With a broken food system in urgent need of positive change, Sustain Director of Policy and Advocacy Glen Tarman sets out what government intends the food strategy to do, how it will go about developing it and how the Sustain alliance should respond.
On 10 December, Steve Reed MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, outlined the government's plans to work with the sector to develop a new food strategy and “a food system that works for everyone”.
Sustain welcomes the government starting the process for a much-needed food strategy and the promise that it will be “ambitious”. The previous government commissioned an independent National Food Strategy review led by Henry Dimbleby, to which Sustain and our alliance members contributed extensively. However, much to everyone’s frustration, the previous government did not follow through with most of the recommendations, cherry-picking a limited number for its own 'strategy' in 2022. As we said at that time: “This isn’t a strategy, it’s a feeble to-do list, that may or may not get ticked." So, what is intended by this administration going into 2025 for its food strategy?
As an alliance, we expect the new National Food Strategy to support legal, financial and supply chain measures to:
- Accelerate the transition to agroecological farming and land-use, supporting nature-friendly farmers to be secure and profitable through agricultural and supply chain policy and practice.
- Secure the supply of healthy and nutritious food, accessible and affordable to everyone.
- Require the establishment of local and regional food strategies and partnerships that can help to implement food action plans at local level and contribute to change at national level.
- Establish the governmental, institutional and industry duties and accountability for action, through effective legislation, standards, reporting and other robust methods.
The following text quotes directly from government sources to help alliance members and others start to plan towards our collective response.
What do we know about the new food strategy so far?
In an online meeting attended by Sustain among 750 people from the food sector, the Secretary of State said: “I think we can achieve best if we all work together and make sure that there are better outcomes for everybody that has an interest in or stake in the food system in this sector. In government, we want to work with you to help shape what this looks like. And that involves agreeing a set of outcomes that we all can work towards.”
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) follow-up summary said that the food strategy will ensure the food system is “able to feed the nation, can realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals”, working to improve it 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.
- drive the investment, productivity and innovation that will ensure that the food and drink sector – the country's largest manufacturing sector – can realise its potential for economic growth.
- support a 25-year 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.
How will the new food strategy be developed?
Defra is the lead department for the development of the strategy and the Secretary of State said it will be working in a ‘whole of government’ approach in close collaboration across government including with the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Education and the Cabinet Office.
The strategy will consider the food system across the UK and, given aspects of food policy are devolved, the UK government said it will work closely with the devolved governments “to ensure a coordinated approach and that the strategy complements work undertaken at a national level”.
Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed also added: “In developing the strategy, if we find along the way that there will be a need for legislation then we can make sure that there is space in the legislative timetable for us to be able to do that.”
Much has also been made of “a new way of working with the sector”, seen as key in developing an effective strategy: “We are working to build on strong partnerships with the sector to create a strategy that draws on shared expertise and collective commitments, backed by a clear vision and framework for change from government.”
The government says it will form “a coalition with food sector leaders, academics and charities and key thinkers to corral our collective ambition, influence, and effort”. A new sector delivery board is also going ahead to “ensure a joined-up and systems-wide approach, with clear impactful outcomes”.
How should the Sustain alliance respond?
Sustain had joined others in recommending that the new government revisit the independent National Food Strategy rather than starting from scratch. So it was encouraging to see Steve Reed use those exact words: “The best way in developing any strategy is not to try and start from scratch as if nothing's happened before. We need to build on what exists, structures that already exist but also work that's already been done. I am interested in building on the work that Henry Dimbleby started, but I want all of us to work together on shaping this so that this is a food strategy that works for everybody.”
Sustain and our alliance members have already played a very significant role in setting out evidence-based solutions that we want to see adopted in national food strategy. You can find some of that work in our earlier National Food Strategy archive.
Defra says it will develop structured engagement with food system actors in the new year. Sustain will convene our alliance members to provide high-quality input throughout the process. We have already reached out to the food strategy team at Defra to offer the alliance’s views and expertise as the strategy is developed. Let’s make sure that alliance voices and evidence are heard and incorporated.
Also critical to an effective food strategy will be the people who address food and farming policies and practices at local level, such as our colleagues in the thriving Sustainable Food Places network of 114 cities, counties and regions, who have been supporting food strategy and implementing action plans for over a decade across the four UK Nations. This work must be integrated into the national food strategy. The local food partnership in the constituency of farming minister Daniel Zeichner MP in Cambridge is but one example. They recently won a Gold Sustainable Food Places Award for their hugely impressive work to improve the local food system. Such local connections and advocacy with MPs and their constituencies will surely help foster warm understanding of the importance of this work.
It is also promising to hear that the new food strategy will be cross-departmental from the outset, and with Cabinet Office involvement. Sustain’s long experience with food strategy work at local and national level underlines that this is vital. However, we would like to hear that the Department for Work and Pensions will get involved to understand their role in securing adequate incomes for the millions of people in the UK who struggle to afford food. We’d like to see the national food strategy make good on this government’s manifesto statement that “We want to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels, which is a moral scar on our society.” To those in the alliance who work on the moral scar of chronic household food insecurity for millions of our fellow citizens, let’s ensure that we advocate clear and consistent messages on cash-first solutions (income maximisation) and nutritional security (such as free school meals, Healthy Start, Bridging the Gap and good food enterprise, making nutritious food accessible and affordable).
Where too is the Department of Trade and Industry? There is a lot they can do to limit support for damaging practices and increase support for food and farming businesses that deliver public goods – both in domestic production and in international trade.
A good food strategy will need widespread support across business, but it will not be one that pleases everyone in industry. Too often we have seen measures to build a better food system undermined by lobbying by vested interests, especially from companies producing sugary drinks and highly processed unhealthy foods who are resistant to national action to reduce consumption of their products and shift support to healthier options. Corporate capture of government policy is a real risk.
The process ahead needs to have a carefully crafted timeline for the new national food strategy to be as good as the UK needs it to be. After several stalled government initiatives over the years, we must flex our collective muscles and not get fobbed off this time by feeble to-do lists and temporary taskforces. Let’s make sure this national food strategy is robust and embedded, ideally with the legislative footing that will support consistency and longevity, to weather the inevitable crises ahead and the changes in government that follow.
Our time has come. Sustain, our alliance members and the Sustainable Food Places network look forward to playing an influential role in establishment of a robust and ambitious national food strategy fit for the future.
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
