Could now be the time to grow your own food?

Now could be the best time to start thinking about growing your own fruit and vegetables in the greenhouse if a new European Union (EU) proposal is passed.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is up in arms about the proposed move to ban pesticides containing any one of 22 chemicals that are thought to be related to cancer or DNA damage.

If passed, the motion could make it virtually impossible to grow sprouts and would endanger crops of staples like potatoes and broccoli, according to the NFU.

"We are calling on our members to write to their local MEPs to express their concerns over these proposals and ask them to reject this deal at the plenary vote which will take place in Strasbourg in early January," said NFU vice president Paul Temple.

The European Crop Protection Association has also called on the EU to take care over imposing a blanket ban, stating that any regulations should only be brought in after a third party has carried out a risk assessment of the pesticides.

If stocks of potatoes, sprouts and broccoli suffer, it wont just be Christmas dinner that families will be worried about – food prices could shoot up as demand outstrips supply.