People don't pay enough for food, Jeremy Clarkson says, amid cost of living crisis
24 November 2022, 18:42
Jeremy Clarkson has claimed that people are not paying enough for their food, despite skyrocketing prices amid the cost of living crisis.
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The Clarkson's Farm presenter, 62, told Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel, presenters of Global's News Agents podcast, that prices should be double what they are, adding that people are unaware of the work that goes into producing food.
It comes amid massive inflation and fast rising food prices, with a new study finding that nearly a third of single parents skip meals to make sure their children do not go hungry.
But Mr Clarkson said: "People simply don't pay enough for their food. The one thing a government will never say 'oh you've got to pay more for your food, you don't pay enough'."
Ms Maitlis said: "So Jeremy Clarkson says prices should go up?"
Former Top Gear presenter Mr Clarkson replied: "Yeah, they should. They should be double what they are, you know to get out and do that sort of work."
Mr Clarkson bought an Oxfordshire farm in 2008 which was run by a local villager but after he retired in 2019, Clarkson decided to see if he could run it himself.
His attempts were documented for Amazon Prime TV series Clarkson's Farm which won plaudits for its cinematography coupled with the lovable group of staff unafraid to tell the TV presenter when he is being useless, and also charted the difficulties faced by farm workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The success of the series has seen visitors flock to the Diddly Squat farm shop to buy products such as Cow Juice, rapeseed oil, chutneys and jams.
The broadcaster's comments come after Dave Ramsden, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, raised concerns about the uncertain and unpredictable UK economy at the Bank of England Watchers' Conference on Thursday.
He said he is "acutely conscious" that raising interest rates is adding to the hardship faced by millions of households and businesses amid the cost-of-living crisis.
'It's gone past cost of living, it's about the cost of surviving.'
Meanwhile a study published on Thursday found that three in ten single parents are skipping meals to make ends meet amid the crisis.
"Our research has found that families across the UK are struggling with the rising cost of living, with single parents most likely to be skipping meals or turning to food banks to make ends meet," Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which? said.
Mr Clarkson's full interview is available on The News Agents podcast on Global Player.
