Why food

2022 has been the hottest year on record and four out of five of the warmest summers in England have occurred since 2003.[1] The climate crisis will continue to push temperatures up and create more extreme weather if emissions are not mitigated. The benefits of changing our diets would be enormous.

As an illustration of the scale of impact from the food system, if the world shifted completely to plant-based diets, this shift alone would reduce emissions enough to stay within the global CO2 budget for 1.5-degrees.[2] Currently, the UK consumes 50 per cent more meat than the global average and much more red and processed meat than is recommended for health reasons.[3] The UK Government’s Climate Change Committee has said we must reduce meat production and consumption by 20–50 per cent, reduce food waste by 20 per cent and switch to low-carbon, regenerative agricultural practices to have any hope of meeting our climate targets.[4][5]

Over four-fifths (85 per cent) of UK farmland is used for livestock with about one-sixth of this is used to grow crops for animal feed (although we buy a lot of feed in from abroad, usually crops grown on recently deforested land), and the rest is used for grazing.[6] In certain cases, it can be beneficial to use land for animals, where the farming integrates animals in the fertility cycle, soil carbon building and nature recovery. However, widespread animal agriculture can be an inefficient use of land, when growing plants for human consumption it generates around 12 times more calories per hectare than using the land for meat and dairy production.[7] Even a modest shift towards more sustainable  horticulture for plant-based food would be highly beneficial for the climate, food security and provision of nutritious food.

Additionally, there are large greenhouse gas savings to be made by transitioning agricultural production to regenerative, agroecological systems. In fact, a switch to agroecological farming in the UK could reduce emissions by 38 per cent and offset the remaining 60 per cent of emissions through an afforestation scenario[8] Agroecological farming helps to lock carbon in soil and prevents soil exhaustion. WWFs’ 2022 Land of Plenty report has found that a shift to nature-friendly and regenerative agricultural approaches could reduce as many emissions as taking around one million cars off the road.[9]

What can councils do?

UK councils are well-positioned to use their powers of procurement, communication and control of advertising sites as tools to demonstrate what a climate-friendly diet looks like and particularly to increase veg and reduce meat consumption in school meals and council services, while introducing smaller portions or less frequent dishes from higher-welfare and more sustainable livestock farmers. This is an effective way of bringing down the costs of council meals, making meals healthier and supporting better farming practices in the local economy, as well as creating a route to market for better livestock farmers and supporting those businesses to thrive. Councils can start this process by including timebound and measurable food emissions targets in their climate strategies.

Food is a touchpoint for many issues, including health, climate, nature and the economy. Prioritising action on food means that councils can address multiple issues simultaneously, which is especially important when budgets are squeezed.

Taking a joined-up approach was common amongst high-performing councils in our survey. This has been recorded in the case studies of ‘better’ practice. Many councils reported that approaching food from multiple angles unlocked co-benefits, created an extra impetus to carry out the work and built relationships between departments. A lot of the councils initially began work on food to address a single problem, such as social inequality, food security or health issues, but found out that they unlocked many intersecting co-benefits as the work developed. It is telling that almost all the councils we interviewed reported that, with hindsight, they would have liked to have begun and sought dedicated funding for their work on food earlier in the process. All the councils we interviewed shared that their food programme had become a highly valuable part of their work.

Because of the co-benefits that tackling the food system unlocks, there is an opportunity for councils to piece together funding from across departments. Surrey Council illustrates this approach. It is taking a whole systems-approach to tackling food issues. The council is working with an extensive and varied food partnership to guide this work. This systems-approach allows the council to tie together many small pots of funding and unlock additional capacity.

Food security is a measure of people’s ability to access sufficient, safe and nutritious food. It depends on several factors, including the food produced locally and abroad, the ability of supply chains to cope with shocks, and the extent to which households can consistently afford and access sufficient, safe and nutritious food.

The UK government’s 2021 food security report concluded that climate change and biodiversity loss are among the biggest risks to global food security.[1] Climate change is already impacting the price and availability of food globally and has shrunk food supplies, which is of concern to UK food security because imports make up about half of what we eat.[2][3] In the UK, wheat yields dropped by 40 per cent in 2020, as a result of heavy rainfall and droughts.[4] The quality and quantity of produce grown by UK farmers was severely impacted by the 2022 the heatwave and drought.[5]

Food security is also fundamentally based on soil health, availability of water, natural resilience to pests and biodiverse ecosystems. Unfortunately, some of the conventional, intensive farming practices that are dominant in the UK are damaging and not protecting or restoring the natural systems that feed us. The government has reported that soil degradation, erosion and compaction alone have reduced the capacity of UK soils to produce food, costing £1.2 billion each year. Intensive agriculture has caused arable soils to lose between 40 and 60 per cent of their organic carbon.[6] In fact, the decline in UK soil health is so severe that in 2014 researchers from Sheffield University predicted that UK farm soils have just 100 harvests left in them.[7]

