Over 100 organisations urge new Prime Minister to bring forward a Good Food Bill

More than 100 organisations from across farming, health, civil society, academia, investment and the food industry have written to the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, urging the Government to bring forward a Good Food Bill. The proposed legislation would place food security, public health and food system resilience on a long-term statutory footing, helping the UK prepare for future economic, environmental and geopolitical shocks.

The call comes amid growing concern about the resilience of the UK's food system. Rising food insecurity, diet-related ill health, climate impacts and mounting pressure on British farmers and growers have exposed the need for a longer-term and more coordinated approach to food policy. The signatories argue that food should be treated as a national priority, alongside energy and defence.

The letter points to three interconnected challenges:

1. A food supply increasingly exposed to environmental and geopolitical shocks
2. Food prices rising faster than incomes
3. Growing levels of diet-related ill health

These pressures, the letter warns, fall hardest on people and communities already facing disadvantage.

It also highlights that UK fruit and vegetable production has fallen by 16% since 2015, with the UK now importing 78% of its supply, while food insecurity affects 15% of households with children. Climate change, nature loss and global instability are creating further risks for the food supply. Food, farming and environmental policy, the letter signatories argue, must work together. Building a more resilient food system means creating the conditions for thriving farms and market gardens, healthy soils, recovering nature and better access to nutritious food, securing long-term benefits for people and the environment alike.

Kath Dalmeny, Chief Executive of Sustain, said:

“We are living through a period of profound change, yet we are still trying to feed the country with a mid twentieth-century food system built for a more stable world. Wars, a changing climate and the loss of the natural systems our food depends on are driving up prices, and it is families on the lowest incomes who are being hit the hardest.

Food resilience can no longer sit at the bottom of the agenda. The breadth of support behind a Good Food Bill shows that it is time for a food and farming system built for the century we are actually in.”

What would a Good Food Bill do?

The proposed Good Food Bill would establish a long-term framework for improving the UK's food system. It would:

• Set legally binding targets on childhood obesity, food insecurity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and the proportion of food grown in Britain.
• Require the Government to publish a Reference Diet, so that policy across departments works towards the same goals.
• Place a duty on Ministers to prioritise food across government decision-making.
• Require five-year Good Food Action Plans setting out how targets will be met.
• Empower local leaders to consider food across areas such as public health, economic development and planning.
• Ensure independent oversight and annual reporting on progress.

Supporters argue that these measures would improve coordination across government, create clearer accountability, and provide a lasting framework for strengthening food security, improving public health and supporting a more resilient food and farming system.

The case rests on strong public backing and clear economic opportunity. Polling in April found the Good Food Bill has net public support of +72, consistent across political affiliations. Growing more fruit and vegetables at home would also strengthen British horticulture, with analysis by Green Alliance suggesting the sector could add £2.3 billion to the economy.

Joss MacDonald, Public Affairs Manager at Sustain, said:

"This letter shows a growing consensus that the UK's food system needs a clear, long-term direction. Food insecurity is rising, diet-related illness is placing huge pressure on the NHS, and farmers and growers need the long-term certainty that only legislation can provide. These problems are connected, which is why organisations from across farming, public health, food poverty and community food have come together behind this call.

"We're particularly pleased to see so many organisations from across the Sustain alliance among the signatories. A Good Food Bill would give food the long-term direction and accountability it has long lacked."

Many organisations from across the Sustain alliance are among the signatories including Eating Better, Food Ethics Council, WWF, Pesticide Action Network UK, Trade Justice Movement, Landworkers' Alliance, Community Supported Agriculture Network UK, Better Food Traders, Food Matters and the Independent Food Aid Network.

Read the full letter and list of signatories.

The Good Food Bill campaign is led by The Food Foundation, Sustain and Green Alliance.