On this page, we share recent news updates from the RSA’s Food, Farming & Countryside Commission.
As the UK navigates the process of exiting the EU, the RSA’s Food, Farming and Countryside Commission argues that “it is essential to think afresh about where our food comes from, how we support farming and rural communities, and how we invest in the many benefits the countryside provides”.
To understand what challenges the food industry, farmers, and the countryside face, the Commission and the support team at the RSA have reviewed hundreds of policy proposals, hosted expert discussions, and some have cycled right round the UK to meet people in their communities.
Sustain’s chief executive Kath Dalmeny is one of the 15 Commissioners and has contributed to several seminars and consultation events over recent months, along with four other Sustain alliance members. The Commission’s progress report Our Common Ground was published in October and will feature in a panel debate at the Oxford Real Farming Conference in January 2019, with five core themes:
Download the full 'Our Common Ground' report (PDF, 6MB)
Looking forward, 2019 looks set to be another busy year, working towards publication of the Commission's final report in the summer. Activities will include:
A group of Oxfordshire farmers and their customers, local businesses and national policy specialists met in October – chaired by Sustain and the Campaign for Real Farming and involving Food, Farming and Countryside Commission researchers – to discuss the future for local farming and the rural economy, the day before Parliament debates the future of UK farming policy and farm subsidies post-Brexit, as outlined in Secretary of State for farming Michael Gove’s draft UK Agriculture Bill.
Good Food Trade Campaign: Campaigning for good trade that benefits people and the planet at home and overseas.
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