OFC 2010: Benn to unveil major food strategy

The government is set to unveil its first major food strategy for 60 years.

DEFRA secretary Hilary Benn will launch the strategy at the Oxford Farming Conference on Tuesday (5 January).

Britain must produce more food, he will tell delegates.

Called Food 2030, the long-awaited strategy will set out the government’s plans for the next 20 years.

It is the first major food strategy to be published since World War Two.

The document will call for a sea change in the way people think about farming.

Agriculture must brace itself for sudden shocks including natural disasters, volatile commodity prices and uncertain fuel supplies, the document will say.

Consumers should throw away less food and adopt healthier diets, the strategy will add.

But it will also warn that farming emits too much greenhouse gas and must protect vital resources such as soils and water.

The strategy follows a government consultation last year on ways of securing sustainable food supplies in Britain.

A growing world population and poor recent global harvests has fuelled concern over supplies.

The consultation was launched in a bid to make the food supply chain “sufficiently resilient” to deal with short-term shocks and long-term challenges.

“Recent food price rises across the world have shone a light on the challenges all countries face in ensuring food supplies at reasonable prices,” said Mr Benn.

“That’s why it’s sensible to think about the impact of these challenges so that we can plan effectively for the future.”

But the NFU continues to warn that a lack of funding for agricultural research and development threatens to undermine Britain’s food security.

Investment in technology was vital to ensure food security and win the battle against climate change, it said.

Despite increasing concern, the government continued to put too much emphasis on policies that placed the environment ahead of production.