Minister for Food Security joins Good Food Bill campaign launch in Parliament

Dame Angela Eagle, the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, joined cross party MPs and Peers in the House of Commons to launch The Good Food Bill: Fixing Food for Good briefing.

The briefing is part of the campaign spearheaded by Sustain, The Food Foundation and Green Alliance to secure a Good Food Bill - new legislation that would give successive governments a durable, legally binding framework to fix the food system for good, and protect families, farmers and the NHS.

The event included a panel with Daniel Zeichner MP; Baroness Rosie Boycott; Emma Loder-Symonds, Director of Nonington Farms; and Andrew Weston, Head of Public Affairs (Food) at Co-op.

The case for a Good Food Bill

The need is urgent: our food security has not been under so much threat since the end of World War II. Global events have led to the British public has enduring two major food price shocks in recent years, and with war spreading in West Asia, it seems almost certain they are about to endure another.

Even in current conditions, 14% of UK households are struggling to afford adequate food, and a typical shopping basket now costs 33% more than it did in 2022. Without action, this is only going to get worse.

Climate change is exacerbating this yet further. Extreme weather is already reducing crop yields, especially in Southern Europe and South America where much of our fruit and vegetables are imported from. Yet at the same time, British farmers and growers are struggling. Building sustainable domestic production, particularly of fruit, vegetables and pulses and shortening supply chains – offers a way to reduce that vulnerability

The UK more broadly, and England more specifically, has no shortage of food strategies, reviews, and commitments. There is however no durable framework to tie them together and ensure they are delivered, regardless of the governing party.

Now more than 100 organisations, including supermarkets, food businesses, NGOs and academics, have come together to push for a Good Food Bill because only legislation can provide the certainty that businesses, farmers, growers and investors need to plan for the long term.

The proposed Good Food Bill would set legally binding targets on childhood obesity, fruit and vegetable consumption and domestic production, and household food insecurity. It would require a national Good Food Action Plan every five years, a single Reference Diet to end policy incoherence, local action plans, and independent oversight through regular Food Standards Agency reporting to Parliament.

Kath Dalmney, Chief Executive of Sustain says: 

“Too many people in the UK are struggling to afford their shopping bill. Without a fundamental shift in the way we plan things as a country, that is only going to get worse.

Our current food system is totally out of date, and is over reliant on cheap processed food imported from overseas. It is failing British farmers and growers, it is failing our health, and it is failing to keep shopping bills down.

We need to build a 21st Century food economy where fresh, nutritious food is grown closer to home and within reach of every neighbourhood. By growing and producing more in the UK, we can cushion the blow to our shopping bills from pandemics, wars and climate shocks.

New legislation on food would set a strong course for successive Governments to build a food system that keeps people healthy and keeps food affordable. The food system has simply got to change – and a Good Food Bill is how we change it."

The Good Food Bill: Fixing Food for Good briefing can be viewed here.

Organisations, academics, and politicians can support the campaign by signing our statement of support here.