Futures Forum: Food sovereignty in the UK
Especially in the wider context of 'sustainability':
Futures Forum: The food industry and energy
Futures Forum: The Water, Energy and Food Nexus
Now, there is mounting pressure for 'food security' in the fishing industry:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and life after the Common Fisheries Policy >>> >>> or: food sovereignty and the commons
And for 'food security' in general as this parliamentary report demonstrates:
Security of UK Food Supply
Published Tuesday, July 4, 2017
This note outlines current UK trade in food and animal feed, examines the challenges raised to the security of UK food supply by withdrawal from the EU and analyses the policy options available for improving UK food security
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The security of UK food supply is a key priority for the Government, particularly in light of the UK's forthcoming withdrawal from the EU. This note outlines current UK trade in food and animal feed, examines the challenges raised to the security of UK food supply by withdrawal from the EU and analyses the policy options available for improving UK food security.
Authors: Peter Border; Ruth Barnes
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Security of UK Food Supply (
PDF, 570.27 KB)Security of UK Food Supply - POST Note - UK Parliament
Security of UK Food Supply
Nearly half of the food consumed in the UK is imported, mostly from the EU. Leaving the EU means that the Government will have to secure new agreements to maintain a diversity of markets for food trade and a ready supply of labour. A new agriculture policy was announced in the Queen’s Speech to replace the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and make decisions on farming subsidies. Policy options for maintaining UK food security include supply side measures such as increasing UK productivity and diversifying production and supply side measures such as changing consumption patterns, reducing food waste and ensuring equitable distribution of food.
According to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) food security exists when people have “access at all times to sufficient, safe, sustainable and nutritious food, at affordable prices”.1 Global food security is affected by a range of complex and inter-linked factors. These include urbanisation, climate change, population growth, changes in diet, unsustainable agricultural production systems, and competition for land and water. Furthermore, food supply chains are subject to fluctuations that can dramatically affect the affordability of foods. For example, factors implicated in the food price spike of 2007/08 include poor harvests, export bans, market speculation, changes in demand, rising energy prices and the use of food crops for biofuels.
Currently, the UK produces around half (52% by value)2 of the food it consumes and imports the rest, mainly from the EU. There is on-going debate over where the balance should lie between UK food production and food imports to achieve good food for all. However, there is agreement that UK selfsufficiency in indigenous foods (those that can be produced in the UK) has been falling since the early 1990s and that a diversity of import markets is needed to achieve food security.
Achieving a balance between food production and imports will be a key consideration for the new UK agriculture policy announced in the Queen’s Speech. The new policy will have to reconcile UK food security with other policy areas such as energy, public health, environmental management and employment policy. This briefing outlines where the UK gets its food from and what the main export markets are for the UK food and farming sector. It identifies potential challenges for UK food security and examines the main policy options for increasing UK food security. These include supply side measures such as new trade agreements, new technologies and diversification of production, as well as demand side policies to change patterns of procurement or consumption.
2664 Food security.pdf
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