Testing times: UK food policy needs greater diversity to deal with future crisis, warns report

14 Jul 2021 --- UK food policy needs much greater diversity to deal with future shocks, according to a new report by three leading food policy experts and published by the inter-university Food Research Collaboration. They warn that UK policy needs to become more economically, environmentally, regionally and biologically diverse if it is to develop sufficient resilience and capacity to deal with stresses and a potential future crisis.

The UK needs to begin a period of rapid change in its food system to address a set of persistent and structural challenges, says the new report, Testing Times, co-authored by Professors Tim Lang, Erik Millstone and Terry Marsden.

The UK needs to begin a period of rapid change in its food system to address a set of persistent and structural challenges, says the new report.

Sustainable supply chains
The academics argue that the UK food system can only be considered secure when it provides a supply that is sufficient, sustainable, safe (microbiologically and toxicologically), healthy (nutritionally), and equitably affordable by all.

In addition, the UK’s food security should not undermine food security in any country with which it trades.

The experts also warn that the UK food system suffers too many ‘lock-ins’ to unsustainable modes of production and consumption, including how food prices are too often distorted or disconnected from products’ full costs and how the UK’ food defense’ is weak. 

The UK could not feed its people adequately, let alone well, if there was a severe supply or trade crisis, the report warns.

On top of this, it details how politicians and policymakers avoid confronting runaway food consumerism and how policy interventions seem reluctant and weak while consumers are facing an information deficit. 

They also note that there is a long-term crisis over food jobs, skills and agri-food education. 

Tackling climate change
The report is released in advance of the expected publication of the National Food Strategy Part 2 this week and argues that the transition is likely to be difficult and will require clear leadership and public engagement. 

The experts call for a food policy that supports the diversification of land use, climate change mitigation and adaptation, preparation for sea-level rise (and other impacts on land use) as well as skilling consumers and the workforce to drive the transition to sustainable diets sourced from sustainable food systems to ensure food systems. 

Testing Times sets out nine principles to shape policy to deliver a robust, secure and resilient national food system. For each principle, the report offers tests that should be applied to the government’s steps to implement the National Food Strategy. 

Getting a grip on food system’s carbon impact
“If UK food safety standards are to be maintained, or better still improved, the Food Standards Agency will need to be reformed so that it actually puts consumers first, rather than merely saying so, and is properly independent of the food industry’s commercial interests,” says Erik Millstone, Emeritus Professor of Science Policy at the University of Sussex Business School.  

“A test for Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy report is whether it actually empowers consumers, ends food poverty and contributes to making the UK’s food system safe, healthy and sustainable,” he notes. 

“Consumers are often said to be sovereign, but what consumer has a real grip on their carbon or biodiversity impact? Labels on what matters are weak or non-existent. Price signals distort choices. Information flows are warped by advertising and marketing budgets. A more resilient food system would engage citizens in the sorely needed food cultural transition and get this into law,” adds Tim Lang, Professor Emeritus of Food Policy at City, University of London.

Terry Marsden, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Policy & Planning at Cardiff University, says: “Power in the UK food system is too concentrated in too few hands. We also need to reverse the long decline in UK domestic food production and decline in small and medium-sized food businesses.”

Edited by Gaynor Selby