Food industry giants including Tesco and Danone have joined charities in a letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to treat food security as a national priority, on par with energy and defence. The letter, also signed by Sainsbury's, Aldi, Waitrose and Co-op, as well as charities such as Barnardo's, Amnesty International UK and WWF-UK, health campaigners, investment companies and farming organisations, warns that the next 'food shock' is 'not a question of if, but when'.
Warning of declining production
The letter 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.' It continues: 'To meet it prepared, food has to stop being an afterthought for the Government: we need mechanisms to put food high on the priority list of every part of government, both national and local, so that any decisions that impact on health, farming, planning, and trade secure better access to healthy and sustainable food for everyone.'
The signatories point out that the cost of inaction is already being borne by the most vulnerable, with food insecurity affecting 15% of households with children. 'Economic pressures continue to push a healthy diet further out of reach for many, with the NHS then left to pick up the bill,' the letter adds.
Call for a Good Food Bill
The letter calls on Mr Burnham to urgently introduce 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 notes that international conflict has pushed fertiliser costs up by around 40% since last year, while more frequent extreme weather events, such as this summer's wildfires across Europe, are making harvests vulnerable.
Earlier this year, the Government's own National Security Assessment concluded that global biodiversity loss poses a direct threat to the UK's food supply. The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) think tank has said UK food prices are on track to be 50% higher by November compared to levels at the start of the cost-of-living crisis in mid-2021.
Statements from business and charity leaders
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. Food and farming should be at the heart of government policy, helping to build a stronger and more resilient future.'
Danone vice president, general secretary 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 and help deliver that change.'
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.'
