Ensuring food security is just as important to Britain’s future as energy supply, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Hilary Benn told delegates at the Oxford Farming Conference today as he unveiled the Government’s food strategy, Food 2030 (1).

Farming and food businesses contribute more than £80 billion to the economy and represent the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, employing 3.6 million people.

The Food Strategy sets out the challenges facing Britain in maintaining a secure food supply at a time of rapid population growth and climate change, and following the big price increases seen in 2008 following droughts and the rise in the price of oil.

Mr Benn said:

“Food security is as important to this country’s future wellbeing – and the world’s - as energy security.

We need to produce more food. We need to do it sustainably. And we need to make sure that what we eat safeguards our health.

“We know that the consequences of the way we produce and consume our food are unsustainable to our planet and to ourselves. There are challenges for everyone involved in the food system, from production right through to managing food waste.”

“We know we are at one of those moments in our history where the future of our economy, our environment, and our society will be shaped by the choices we make now.”

Mr. Benn said that people power can help bring about a revolution in the way food is produced and sold, and that food businesses, including supermarkets and food manufacturers, would follow consumer demand for food that is local, healthy and has been produced with a smaller environmental footprint – just as consumers have pushed the rapid expansion of Fairtrade products and free range eggs over the last decade.

“A decade ago, only 16 per cent of eggs produced in the UK were free range. In the last ten years that’s more than doubled to just under 40 per cent. Waitrose, M&S and the Co-op now sell only free range or organic eggs. And with the UK 80 per cent self-sufficient in free-range eggs this is a great example of how our farmers have responded to what consumers want, to the benefit of both.”

He also said that government and food businesses needed to support consumers by providing more accurate information about the origin and nutritional content of the food they buy, and called on all retailers to sign up to the Pigmeat Labelling Code of Practice, due to be published next month.

Mr. Benn continued:

“We do want to know about where and how our food is produced. Beef is already labelled by country of origin. So is poultry. Lamb is pretty well labelled. On pork, the Pig Meat taskforce we set up has agreed a code of practice on labelling. I expect all our retailers to sign up to it when it’s published.”

The food strategy sets out goals for 2030, and the changes that need to be made to achieve them, including:

• Farmers producing efficiently, sustainably and safely to high standards of animal welfare, with food production supporting our rural communities and contributing to UK and global food security.

• Farmers and fishermen producing more with fewer resources and fewer carbon emissions, with investment in the right skills.

• An innovative, competitive, skilled and resilient food sector, supported by first class scientific research and development, with sustainable supply chains..

• Informed consumers able to choose and afford healthy food, supported by better labelling and information.

• Government support for partnerships, funding of research, regulating where necessary and cutting red tape where possible, leading by example through public food procurement, and campaigning for change in Europe and globally.

In the DEFRA strategy document (2), the Government’s previously expressed pro-science approach with respect to GM technology (see http://www.cropgen.org/article_262.html) is confirmed:

GM, like nanotechnology, is not a technological panacea for meeting the varied and complex challenges of food security, but could have some potential to help meet future challenges. Safety must remain our top priority and the Government will continue to be led by science when assessing the safety of GM technologies. The Food Standards Agency is taking forward a programme of consumer engagement which will provide an opportunity to discuss with consumers their understanding of GM, their understanding of the benefits, and their concerns.

Sources:

1. Consumers can help secure Britain’s food future. Press release (5.1.10). Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2010/100105a.htm)

2. Food 2030. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (January 2010) (http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/strategy)

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