Government urged to introduce landmark Good Food Bill
Photo by Jannis Brandt on Unsplash
A collaboration of over 100 organisations led by The Food Foundation, Sustain and Green Alliance is calling on the UK government to introduce a Good Food Bill.
The campaigners – including supermarkets, food businesses, investors, NGOs and academics – have warned the government that a failing food system poses a threat to national security and public health.
The call comes as new polling finds 69% of people think the government should be doing more to ensure everyone can afford and access healthy food, while 65% back a ‘Food Bill’ that would place duties and targets on government bodies to make healthier food more accessible and affordable.
The Food Foundation says that against a backdrop of biodiversity loss, the collapse of vital ecosystems and the potential for food shortages and resulting price rises, a Good Food Bill would offer ‘a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the government to protect citizens, farmers and food businesses’.
The Food Foundation’s executive director, Anna Taylor, believes a Good Food Bill would transform the food system for generations to come. “Governments can achieve important wins within a single term, but only legislation can lock in change, providing certainty and protecting progress from shifting political priorities,” she says.
“We are calling on the government to seize this moment, commit to new primary legislation and lead the change needed to build a food system fit for the future.”
“With food strategies and legislation already in place across the devolved nations, this is a timely opportunity for Westminster to introduce legislation that benefits the whole UK. We are calling on the government to seize this moment, commit to new primary legislation and lead the change needed to build a food system fit for the future.”
Andrew Clappen, director of food technology at M&S Food, which supports the proposal, says: “To ensure national food security, we need a strong cross-government commitment which is supported by industry to increase domestic food supply.
“We support this call for a Good Food Bill, to refocus our national approach to build sustainable supply chains, increase investment in climate resilience and support farmers and growers to put nutritious food on our plates.”
By Jane Wolfe, contributor