This report was undertaken by Dr Donal Murphy-Bokern for WWF-UK in 2008 and has recently been published on their website. It provides a review of the broad global impacts of UK food consumption, sets out the climate change effects, and the implications of food for the wider environment.
The underlying processes that drive impacts are particularly in focus. It outlines the relevance of food to climate change and this fed into the development of the subsequent (and recently published) FCRN-WWF-UK How Low?
The report finds that even though the majority of UK food is UK produced, the UK food system has a long reach in terms of environmental impact. It provides a detailed account of the link between the UK food system and WWF Priority Places- 35 places that are particularly rich in biodiversity, places with unique animals and plants. It identifies 10 Priority Places affected significantly by UK food consumption and also sets how we affect the North-east Atlantic eco-region.
The work has helped the WWF develop a common understanding of what matters underpinning a deep debate in developing the WWF One Planet Food Programme. It says clearly that in WWF’s approach to food it needs to look beyond some current emblematic issues or conflicts and focus on the underlying processes that matter for the full range of farming systems and technologies used. What matters is fostering sustainable consumption patterns, increasing the resource use efficiency of food production, increasing the efficiency of nutrient use in agricultural systems, improving farmland as a habitat, and eliminating deforestation and other forms of land use change to agriculture
The report, "Environmental impacts of the UK food economy with particular reference to WWF Priority Places and the North-east Atlantic", is attached below.
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