Soil Association calls for more action on ultra-processed food

We welcome the government’s new vision to use local supply chains to support healthy and sustainable diets in its food strategy. But we also need more action on ultra-processed diets.

Our The Whole Truth campaign calls for the government to use its food strategy to make whole and minimally processed foods more accessible and affordable – an ask nearly 20,000 people have backed in our petition.

Today’s announcement takes one step towards making this a reality with government recognition of the importance of food culture and connecting people via local food partnerships - and with the minister speaking from a vibrant hub of Bradford’s Sustainable Food Places initiative.

Support for partnerships such as this are a key ask of our ongoing campaign. We're calling for Government’s next steps to include backing the Food for Life schools programme as a way of supporting local supply chains. Through Food for Life Served Here, caterers are already meeting the vision set out by government today by driving up demand for British-grown, seasonal, and responsibly produced food, while also helping children to eat well.

However, we remain concerned that the ultra-processed food industry is having too great an influence and may prevent this vision from being truly transformative. Today’s announcement comes just a few months after our investigation revealed that the previous government backed down from its plans to encourage promotional deals on healthy, minimally processed foods after pressure from the Food and Drink Federation, which represents major UPF manufacturers.

We're therefore hoping to see the new government act on ultra-processed foods – which make up two-thirds of British diets – via its food strategy.

We remain concerned that the ultra-processed food industry, which is heavily involved in the Food Strategy Advisory Board, is having too much of an influence on health policy.

Soil Association Campaign Co-ordinator Cathy Cliff said: “It is brilliant to see the government speaking from a market to give its support for local food partnerships with recognition that British diets need to change. This is a clear sign of the change Government wants to see, which we very much welcome, and we hope to see policies coming from this vision that support short, sustainable, healthy supply chains like those being championed by Food for Life and Sustainable Food Places.

“But the government’s vision for good food ignores the ultra-processed elephant in the room. This is perhaps unsurprising given the involvement of the UPF industry in today’s announcement and after our recent investigation found the UPF lobby blocked the previous government’s attempts to push shops to discount on minimally processed and whole foods.

“We can see from the government’s vision and from recent action to roll out more free school meals that they want to support us to eat more fruit and veg. But we need them to do more to tackle the ultra-processed diet crisis by explicitly backing the minimally processed and whole foods we know are truly good for us. We cannot transform diets with a vision that doesn’t prioritise healthy, fresh foods and ignores the way UPFs impact our health by displacing them.”

Public support for action on ultra-processed foods

So far, nearly 20,000 people have signed our petition calling for the government to make minimally processed and whole foods accessible and affordable. Also, in March 2025, we surveyed public opinions on ultra-processed foods and lobbying tactics by the industry. Surveying a nationally representative sample size of more than 2,000 people, the charity found that most – just under 70% – people think more affordable whole and minimally processed foods would make it easier for everyone to eat healthy food.

In contrast less than two per cent of people said they “completely trust” food corporations to provide advice around healthy eating, with around half of survey respondents saying they do not trust them at all.

Welcome support for healthy food partnerships

We welcome the government’s announcement, and the charity is particularly pleased to see recognition that health, sustainability, biodiversity and animal welfare need to go hand in hand. The government also set out its vision for improving the UK’s food culture with connection to local food systems, such as Sustainable Food Places.

Cathy added: “It is great to see the government recognising the importance of local supply chains and their role in building resilience while helping people to eat well. We look forward to seeing how this vision aligns with the farming policies that the government is also working on. We also welcome government recognition of the importance of ensuring people have the confidence, knowledge and skills to cook and eat healthily and we urge the government to roll out a whole-school approach to good food and back Food for Life which is already helping millions of children to eat better in schools. In Bradford, where today’s announcement was made, Food For Life Served Here is helping the local council to serve 30,000 meals per day across 115 sites. This gives children a healthy and sustainable meal every day, with caterers cooking fresh food from scratch, serving British meat and buying regionally and seasonally to support Bradford ‘s local food economy."