Our response to the National Food Strategy

The Government has published its long-awaited food strategy which promises to drive innovation and harness pioneering technology in farming which will back our farmers by helping to increase domestic production, spread jobs and grow the economy.

The Food Strategy includes incentives for industry and investment in research – it will support farmers to harness this innovation to boost home-grown fruit and vegetable production, and in turn, create new job opportunities across the country.

The Countryside Alliance welcomes the strategy and its proposals to back British farmers and producers, reconnect consumers with their food, and ensure food security in these uncertain times. However, these policies must also go hand in hand with improving and supporting the environment. We have always said that farmers are part of the solution to tackling the climate crisis and enhancing the natural environment and the food strategy does not make this link clear enough.

On some of the specifics contained in the strategy, the Alliance is pleased to welcome the proposals for better food labelling to ensure consumers can make an informed choice on the products they buy and the extension of the seasonal workers' scheme which is important to support our farmers and growers.

Sarah Lee, Director of Policy and Campaigns said: "The Food Strategy provides some positive steps forward to reconnect consumers with their food, support local producers and our farmers, who produce some of the highest quality food in the world, but as ever the devil is in the detail and the associated consultations will put the real meat on the bone of the Strategy."

The first consultation associated with the Food Strategy is on public sector food and catering policy and provides an excellent opportunity to celebrate game meat and push for it to be on the menu. There is already a trial of six NHS Trusts who are piloting pheasant, partridge and venison on their menus as part of a project driven by British Game Assurance.

Game meat is perfect for many hospital patients as it is nutritionally superior and higher in selenium than other meats. In tests it was also easy to consume for patients with swallowing problems. This is a perfect example of a trial which should be rolled out nationally.

The Countryside Alliance will be following the progress of the Strategy closely and will be responding to consultations when appropriate.

The Government's announcement

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "Our Food Strategy sets out a blueprint for how we will back farmers, boost British industry and help protect people against the impacts of future economic shocks by safeguarding our food security.

"Harnessing new technologies and innovation, we will grow and eat more of our own food - unlocking jobs across the country and growing the economy, which in turn will ultimately help to reduce pressure on prices."

Environment Secretary George Eustice said: "The food industry is bigger than the automotive and aerospace industries combined, offering employment opportunities, apprenticeships and investment in research and development."

"The strategy we are setting out today will increase the focus on skills in the food sector, and the roles and career pathways available. In particular, we will seek to boost our horticulture industry and ensure the expertise needed to develop the sector here in the UK."

This Food Strategy is in response to the Henry Dimbleby National Food Strategy Report last year.

The Government Food Strategy responds to these findings and recommendations, accepting the majority of recommendations, with policy initiatives to boost health, sustainability, and accessibility of diet to secure food supply, while also recognising the shared global challenges of the war in Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic on the global economy

The strategy also includes plans to:

• Consult on an ambition for 50% of public sector expenditure on food procurement to be of food either produced locally or to higher standards

• Incentivise the sector to use surplus heat and CO2 from industrial processes, and renewable sources of energy to increase domestic horticultural production

• Review the planning permission process to support new developments of glasshouses

• Launch an independent review to tackle labour shortages in the food supply chain, to look at the roles of automation, domestic labour and migration to ensure UK businesses can access the labour they require

• Consult on how to improve on and expand animal welfare labelling, to help consumers identify when products meet or exceed our high UK animal welfare standards

• Extend the Seasonal Workers visa route to poultry, following a successful pilot last year

• Publish a framework for land use in England next year

• Consult on food waste reporting for larger businesses over a certain size

• Publish a statement setting out requirements for those wishing to access the UK market to objectively demonstrate they deliver an equivalent level of health protection to our high domestic standards

• Explore how to make the most of innovative feed additives that can reduce methane emissions from livestock, to support sustainable farming

• Launch a new partnership between the public and private sector to provide consumers with more information about the food they eat while incentivising industry to produce healthier, more ethical and sustainable goods.