About three-quarters (70 per cent) of meat produced in the UK is from industrialised systems in which animals are subject to poor-welfare conditions and fed mostly on grain – lots of which is imported and grown in tropical regions that have recently been deforested, contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions. About 60 per cent of corn and 80 per cent of soy is used as animal feed globally.[8] Factory farming is threatening food security in several ways. Firstly, it makes UK food prices vulnerable to global events and weather. Secondly, demand for grain feed from factory farms, in the UK and elsewhere around the world, elevates the price of grain, which has been greatly exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. These global factors are putting people at risk of hunger in lower-income net food-importing nations like Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Yemen, and Morocco, which have seen grain prices rise by a third since Russia invaded Ukraine.[9] Finally, growing animal feed is taking up vast amounts of land that could grow more pulses, grains and vegetables for people locally, or being farmed with stocking densities that degrade nature.

On the other hand, agroecological farming methods protect ecosystems fundamental to food growing, biodiversity and soil fertility and adopting nature-friendly farming has been shown to maintain productivity.[10] Agroecology is therefore recommended to ensure food security and nutritional outcomes, as well as creating significantly more jobs than conventional farming.[11][12]

What is sustainable farming?

Our definition of ‘sustainable farming’ includes agroecology, organic, pasture-fed, high animal welfare, antibiotics stewardship, agroforestry, farmer-focused infrastructure, fair dealing and better routes to market[13].

Our definition of ‘sustainable fishing’ is informed by marine conservation science and based on the principles of ‘exclude the worst, promote the best and improve the rest’, fully integrated with sustainable fishery management, stock recovery, and marine ecosystem conservation.

What can councils do?

Councils can improve food security in their area by supporting agroecological farming and taking advantage of its environmental and economic benefits by including environmental outcomes as part of tenancy agreements on their farmland, increasing access to land for food growing, supporting local agroecological farms through their own food procurement contracts, and providing training and other incentives to local farmers to engage in sustainable farming practices. In the long-term, councils can build resilience into their local food systems by using their procurement, pensions and investment, planning, advertising and communications powers to support local suppliers and low-input, nature-friendly farming, rather than industrial livestock farming. Councils can also support and coordinate networks of farmers and producers to exchange knowledge and access funds to kickstart investment in local infrastructure leading to short supply chains and fairness in the supply chain.

Inflation hit 10.6 per cent in the 12 months leading up to September 2022, with food and alcoholic drinks contributing to almost half of inflation from June to July.[1] The cost of food and beverages has risen at its highest rate since 2008 with bread, cereals, dairy, meat and vegetables seeing the largest increases so far.[2]

According to an Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey of British households, around sixteen million people have cut back on food and essentials due to the cost-of-living crisis.[3] More than a quarter of British adults have bought less meat, which is perceived as expensive.[4][5] [6]

In times of economic crisis, people tend to gravitate towards cheap, energy-dense foods which also tend to have a higher environmental footprint, while sales of fruit and veg have fallen.[7][8]  This means that we aren’t seeing the positive dietary changes needed for health, and hunger and inequality is getting worse. Everyone must be able to afford good food, and we need to continue to support the transition to climate-friendly diets.

Caterers have warned that the quality of school meals is at risk from what could be a 20 per cent rise in food costs.[9] A recent survey by the Soil Association found that 12.8 per cent of schools have begun to reduce the standards of school meals, with nearly half considering such a move. This is particularly concerning because over a million public sector meals per year are served to Food for Life Served Here standards (run by the Soil Association), which includes freshly prepared meals, and a proportion of ‘better’ meat and dairy. Lowering standards could mean less high-welfare and sustainably produced meat, dairy, eggs and fish.

‘Cheap’ food is not the solution to poverty

Good food must be affordable for all. Poor quality, unhealthy or unsustainable food comes at a high cost, with the bill being picked up by the NHS, people’s health and well-being, farmers, and the unimaginable cost of nature loss and climate breakdown. Human exploitation in food production is chronic, with over a fifth (22 per cent) of food workers earning the minimum wage or below, compared to 8 per cent of workers across the whole economy, meaning food that is suspiciously cheap to the consumer can make poverty worse for a producer or supply chain worker.[10]

What can councils do?

Poverty is a result of insufficient income relative to living costs, and the causes are largely outside council control. However, councils can ensure that work to address food poverty is centred around producing and procuring good food, supporting local businesses, requiring real living wages, promoting adequate social security safety nets, and making healthy, sustainable food more accessible and affordable.[11] All contracts should stipulate a real living wage, and follow the principles of community wealth building.[12]

For menus in which ingredient spend is a challenge, pulses and other plant-based proteins represent cost effective and healthy swaps.

A new project from Sustain; Bridging the Gap, is aiming to demonstrate how climate-friendly and sustainable food can be more available to those on low incomes, through fairer supply chains and sustainable community-led business models.[13]

Councils in England and Scotland are estimated to spend approximately £67 billion on the procurement of goods and services each year.[1][2] Spending this money locally generates significant returns for the local economy. The Food for Life programme, which encourages and rewards standards for public sector food, requires its members to forge links with local food businesses. They have published case studies that illustrate the potential of local procurement.[3] Nottingham, Plymouth and East Ayrshire report that for every £1 spent on local food businesses to supply school meals £3.11, £3.04 and £6 was returned in social and economic benefits.[4] East Ayrshire’s return on investment is significantly higher because the council considers social impacts in its calculations.

