Food, Farming and Countryside Commission

📚 New report: Unhealthy food is costing UK over £250 billion Analysis from Prof Tim Jackson for FFCC reveals the costs of Britain’s unhealthy food system amount to £268 billion every year – almost equivalent to the total annual UK healthcare spend.  It shows the current food system is costing 4 x more in health-related costs than it would cost to fix it – and that the way we eat, grow and produce food is imposing a staggering financial burden on the British economy. The report draws on, amongst other evidence, the latest findings from #TheFoodConversation, which shows the extent of the public’s appetite for government intervention on food. It comes ahead of the Citizens Food Summit, which brings together citizens with leaders in food, farming, business, health and politics to call for urgent reform to food in the UK. Read The Guardian exclusive: https://lnkd.in/ewbaAN54 Read Tim’s report: https://lnkd.in/eMTKUEqS

My reaction to today's announcement from the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: "I'm excited by the announcement that there will be a new food strategy for England. A longer-term strategic approach is desperately needed, so Steve Reed's leadership here is important. As always, the proof will be in the pudding, but the call for a strategy and the openness to engage are welcome. It's vital that there are a range of voices involved in the new sector delivery board, beyond the usual suspects. We look forward to shaping an ambitious new strategy together." Dan Crossley, Executive Director, Food Ethics Council Note from the announcement: The government has said it will form "a coalition with food sector leaders, academics and charities and key thinkers to corral our collective ambition, influence, and effort." It has also promised a "new sector delivery board [to] ensure a joined-up and systems-wide approach, with clear impactful outcomes", and with structured engagement beginning in the new year. Steve Reed told us the four key areas of focus would be to: 🧑🧒 "provide healthier, more easily accessible food to tackle obesity and give children the best start in life and help adults live longer healthier lives, building on the government’s existing work to tackle obesity and improve health." 🫘 "maintain food security by building resilience in the face of climate shocks and geopolitical changes and protecting the supply chain which operates so effectively to keep us fed."    💡"drive the investment, productivity and innovation that will ensure that the food and drink sector – our largest manufacturing sector – can realise its potential for economic growth."   👩🌾 "support the Farming Roadmap to reduce the impact of farming on nature and biodiversity and deliver a credible plan to decarbonise food and farming, while supporting the sector through that transition." Image: credit Ali Spaul

In a call with stakeholders yesterday, Defra Secretary of State Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP Reed outlined ambitious plans to deliver the long-awaited food strategy for England. This is the critical third pillar in the trio of national-critical policy frameworks announced recently that Defra will lead, alongside the farming road map and a land use framework.  He set out his four core intentions. The food strategy will 1. Provide healthier, easily accessible food, give children the best start in life, and help adults live longer, healthier lives.     2. Maintain food security by building resilience to climate shocks and geopolitical changes, protecting the supply chain.       3. Drive the investment, productivity and innovation that will ensure that the food and drink sector can realise its potential for economic growth.      4. Support the Farming Roadmap, reducing the impact of farming on nature and biodiversity, delivering a credible plan to decarbonise food and farming, and supporting the sector through that transition.”    The strong sense is that SoS will not waste time repeating the analysis carried out by Henry Dimbleby for his national food strategy – thank goodness. He made it clear he can no longer ignore the powerful evidence of real and substantial hidden costs caused by the food system. The case for change is made. It's time to focus on a plan for delivery.   His remarks were pleasingly consistent with citizens' calls in #TheFoodConversation. They want to see leadership that takes food systems seriously and joins up work across government. They get that problems in the food system cannot be solved in silos, and they'll be pleased to see SoS's plans to work in partnership with health, education and business departments on the strategy.  There is already a remarkable degree of consensus between citizens and sector leaders. In the #HopeFarmStatement, business leaders, farming and green groups, and civil society organisations aligned behind a call to introduce a food strategy with legally binding food system targets and joined-up policies to improve the public’s health, boost farm resilience, and protect nature and the environment. And it makes a pleasant change to hear that this government will work closely with the devolved nations, who have been doing their own work on food systems change. Critical now is the composition of the delivery board. The SoS says, reassuringly, that it will be “a joined-up and system-wide approach” to lead the co-design of the strategy and its plan for delivery. I’m sure it will include the usual food sector leaders. Yet everyone has a stake in a fairer, healthier, more resilient food system. It is crucial that the delivery board reflects diverse perspectives for a true whole-system view. It needs to reflect citizens' aspirations for a fairer, more sustainable food system, focusing on turning ambitious strategies into a deliverable plan that works for businesses and communities around the UK.

A big thank you to Jenny Rathbone for bringing our two new reports - 'The False Economy of Big Food' and 'Changing the Conversation' - to the attention of the Senedd last week 🙌 It's also encouraging to hear Wales First Minister Eluned Morgan respond to our findings that the cost of unhealthy food to the UK is £268bn – saying she was "shocked at the figure" and "it's clearly something we all need to take very seriously". Read the 'False Economy of Big Food' 👉 https://lnkd.in/eMTKUEqS Read 'Changing the Conversation' 👉 https://lnkd.in/e4nbUeVu

📢 Do you find the debate around the issue of ultra-processed food confusing? If so you're in the right place because we've lined up a panel of experts to try and make sense of this contested and controversial subject for our latest podcast including Kimberley Wilson, a chartered psychologist and mental health expert, The Labour Party MP and public health doctor Beccy Cooper, Maurice Cousins, Head of Campaigns at Public First, and our Food Ambassador Kathleen Kerridge. The discussion is chaired by our Executive Director Anna Taylor and has some fascinating insights from the perspective of consumers, the medical profession and policymakers. Listen below for a teaser and in full here: https://lnkd.in/eBRZuVQP Meanwhile, our latest briefing Ultra-processed foods: A new frontier for investors in food businesses? highlights contested areas of debate for policymaking and provides guidance for investors in food businesses whose portfolios are exposed to UPFs. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eNjfG7nk   #ultraprocessedfood #UPF #HFSS #obesity #diabtes #healthydiets

Good to see the the first inquiry from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee is on the future of farming 👉 https://lnkd.in/e2dEE8R2 Farmers and rural communties across the UK urgently need government to set out a comprehensive plan for a more secure, resilient sector and a greener, fairer future for farming. With topics under scrutiny including food security, land use, nature friendly farming and profitability, we're looking forward to seeing how the inquiry develops. Alistair Carmichael MP Charlie Dewhirst Sarah Bool Jayne Kirkham Andrew Pakes Catherine Fookes Josh Newbury MP Sarah Dyke Jennifer Riddell-Carpenter Henry Tufnell Daniel Zeichner Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP Tom Bradshaw Read our latest working paper on how to build a food and farming system that is not only secure, but also resilient: https://lnkd.in/eJErFs3v

An integral recommendation from Prof Lorna Dawson, CBE, FRSE, FRSA in her blog on #Soil if we are to halt the loss and harm in #Scotland ‘The Scottish Government should bring forward legislative proposals that reflect the proposed EU Soil Monitoring Law and Nature Restoration Law by introducing a statutory duty to protect and monitor soil, creating mandatory targets for restoration of drained peatland soils and reassessing contaminated land and soil sealing policy. The legislation could build upon previous work undertaken and recent work on monitoring by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the James Hutton Institute.’

Interesting piece by Denis Campbell for The Guardian exposing the lengths Big Food are going to, to target children: https://lnkd.in/d7cft7UV The research shows that food firms have proliferated around primary and secondary schools, with recent years showing a 38% increase in the number of schools with a nearby fast food outlet. Citizens taking part in #TheFoodConversation are deeply concerned about the impacts of junk food on the health and wellbeing of their children. They want government to step up and take decisive action to protect children’s health. Their calls are backed by our latest report from Prof Tim Jackson that shows the cost of unhealthy food to the UK amounts to £268bn - and makes the case for a strong regulatory environment for Big Food companies to improve citizen health and halt chronic disease. It’s great, then, to hear The Rt. Hon. Wes Streeting MP recognise that big food companies are “prioritising their profits over our kids’ health” – and pledge government action to tackle these issues. Read ‘The False Economy of Big Food’ here: https://lnkd.in/eMTKUEqS

My ‘enshittification' of porridge piece has raised a few smiles. In case you didn't click through to the full article, I also wanted to highlight the recent report I cite from the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission authored by Tim Jackson, which found the UK’s food system costs the country an eye-watering £268bn every year by contributing to chronic disease.

Was I the only one to start my day in a state of incomprehension when I saw the headlines, such as this one in the FT, “UK junk food ad ban includes porridge and pitta bread snacks”? Having had porridge shoved down my throat, sold as the only way to start the day healthily (thanks, dad), and having obviously subjected my kids to the same treatment, the idea we’d all been sold a lie was almost more than I could manage. However, Sue Pritchard reassures me neither the UK government, nor my dad, has lost the plot. The issue rests instead with certain parts of the food industry, she says. “It’s not the porridge that’s the problem,” Pritchards tells me. “It is the way certain food companies adulterate lovely healthy porridge by adding masses of sugar and additives. It’s what [writer] Cory Doctorow called ‘enshittification’ — take a good thing and ruin it. Big Food does this for food — and racks up ever-increasing profit as a result.” You can read today's full editorial note by me on Sustainable Views at the link below. #food #UK https://lnkd.in/dC6zaDW4