I have worked for more than 20 years in the UK food industry, with a significant amount of that time at a company within the meat and dairy industry. I want the companies in the UK food industry to thrive – I rely on that as a professional and as a citizen and a consumer. I have dedicated decades of my life to major food companies in this country and – in response to Mike Coppen-Gardner’s comment piece, published in The Grocer on 10 November – I will not be dismissed as an activist who is oblivious to commercial realities.
We are grateful to journalists at The Grocer and other publications who have taken the time to confidentially connect with individuals involved in our group to confirm we have indeed built successful careers in major companies in the UK food industry.
The article I am responding to suggests this group has an agenda. This is undeniable. It aligns well with Coppen-Gardner’s call that we should be “supporting British farmers to continue their world-leading sustainability improvements, celebrating the nutritional value of meat and dairy, and ensuring food remains affordable while maintaining high standards”.
While this agenda is simple to set out and aspire to, those of us in the food industry know how incredibly difficult it is to deliver it in practice.
Honest conversation
This is a call for conversation that is both nuanced and honest. If we cut away the noise and look at the trajectory we are on, we are moving away from and not towards the aspirations Coppen-Gardner presents. He rightly points to the efforts already being made by many individuals and companies – without those the situation would be worse, no doubt. But they are not sufficient to fulfil these aspirations, and if we do not move away from business as usual we will pay a huge price for it.
Farmers are being pushed to intensify their livestock production. It is increasingly difficult for them to make a living without moving towards intensive industrial production. This is completely unsustainable and it is happening because we as an industry are focusing on growth of cheap and processed meats rather than looking for an economically sustainable balance within the range of foods we produce, manufacture and sell.
The profitability of our businesses cannot only be assessed on quarterly cycles. We need to look to long-term profitability as well, something the industry is failing to do effectively enough.
And yes, there is a role for government to play – anyone who works in the food industry knows that it is not realistic to expect individual companies to take major decisions that will impact market share for the sake of the greater good. It is a highly competitive industry run on small margins; a level playing field is essential.
Our industry is already intertwined with government policy, from laws and regulations to subsidies and incentives. We need to make sure government interventions are fair and help industry set a course on which it can thrive. That course has to be different from the one we are currently on and so, yes, the role of government is crucial.
Call to action
If British manufacturers and retailers desert traditional farmers for the most intensive industrial production here and abroad, it will have significant consequences for our food security, our farming community and the health and environmental goals that we have to play a role in supporting. We cannot stand by while this is happening.
Our question – indeed our call to action – is how we transition away from ‘business as usual’ to a system that is fair to producers and manufacturers, is resilient to climatic and geopolitical shocks, and provides consumers with healthy and sustainable food.
It is an issue that cuts across culture, economics, fairness, livelihoods, animal welfare, national security, health, climate change and biodiversity. We know reactions to the work we are doing will be strong – it’s food, people are passionate about it.
But we cannot avoid the realities we are facing and we have to create space for honest and difficult conversation.
We are a group of concerned industry professionals trying to highlight the need for a change to business as usual. We will not accept attempts to undermine these legitimate concerns by public misrepresentation of the content we are producing or conspiracy theories about the professionalism of those involved or the rationale for the work.
An anonymous member of the industry insider group Inside Track
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