PM urged to fix ‘dangerously exposed’ UK food system
More than 100 leaders from across business, investment, civil society, academia and the health sector have written an open letter to Andy Burnham demanding a Good Food Bill.
Led by The Food Foundation, Green Alliance and Sustain, the Good Food Bill campaign calls for a legally binding framework to improve national food and nutrition security, public health and food system resilience.
Signatories include major retailers Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Co-op, Booths and Waitrose, which represent over 64% of grocery market share. It’s also backed by charities, including Barnardo’s, Amnesty International UK and WWF-UK, Soil Association, Nature Friendly Farming Network and health organisations.
The letter quotes Burnham’s June leadership speech: “… you identified food and farming as one of the UK’s critical sectors alongside energy and defence and argued that growth ‘can only be nurtured from the bottom up’. We strongly share that vision. A Good Food Bill would put food where it belongs: at the heart of national strategy. It would give successive governments clear responsibility to improve the food system over the long term to create healthier communities, thriving local economies and lower levels of food insecurity.”
“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.”
It goes on to state that the proposed Good Food Bill “… would leave Britain better able to withstand ongoing food system shocks from the climate and nature crisis, conflict and other threats; with more of our fruit and vegetables grown at home and a horticulture sector creating new investment and jobs. It would mean children growing up healthier, food insecurity falling rather than climbing, and less diet-related illness arriving at the door of the NHS.”
The letter ends: “The 2024 Labour election manifesto recognised that ‘food security is national security’ – a bill would turn that recognition into a law, demonstrating your commitment beyond just words.”
Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation, stresses the bill’s urgency. “The UK food system is dangerously exposed to shocks far beyond our borders,” she says.
“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.”
By Jane Wolfe, contributor