In this context, local procurement is an investment for the local community and economy, rather than a cost. Preston’s journey from the bottom 20 per cent of the deprivation index to being identified as the ‘most improved city in the UK’ illustrates the power of a localised economic strategy.[5]

Not only does local procurement act as an investment in the community, but it helps build connections between communities and their local economy. Local businesses are more likely to employ, invest and buy locally, preventing the outward flow of profits to shareholders and establishing stronger economic networks at the local level. Additionally, it generates business rates for the council to collect.[6] In contrast, according to a Guardian investigation, one of every six public procurement contracts from 2014 to 2019 were won by businesses with connections to a tax haven, which extracts value and fails to pay towards public services.[7]

Research by Sustain and the RSPB has found that a modest shift of 10 per cent of retail market share (or £2 billion) to sustainable, local food businesses could create an additional 200,000 jobs and aid in a green economic recovery.[8] Supporting localised food systems has clear environmental and climate benefits; creating more opportunities for wildlife, repairing local soil and nature and reducing between 3 and 10 per cent of the food waste created in long supply chains, while cutting food miles.

What can councils do?

Councils can take advantage of the economic, social and climate benefits of procurement by updating their procurement, food and climate strategies to include a greater focus on local procurement within the food economy. It is important, when doing so, to support businesses and organisations that have social and environmental credentials, not simply what is produced or farmed closest to you.[9]

There are practical tips for how to do this in some of the case study findings of this report. Notably, councils with successful food procurement strategies have begun by redefining the objectives of procurement to include social value. Key advice from one council that has used local procurement to revolutionise their local food economy is to start slow, build good relationships with suppliers and develop capacity and expertise in sustainable farming with outreach and training.

Dynamic procurement is a model that redesigns the procurement process to make public sector contracts accessible to smaller producers, for example by allowing caterers to buy direct from farmers and giving farmers greater control. It has been proven to make organic and agroecological local food accessible and affordable and remove many of the barriers faced by small-scale producers in accessing public contracts.[10] New pilots for dynamic procurement are currently happening across the UK, through funding from the Dixon Foundation.[11]

Almost half of Britain’s natural biodiversity has disappeared and food production is the leading cause of wildlife loss in the UK.[1] Only half (53 per cent) of Britain’s biodiversity is classified as 'intact’ – putting it far below the global average of 75 per cent and the scientifically prescribed target of 90 per cent required to protect the ecological systems that are essential to our food future. Britain has lost more wildlife than most western European nations, almost all the G7 nations and China.

Farmers and land managers manage around three-quarters (71 per cent) of the UK’s land. This puts them in a strong position to protect and enhance the natural environment. The UK cannot successfully reverse biodiversity decline, water pollution and improve food security without a transition to agroecological farming.

The greatest benefits for biodiversity come from producing less and better meat (and mirroring this change in consumption). Research in Nature and Chatham House found that a ‘business-as-usual' approach to meat consumption threatens the habitats of more than 17,000 species globally.[2] Some farmers have included livestock as part of traditional rotational farming or rewilding projects and found they support biodiversity in soils and woodland. However, on the whole, removing a proportion of livestock from land would have a positive impact on biodiversity across plant life, herbivorous life, and pollinators.[3] Factory farming livestock and intensive grazing are not compatible with biodiversity targets: 85 per cent of total land that produces UK food is used to graze livestock or produce crops to feed to animals, often in a way that prevents nature recovery.[4]

Industrialised meat production is having a particularly harmful impact on freshwater ecosystems – with farming the most significant source of water pollution in the UK.[5] Residents report that runoff from chicken farms is turning the river Wye into ‘pea soup’, and in Northern Ireland, which has seen a surge in intensive pig and poultry farms, only one lake out of 21 is considered of ‘good environmental status’.[6][8]

Producing smaller amounts of meat, as well as fruit and vegetables, cereals and fish, through agroecological systems has a demonstrable benefit for wildlife and biodiversity, as well as ‘ecosystem services’ like carbon sequestration, clean water, clean air and flood protection.[9]

What can councils do?

Councils in the UK are required to produce plans to improve biodiversity. Given that farming is our biggest threat to biodiversity, these must consider better farming practices. Some councils are leading the way; trialling nature-friendly farming on their land for demonstration purposes or are writing climate and nature clauses into their new tenancy agreements.

For example, the Poole Harbour Nutrient Management Scheme in Dorset, which is comprised of public and private partners, is trialling nature-friendly methods for reducing nitrate runoff from farms, reducing farm nutrient losses and cleaning waters on the South-West coast.[10]

However, our research found that most councils do not acknowledge their power through planning, training and owned land to halt the expansion of factory farming and support better farming, horticulture, food growing and allotments.