accredited Official Statistics – Chapter 7: Crops
DEFRA Accredited Official Statistics – Chapter 8: Livestock
Marine Management Organisation – List of common species codes for Fish Landed in the United Kingdom
Gov.UK – Freshwater rod fishing rules
Overview on ‘Foods We Can Farm, Catch, Harvest and Grow Locally in and around the UK’
The information contained on this page is likely to be one of the most important parts of the Foods We Can Trust initiative.
When we remove all the noise and all the agenda-led information available about what Foods and Ingredients can be brought in from Overseas; what can be manufactured or produced in factories, and why these are the Food Sources that we can and must rely on, the reality is that it is only the Foods and the Ingredients for Meals that come from them that we can grow, catch, harvest and create from these, that have the potential to be classed as genuine Foods We Can Trust.
As this work progresses, I expect to reference this topic frequently, especially as we begin to look at different aspects of UK Food Production more closely, and at Grow Your Own and Home Growing in particular.
I am very keen to add as much information as I can in these important subject areas and will be very pleased to hear from anyone who can add to what is already here in ways that will promote awareness and understanding of the information and processes that will help everyone to have access to Food We Can Trust.
Adam Tugwell 