114 things the Gov has pledged to do in its new Food Strategy
The new UK Food Strategy was officially published today (13 June 2022) - with the official press release majoring on a focus on 'research, innovation and pioneering technology' to strengthen supply chains and boost domestic food production, while boosting jobs and the economy along the way. But it's been criticsed for being vague and lacking vision.
Much of what was in it - and also what was not - was already known of course, with a leaked draft copy making its way into the hands of The Guardian for a splash last Friday.
Since then, it's attracted significant column inches and air time, with the confirmation that a sugar and salt tax for England was not on the table. And also because Restaurateur Henry Dimbleby - its own food advisor, who carried out an independent review of the food system - has said the policy document is not detailed enough to be called a strategy.
"They've now implemented more than 50% of what I recommended, but it hasn't been done with one vision across the whole system," he told the BBC.
‘Proposterous’
Jim McMahon, Labour's shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, was (perhaps predictably) scathing: "This is nothing more than a statement of vague intentions, not the concrete proposals to tackle the major issues facing our country. To call it a 'food strategy' is bordering on the preposterous."
Joanna Lewis of the Soil Association said: "It is deeply disappointing that a PM who was so personally affected by the link between Covid outcomes and poor diet should turn away from the opportunity to break the ‘junk food cycle’ and give people a food system that supports rather than undermines their health and wellbeing."
NFU President Minette Batters welcomed the strategy as "a clear milestone", saying that she was pleased the "government is recognising the importance of domestic food production, maintaining our productive capacity and growing more food in this country". But she warned the white paper must develop into "clear delivery and investment".
And Kate Norgrove, executive director of advocacy and campaigns at WWF, said that "words must be matched by urgent steps".
Devil in the detail
As with all strategies, the devil is often in the detail, especially if you (or your clients) have specific regulatory or policy interests. But wading through several thousands words of Web copy is tedious.
Thanks to some text mining and analysis, our 'We Will' tracker gives you handy list of every pledge the Government has made in its new Food Strategy, allowing you to quickly see all of what is coming (or might be coming) down the line that’s relevant to you - and work out what communications and advocacy actions you need to take (we can help with that as well).
Away from the main headlines widely reported, chunking up the data in this way has revealed 10 interesting things the Government has said it will do, which caught my eye;
release 10,000 additional visas under the Seasonal Worker Visa Route
announce an independent review to tackle labour shortages in the food supply chain
consult on implementing mandatory public reporting [for industry] against a set of health metrics and explore a similar approach to sustainability and animal welfare.
create a new simpler regulatory regime to allow researchers and breeders to unlock the benefits of technologies such as gene editing
work with growers to develop a world leading horticulture strategy for England
make things easier for consumers by reviewing regulations around low and no alcohol products
undertake a programme of randomised control trials of interventions in the food system to encourage and enable healthier and more sustainable diets for all.
promote a ' whole school ' approach to food , with governors , teachers and caterers committed and empowered to work together towards a healthier food culture .
require public organisations to report on the food they buy, serve and waste in a similar way as we will expect large companies to report on food sales under the Food Data Transparency Partnership.
consider widening the scope of the [Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services] policy to be mandatory across the whole public sector.
