The Vegan Society: Meat and dairy threaten food security

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Many essential fertiliser ingredients, including almost half the global supply of urea, pass through the Strait of Hormuz

The Iran war has highlighted the UK’s over-dependence on meat and dairy, The Vegan Society has warned.

The campaign group made the claim following the release of its new Food Security Briefing, which revealed the UK’s meat and dairy-heavy diet undermined the nation’s food security.

While written prior to the conflict commencing, ‘Reducing dependence, increasing food security: The role of plant-rich diets’ found converting land currently used to provide animal feed could feed an additional 16.5 million people in the UK.

As well as feeding more people, the society said the move would make the UK less dependent on the import of critical inputs – such as fertiliser.

“Imports, as the Iran war demonstrates, are subject to substantial and immediate volatility and price and supply risks,” said Alistair Currie, the organisation’s public affairs and policy manager. “They are also a long-term risk because of the predictable and proven environmental damage caused by animal agriculture.”

Many essential fertiliser inputs, including almost half the global supply of urea, pass through the Strait of Hormuz, as does 20% of the planet’s oil supplies.

“There is an obvious solution to this problem,” Currie, who authored the report, added. “We must produce and eat more plants and less meat and dairy.”

‘We must produce and eat more plants and less meat and dairy’

The report found the country could not feed its farmed animal and human populations “at the same time”.

“These are not our words; they’re words from the government’s own 2026 National Security Assessment report,” Currie continued. “They’re not a reaction to the latest shock to world markets, they’re an assessment of an enormous long-term problem for the UK and we should be clear that ‘current diets’ means the amount of animal-based food we eat.”

The society’s report said only a transition away from feed and grazing could ensure the country can meet its nutritional needs. This would also have to be combined with policy support for the development of protein crops for human consumption.

The measures, Currie said, include “leveraging public procurement, investing in plant protein production and raising public awareness of the health benefits of a plant-based diet”.

The report insisted this would be “practical and achievable” and would “benefit farmers, food businesses and consumers alike”.

“The UK government must take action in the forthcoming food strategy to promote plant-based foods and agriculture,” Currie said. “Only 53% of vegetables and 16% of fruit are home-grown.”

He added: “If the government doesn’t heed its own warnings, we will continue to be at needless risk of price rises and food shortages in an increasingly volatile world.”