The Soil Association's new report argues that change is needed and that government needs to develop a strategy for a food secure future.
It recommends strategies as follows:
- A strategic food plan is needed across all levels of UK governments and wide ranging partnership is required to form a solution
- Set higher mandatory targets for agriculture to cut emissions, incentivise carbon storage and make the minimisation of soil carbon losses a condition of subsidy
- Increase R&D funding for sustainable farming practices, implement farmers' advisory programme for reducing oil, gas and phosphate-derived inputs and declare the British Isles a GM-free zone
- Link healthy diets with a sustainable food system, support the 'Food for Life' catering standards and establish studies on the benefits of healthier food
- Build resilience through re-localising staple food production, implement planning policy to help increase self-sufficiency and reduce food miles and remove UK and EU barriers to localisation
- Create training/apprenticeship programmes in sustainable agriculture, provide community 'growing belts' and allotments and give every school child experience of food growing through the Food for Life Partnership
- Work with the WTO and international governments on food secure trade policy and encourage international implementation of the principles in the 2008 IAASTD report on food security and climate change
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