Soil Association response to the UK Food Security Assessment

10 August 2009

Soil Association Policy Advisor Helen Browning said:
"In the face of the huge challenges to worldwide food supplies posed by climate change, diminishing oil, gas and water supplies, we need to completely transform the way we will feed ourselves in the future."

We welcome this report and consultation because it recognises that 'business as usual' is not an option and that we'll need to feed ourselves in a more sustainable way. But the scale and pace of change will need to be massive. Technology will of course be important, but the search for a 'silver bullet' like GM, to solve all these problems is a dangerous distraction. The solutions are already largely available; it's now about the political will to implement them.

"Food systems must become less dependent on fossil fuels, more resilient in the face of climate change, and able to contribute to the Government's pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. Farming based on organic principles can deliver against all three challenges."

Scientific evidence proves that low input systems, like organic, can provide sustainable solutions to food security. The recent IAASTD report, which included 400 scientists and has been approved by over 60 countries, backed organic agriculture and similar 'agro-ecological' approaches as part of a 'radical change' in the way the world produces food. [1]

A recent report by Reading University entitled "England and Wales under organic agriculture: how much food could be produced?" showed that organic farming could provide us with a far healthier and much more climate friendly diet. [2]

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[1] IAASTD, Global Summary, Options for Action, www.agassessment.org
[2] England and Wales under organic Agriculture: how much food could be produced? Centre for Agricultural Strategy, November, 2008
http://www.reading.ac.uk/about/newsandevents/releases/PR21951.asp
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