Eating Better

Change needs to happen. If we continue with our current status quo and food system, then we can say goodbye to healthy food, clean air and water, and the seasons as we know them. With the weight of this pressure resting on our shoulders, for good reason many of us working on changing the food system in whatever form, are worried about getting it wrong. Fear of failure is a huge barrier to change, and reframing our approach might be an effective way to get a rare school of thought adopted more broadly; that change is possible. As the late David Graeber said, “The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently”.

Roshni Shah from Sustain and Idman Abdurahaman from Eating Better reflect on the content and learnings from our second workshop, and share resources to support further research.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) just published its 7th Carbon Budget (known as CB7). This set out the legal limit for UK net emissions of greenhouse gases over the years 2038 to 2042. It also contained the different options available for the UK Government to choose and the different ‘pathways’ to get to net-zero, with advice for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to be published later in 2025. This is a vitally important milestone in fixing our food system. But what does it all mean for healthy and sustainable diets?

A recent Telegraph article claims that young people are turning away from plant-based diets and rejecting the push to eat less meat using findings from our Public Attitudes Survey 2024. But is that really what’s happening?

Last month Sustain and Eating Better held the first of three workshops on ‘How to be an anti-racist organisation’ with the support of Social Justice Collective. The aim of the first workshop was to focus on self reflection and understanding as we know that a lack of confidence around language and terms is a barrier for people to engage with anti-racist practice.

Eating Better is pleased to welcome three new organisations to the alliance to strengthen the movement and bring expertise in farming, animal welfare, health and the environment.

We are excited to release the updated Better by Half Roadmap, Eating Better’s guide for achieving nutritious, healthy and sustainable diets across the UK, with a focus on less and better meat and dairy. This revision builds on its creation in 2019. It is a reflection of our shared objectives as an alliance, formed through collaboration between our 68 member organisations.

Eating Better’s Better by Half roadmap calls for producers to maximise UK-based plant production in a sustainable way. Key to this is paying growers fairly and embedding accessibility across the business. We spoke to Sean Ruffell, Managing Director of Organic North in Manchester, about how they are supporting farmers and supplying organic produce to businesses across the UK.

A new UK Government was elected earlier this month, with the widely expected result of Labour replacing the Conservatives as the governing party and Keir Starmer becoming our new Prime Minister. This presents an exciting opportunity for a change in direction on UK food policy.

Through an ever-changing political landscape, global pandemics and groundbreaking climate agreements, Eating Better has been bringing together civil society to work towards a healthier and more sustainable food system for all.

Eating Better is pleased to welcome the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC) to the Eating Better alliance.

Pulses are versatile, nutritious and delicious no matter your age. We spoke to First Steps Nutrition Trust about their new guidelines for South Asian cooking for children and how pulses are key to a balanced diet.

In the heart of Hackney, amidst the vibrant tapestry of cultures and communities, our plant-based charity doesn't just teach cooking classes; it empowers, educates, and nourishes, tackling food injustice and insecurity head-on. We spoke to Made in Hackney about how at the core of their mission lies a humble yet powerful ingredient: pulses.

On April 22nd, the Scottish Government’s consultation for a Good Food Nation plan closed. This consultation followed the passing of the Good Food Nation Act in 2022, where the Scottish Government put into law their vision for Scotland to be a ‘a Good Food Nation, where people from every walk of life take pride and pleasure in, and benefit from, the food they produce, buy, cook, serve, and eat each day’. 

Eating Better is pleased to welcome seven organisations from a wide range of expertise to the alliance.

Pulses have been a source of protein and a staple ingredient across the globe for millenia. We spoke to Lina Saad, chef and cookbook author, about the link between healthy living and pulses in Lebanese cuisine.

It’s no secret that here at Eating Better we are buzzing about beans! ‘Anything is Pulse-able’ is a month-long campaign highlighting the benefits of beans, peas and lentils for our health, our pockets and our planet.

Ramadan this year is from 10th March and is an important celebration in the Muslim calendar. We spoke to Lina Saad, chef and cookbook author, about the link between community and family, and fasting and feasting for Ramadan

In honour of this LGBT History Month, we've invited the Manchester-based Queer Food Project to shed light on how they foster community and cultivate a sense of belonging through food.

It’s no secret that we are batty about beans! This World Pulses Day we spoke to Glasgow Community Food Network to learn more about how their new campaign is bringing more pulses to Glasgow.

Burns Night is a Scottish tradition stretching back over 200 years. We invited Kat Riach from Greener Kirkcaldy to share the history of the event and a delicious plant-based haggis recipe.

Celebrating its 15th year, the Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) 2024 brought an exciting opportunity for the food and farming sector to come together and share progressive ideas on food system transformation.

Eating Better is pleased to announce the appointment of Julia Kirby-Smith as its new Chair of Trustees.

COP28 has concluded, leaving a trail of headlines in its wake. Join us as we delve deeper into these outcomes, unravelling the key decisions that will shape the future of global food systems.