Member News
By David Bowers - 28th September 2010
ePolitix.com reports from the British Retail Consortium fringe at Manchester where shadow environment secretary Hilary Benn warned that reliance on international markets for food supplies was no longer sufficient.
Shadow environment secretary Hilary Benn said the food industry was the largest in the UK employing 3.6 million people. DEFRA's Food 2030 strategy had identified the changing climate and the pressure on natural resources as the challenges that the UK faced. Reliance on international markets was no longer sufficient, he said.
Benn noted that land in Africa was being brought up by overseas investors to secure food supplies. Water was in very short supply and would have to be used in a far more sustainable manner, both internationally and in the UK, he said.
Turning to sustainable diets, Benn broke this subject down into eating healthy and growing food in a sustainable manner. As countries like China became wealthier their dietary habits changed in ways that put more pressure on the system.
Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium stated that the industry wanted to build on the Food 2030 strategy. The focus now needed to be on delivery, with retailers working with both consumers and suppliers to change how food was brought to market.
WWF-UK's Mark Driscoll explained that the One Planet Food programme was concerned with reducing the environmental impact of food consumed in Britain, both the 60 per cent produced domestically and the 40 per cent imported from overseas. The UK's ecosystems were undervalued, he stated, noting that food contributed 23 per cent to the country's ecological footprint.
Melanie Leech of the Food and Drink Federation said that the sector was economically and strategically important but had been largely overlooked by government. However, leadership was now needed to set out how the environmental challenges could be met, she said.
The strategy needed to set out how people could be helped to eat healthy and sustainable diets, Leech said. Adding that both consumers' and producers had to change their behaviour.
Asked about the threat to the food supply chain, Leech highlighted the need to produce more from less. The UK was well-placed to respond to this, she said, but a global vision was needed.
The WWF's Mark Driscoll agreed that a global perspective was needed. Price volatility in a number of global commodities was already a concern, he said, highlighting the impact of the Russian fires and flooding in Pakistan. Climate change would exacerbate these problems, making water resources scarcer and further worsening the problems of volatility.
Andrew Opie stated that there was a need to invest in skills and research to ensure the industry remained vibrant. International factors were crucial, he agreed, noting that wheat prices were rising because demand was increasing globally. The EU's attitudes to GM were also highlighted as an area of concern given its acceptance in North and South America.
In the question and answer session that followed, Andrew Opie explained that retailers were working with schools to help pupils grow their own food. Education was important, but parents too had to be among the target audience, he said, noting that many were not comfortable with cooking food from fresh.
Opie noted that there was sometimes a lack of coordination between government departments on healthy eating messages.
Melanie Leech stated that the food industry needed skilled workers and in this regard education was vital in order to attract people to the sector.
Education for sustainability was fundamental, Mark Driscoll said, stating that it was vital to reconnect young children with how their food was produced.
The National Trust had opened up many of its gardens to allow local communities to grow food and this was a great initiative, alongside Food for Life and city farms, Driscoll added.
The Labour administration had put cooking back on the national curriculum, Hilary Benn added. There had been a surge of interest in self-grown food and this had three benefits: it helped prevent flash-flooding; it produced food; and it was good exercise, he said.
The shadow environment secretary spoke to the need for consumers to develop better relationships with farmers, including through better labelling.
On the issue of workers rights, Opie noted that the food industry was covered by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. BRC members worked with their supply chain to ensure their workers' rights, he added.
Benn attacked the coalition's intent to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board, noting that this was only suggested because some people wanted to cut wage rates. Even Thatcher had not abolished the board.
Asked about the responsibility of advertisers, Leech acknowledged that they had a role to play in helping consumers change their behaviour. This was the reason for the previous government's Change for Life programme, she said.
Opie pointed out that many supermarkets had concentrated their advertising on how to cook meals from scratch. In addition retailers had made moves towards selling lower cost fruit and vegetables, he said.
The primary responsibility rested with parents, Benn stated. The Change for Life programme had had to strike a fine balance between entertainment and information, he said.
The Labour administration had worked to reduce the amount of salt in products, to encourage better labelling and to promote behavioural change, he said.
Driscoll stated that the advertising of high-fat, high-sugar products to children should be banned.
On food labelling, Leech noted that the decision on nutrition labelling standards would be made in Europe. The UK was far ahead of the debate as other member states were still deciding whether to put labels on the back of packets, she noted.
There had been much debate over the various labelling system, but retailers were "genuine in their approach", Opie said. Firms wanted to help their consumers, he said, adding that there was still a great deal of consistency in labelling.
Driscoll pointed to WWF-UK's support for sustainability labelling, although this was proving difficult as there were many trade-offs and a plethora of other labelling schemes, such as Fair Trade or Red Tractor.
WWF-UK was working with retailers such as Marks & Spencer to develop 100 per cent sustainable fish by 2020, Driscoll said. He argued that consumers expected retailers to limit their choice where one of the options was very environmentally damaging.
Lord Rooker of the Food Standards Agency noted that nutrition and labelling had been removed from the FSA's remit by the coalition. He noted that Marks & Spencer, the Co-Op, Sainsbury's and Asda had supported traffic light labelling, but this was vehemently opposed by German food manufacturers. He said that future decisions on UK labelling would be taken by the department of health behind closed doors.
It was a great shame that the department of health had taken over the nutrition agenda, Driscoll said, warning that splitting this from sustainability was counterproductive.
Leech paid tribute to the FSA's work noting that the industry had confidence that its decisions were based on science and reasoned debate.
Transparency was fundamental, Benn added, arguing that an open process enabled the FSA to gain the confidence of consumers and producers.
Driscoll pointed out that 40 per cent of food was wasted in the journey from farm gate to consumer and spoke of the cultural barrier that existed. He advocated a dialogue between producers and consumers to educate the latter on what was acceptable produce.
On food waste Opie explained that supermarkets did not want to put anything on the shelf that consumers did not want to buy. Companies could still be fined if some products did not meet certain standard, he said.
Benn explained that things could be done to bring unused land forward to allow people to grow food. He said that he had worked at DEFRA to develop contracts to give landowners the right to turn land over temporarily and be confident that they could get it back.
Asked about GM technology, Melanie Leech noted that the challenges of feeding the world meant that everything that could play a part had to be considered. Other countries had already adopted GM technology, but this was resisted by European consumers and legislations, she said. A reasoned and rational debate was needed, she said.
Opie expressed his dismay at the decision to scrap the FSA's research project on GM products. He observed that there was no demand for GM, suggesting that this was down to a lack of benefits for consumers.
Both Opie and Leech highlighted the potential benefits of nanotechnology. Opie noted that the latter might find greater acceptance in packaging rather than food itself.
Driscoll stated that WWF-UK took a precautionary approach on GM and continued to support the European moratorium. He argued that GM was not a silver bullet, but added that other technologies could play a role alongside greening the supply chain and addressing consumption issues.
However, 76 per cent of soy feed imported into the UK was GM, Driscoll said, acknowledging the need to remain realistic.
Consumers were confident that retailers had taken care of issues around pesticides and the condition of workers within the industry, Opie said. He argued that information was available, but that most people were not interested in finding out.
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