More than 100 organisations, including Tesco, Danone, Sainsbury's, Aldi, Waitrose, and Co-op, alongside charities such as Barnardo's, Amnesty International UK, and WWF-UK, have signed a letter urging Andy Burnham to make food security a national priority alongside energy and defence.
Warning of inevitable food shock
The letter warns that the next "food shock" is "not a question of if, but when", highlighting that British fruit and vegetable production has fallen 16% since 2015, with 78% of supply now imported.
It states: "Each new shock lands on a food system with less capacity to absorb it. British production of fruit and vegetables has fallen 16% since 2015, and we now import 78% of our supply. The next food shock is not a question of if, but when."
The cost of inaction is already affecting vulnerable households, with food insecurity impacting 15% of households with children. Economic pressures are pushing a healthy diet further out of reach, leaving the NHS to bear the costs.
Call for Good Food Bill
The letter calls for the urgent introduction of a Good Food Bill, which would act as a legally binding framework to improve national food and nutrition security, public health, and food system resilience. It urges that food be placed high on the priority list of every part of government.
International conflict has driven fertiliser costs up by around 40% since last year, while extreme weather events, such as this summer's wildfires in Europe, threaten harvests. The Government's National Security Assessment earlier this year concluded that global biodiversity loss poses a direct threat to the UK's food supply.
UK food prices are on track to be 50% higher by November compared to mid-2021 levels, according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit think tank.
Industry and charity voices
Sainsbury's chief executive Simon Roberts said: "Recent weeks have shown just how much pressure our food system is under. We need a more resilient food system that attracts investment, backs British farmers and helps keep affordable, nutritious food on tables across the nation."
Danone vice president for North Europe Richard Hall said: "Poor diet, especially amongst children, is one of the biggest challenges facing the UK today. Addressing it will require Government, industry and civil society to work together on practical, evidence-based solutions. The Good Food Bill provides an important framework to improve public health while giving businesses the long-term certainty they need to invest."
Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation, said: "The UK food system is dangerously exposed to shocks far beyond our borders. Over the last few years, we have seen this play out through rising food prices and increasing diet and health inequalities, with the price gap between healthy and less healthy food at the widest it’s been for over a decade. At the same time farmers are struggling to make ends meet. What we need now is a Good Food Bill that sets out a long-term framework for building resilience in the UK food system — one that holds successive governments to account and protects businesses, citizens and farmers alike."
