Brexit’s benefits? How food security prep set up UK for pandemic.

In the chaotic lead up to Britain’s departure from the European Union, grim forecasts emerged of the dangers of a no-deal Brexit. They warned of disruption of fragile food and medicine supply chains, and panic buying and fuel shortages that would spark “a rise in public disorder and community tensions.”

The British government, in fact, spent several billion pounds making preparations in case the country pulled out of the EU without an agreement. The contingency planning, called Operation Yellowhammer, included a concerted look at food security, for good reason: Britain imports fully half of its food, much of that from the EU.

This extensive pre-Brexit planning has proved a boon in the last few months, as it