On the train back from Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, it’s clear we are at a crossroads in the national food debate, and that the government’s new food strategy, the Good Food Cycle, is still in its infancy.
With previous key custodians of the strategy Daniel Zeichner and Steve Reed no longer at Defra, the question now is whether this political orphan will be adopted and given a safe home, or left to drift without direction.
The first part of the Good Food Cycle was ambitious and offered a promising step towards healthier and more sustainable food systems. Its emphasis on incentivising industry to invest in nutritious, affordable food, and its acknowledgement of the interconnectedness between public health, environmental impact and economic productivity, marked a thoughtful start.
But its ultimate success will depend on the policy detail and targets that follow.
The benefits of plant-rich diets
Among the many priorities for the strategy, one stands out: fostering a national transition to plant-rich diets. The latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey paints a troubling picture.
Just 17% of adults – and fewer than one in 10 children – meet the 5-a-day fruit and vegetable target.Only 4% of children aged 11-18 consume enough fibre. Most concerning of all, and under-reported in the media, is that these figures have worsened since the last survey.
“Eat more plants and less meat” is not a fringe idea. It was central to Henry Dimbleby’s food strategy, reiterated in successive carbon budgets from the Climate Change Committee, and a key message of the 2019 Eat-Lancet Commission report, which is due for a landmark update this week.
With environmental pressures even greater than six years ago, we can expect that call to be repeated with urgency.
Embracing plant-rich diets supports the government’s own goals of food security, public health, environmental sustainability and economic growth. The policy measures needed are practical, achievable, and budget-conscious – and far more affordable than the mounting costs of our public health and environmental crises.
The Vegan Society is one of 48 organisations that submitted a set of policy proposals to Defra – the 10-Point Plan – aimed at making healthy plant-based foods more attractive, affordable, and accessible. Crucially, the plan includes support for UK farmers, especially in protein diversification and the horticulture sector.
Plant-based action plan
Other measures we proposed included leveraging public procurement to increase plant-based options, mandatory reporting by retailers on protein splits and fresh produce sales and improved training for health, nutrition and catering professionals on plant-based foods.
These are not radical ideas. Many are already being implemented in countries like Denmark, which launched its own plant-based action plan in 2023. The question is not whether the solutions exist, but whether the political will is there to implement them.
The cross-sector support certainly is. The 10-Point Plan has been endorsed by leading organisations across food, farming, health, sustainability and animal welfare, including the Food Foundation, British Growers Association, Doctors’ Association UK, UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, Oatly and Compassion in World Farming.
Survation polling commissioned by The Vegan Society found 69% of people want to eat more fruit, vegetables and plant-based foods than they currently do, and the same number believe the government should do more to help them.
At the conference, some stakeholders voiced the view that the ministers now responsible for the food strategy – Emma Reynolds and Angela Eagle – are skilled politicians who know how to deliver. Neither will want to add to the history of stalled or inadequate food strategies.
Hopefully, both have the confidence and vision to follow the evidence, respect expert opinion, and implement pragmatic policies that can deliver the urgently needed transition to healthy, sustainable, plant-rich diets.
Claire Ogley, head of campaigns, policy and research at The Vegan Society
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