The UK will need to change the way food is produced and processed so that we continue to enjoy healthy affordable food in the decades ahead, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Hilary Benn said today as he published the country’s first food security assessment.

The assessment shows that the UK is doing well in many areas which make up a secure and sustainable food system, such as a diverse food supply, which includes UK production, and a strong distribution system.

The challenges will be to ensure the sustainability of the UK’s food supply. In particular we will need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to a changing climate here and overseas that will affect what food can be grown and where and how it can be grown. The assessment also highlights the availability and effective use of water to produce food – the need to get more crop per drop – and the depletion of fish stocks.

The UK Food Security Assessment is part of a package being published today, which also includes:

Food 2030, an online discussion seeking views on the future of our food system;

“Food Matters: One Year On”, providing an update on progress on the 2008 Cabinet Office report; and

draft indicators for the sustainability of the food system.

Mr Benn said: “Last year the world had a wake-up call with the sudden oil and food price rises. While we know the price of our food, the full environmental costs and the costs to our health are significant and hidden.

“We need a radical rethink of how we produce and consume our food. 

“Globally we need to cut emissions and adapt to the changing climate that will alter what we can grow and where we can grow it. We must maintain the natural resources – soils, water, and biodiversity – on which food production depends. And we need to tackle diet-related ill health that already costs the NHS and the wider economy billions of pounds each year.

“And because we live in an interconnected world – where the price of soya in Brazil affects the price of steak at the local supermarket – we need to look at global issues that affect food security here.

“That’s why we need to consider what food system should look like in 20 years, and what must happen to get there. We need everyone in the food system to get involved – from farmers and retailers to the health service, schools and consumers.”

Mr Benn said that there were three big challenges that needed to be met:

how to meet the economic and environmental challenges of increased productivity in the food chain;

how to help people eat more healthily and ensure people have access to safe, affordable food;

how to ensure that the way food is produced today doesn’t damage the natural resources on which future food production depends.

Mr Benn continued: “Our food strategy will need to cover all aspects of our food – production, processing, distribution, retail, consumption and disposal. And that includes the impact on our health, on the environment and future productivity, on how we deal with food waste.”

The food strategy for the future will be published later in the year, drawing on responses to the consultation launched today.

To download the publications, click here

Responding to the Government's 'Food 2030' paper, Andrew Kuyk, Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Director of Sustainability and Competitiveness, said:

“It's great that the Government is waking up to the importance of these debates. Along with our food chain partners, we have been pressing Ministers for some time to make sustainable food production a top Government priority in its own right - so the publication of Food 2030 is a step in the right direction."

“But we need a genuine long-term vision and strategy for farming and food production – one that is designed to ensure the nation's food security against the combined effects of climate change, higher global demand and increasing pressure on finite resources. The published food security assessment looks only at the next five to 10 years, which is not sufficient to reflect the longer term risks we already know are out there."

“Food manufacturers must play a leading role in developing any such strategy. As well as being a vital component of the economy, we are critical to the future success of the UK food chain. Without a competitive UK food manufacturing base, UK farmers would lack a ready market, consumers would be more dependent on imported supplies and there would be less resilience across the food chain."

“Our industry is already leading the way on many of the difficult issues facing society. For example: our members are working under FDF's Five-fold Environmental Ambition to make a real difference to the environment on issues such as water efficiency, waste reduction and reducing carbon emissions. We are also helping to improve the health of the nation through our groundbreaking work to change the recipes of favourite British brands."

“But it's time we started to turn the debate into action. Given that it is now a year since the Cabinet Office published its Food Matters report, we would urge Government to accelerate its efforts to work with manufacturers and our food chain partners to develop a food vision and strategy that takes full account of our economic, strategic and social importance to the UK.”