Britain launches first major food plan in 60 years

BRITAIN’S first major food strategy for 60 years, which Environment Secretary Hilary Benn will launch at the Oxford Farming Conference today, will call for a sea change in the way people think about farming.

Rising to the Challenge is the theme of the conference, which will explore how farmers can respond to the immense agricultural challenge of feeding a world population of 9 billion by 2050 with minimal environmental impact.

The British Government strategy, which will set out its food plans for the next 20 years, will warn that agriculture must brace itself for sudden shocks, including natural disasters, volatile commodity prices and uncertain fuel supplies.

It will encourage consumers to throw less food away and to adopt leaner and healthier diets, to promote higher crop yields and to urge food producers to reduce the impact they have on the environment.

The document will also recommend a move towards accepting GM crops to create a “sustainable and secure food system for 2030”.

The strategy will also warn: “It is now clear that we face a big challenge in feeding the world. With a growing population, climate change and the pressure we are putting on land, we will have to produce more food sustainably.

“We also need to provide the right information for people to make more informed choices about what they eat. Diet will have a huge impact not only on our health and our economy, but most importantly on sustainability.”

Prime minister Gordon Brown will say in a foreword to the report that Britain faces “big challenges which mean we need to think differently about food”.

He will say food production must increase “without damaging the air, soil, water and marine, resources, biodiversity and climate that we all depend on.

“We need to feed more people globally, many of whom want or need to eat a better diet. We need to tackle increasing obesity and encourage healthier diets.”

Conference chairman Heather Peck said agriculture faces a huge challenge – feeding 9bn with less land, water, and oil, as well as greater climatic extremes.

The conference will also debate how businesses manage risk in the context of increased production and consumer and environmental demands.

Kerry Group chief executive Stan McCarthy will give a speech addressing how to manage a world-class food business built from strong co-operative roots

Professor Patrick Wall, School of Public Health and Population Science, University College, Dublin, will speak about the food safety and supply challenges facing the food and farming sector today and in the future.