The shift towards diets based mostly on plants will drive a huge transformation of the agricultural landscape and supply chains. Local food production needs to transform to deliver food that is healthier and more sustainable.
A key aspect of this is growing more plant foods for human consumption in the UK, including vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, fruit and pulses. Given the need for change and growing public understanding of this, it is crucial that farmers start preparing to meet this demand now and build the systems and infrastructure for future plant production.
Being sensitive to the limits set by local ecological conditions, farmers can explore how farms can produce more plants for human consumption, by:
- Assessing the suitability of the land for sustainable horticultural production.
- Investing in suitable crop production.
- Focus on soil quality: explore options for soil improvement, such as mixed farming and other ways of returning nutrients to the soil.
- Engage to develop supply chain infrastructure and logistics to support the storage and transport of larger quantities of plant foods.
