Food security
From 2006 to 2008, global food prices rose rapidly – caused by global market failures, fluctuating oil prices, increases in extreme weather events, and the unsustainable and immoral dash by the US to grow crops to 'feed' cars rather than people. Social and political unrest at the cost and scarcity of staple foods followed in 14 countries worldwide – from 'tortilla riots' in Mexico to protests over the price of pasta in Italy.
In the UK, we have not yet experienced the worst effects of a globally imbalanced food system, but here too, food security is again an issue of public concern. The first review Gordon Brown commissioned on becoming Prime Minister was an analysis of food issues. The resulting report published in July 2008 concluded that: 'existing patterns of food production are not fit for a low-carbon, more resource-constrained future', and 'existing patterns of food consumption will result in our society being loaded with a heavy burden of obesity and diet-related ill health.'
This stark analysis chimes with the Soil Association's concern that our current UK food and farming system is not 'fit' to meet the challenges of climate change, long-term costlier oil, or for providing a foundation for people's health. Unfortunately, the Strategy Unit paper appears to be a 'minority report' and not the major influence over Government policy on food and farming.
At the end of 2008 the Soil Association published An inconvenient truth about food, a report on Britain's food security. This report was based on 'Rethinking Britain's Food Security' - a research report for the Soil Association, written by David Barling, Rosalind Sharpe and Tim Lang of City University London.
An inconvenient truth about food summarises:
- UK food self-sufficiency has declined over the past decade and we have become more reliant on imported food.
- Government faith in global markets is undermined by recent events revealing their volatility and unreliability.
- The vulnerability of both the UK and EU food and farming systems to the new fundamentals of Climate Change and scarcer, costlier oil is underplayed in current policy.
- There is little awareness of the lack of resilience within UK based food and farming especially in terms of sufficient, skilled labour and the supporting regional infrastructure that a healthier diet and 'a low-carbon, more resource constrained future' necessitates.
- There is no overall, future-proofed 'Food Plan for Britain'.
RSA debate
Watch the video of the panel discussion on 'Food in a world without oil' featuring our Policy Director Peter Melchett speaking at the RSA debate in September 2009: