These sessions provided space to explore some of the areas set out in policy proposals Eating Better published in collaboration with our fellow food and farming alliances towards the end of 2025.
Last summer the UK Government announced their Good Food Cycle vision and as part of this are developing a new food strategy. At Eating Better we formed the Food Strategy Alliances - a partnership with fellow alliances Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming, Wildlife and Countryside Link, Obesity Health Alliance and Plant-Based Food Alliance UK - and published 17 recommendations to the UK Government to support the development of the food strategy. We wrote to the DEFRA Secretary of State Emma Reynolds, outlining the need to:
- Create a joined-up healthy food and sustainable farming plan - backed by legislation
- Put nature- and climate-friendly farming and growing at the core of the Food Strategy
- Make healthy, sustainable, culturally appropriate diets affordable and accessible to everyone in the UK
Image: List of Food Strategy Alliances policy proposals and how they overlap with Good Food Cycle priority areas.
These proposals cover the range of measures needed to address many of the issues facing our food system. Research has shown food price rises across the world due to climate change, meaning people are struggling to afford to eat the foods they need for a healthy and nourishing diet. Food Foundation analysis shows that just 4% of adults in the UK meet their fibre intake needs. EAT Lancet 2.0 set out further evidence about the need to address high meat and dairy consumption in the UK and across the developed world. There have been positive responses to the challenge; with businesses such as Lidl GB introducing plant-based sales targets and calling on the UK government to mandate similar targets for all retailers to create a level playing field. Meanwhile, Denmark is on the front foot with policies to benefit health and transition towards a sustainable food system, by introducing the recently launched ‘Danish Action Plan for Plant-based Foods’.
Progress so far
Progress is steadily being made in the UK - albeit not at the scale and pace needed - with a flurry of recent food related policy announcements and measures:
- The UK Government announced an increase in inheritance tax relief threshold for farmers
- Minette Batters' Farming Profitability Review was published, which included a call to address supply chain fairness and change the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator.
- The Animal Welfare Strategy for England was also announced at the end of last year with important announcements on farmed animals and trade.
- The ban on junk food TV adverts (before 9pm) and online ads (any time) has just come into force (listen to Kat Jenner’s Pod Bites episode on this here).
- At the Oxford Farming Conference, Emma Reynolds announced horticulture and poultry sector growth plans.
- Outside of England, the Scottish Government’s first Good Food Nation plan was also published recently.
Questions from Eating Better
Despite the positives in these announcements, a question mark remains for us at Eating Better over how these different strands of work fit together:
- How can the UK Government’s upcoming food strategy connect these different strands?
- Can it provide a framework which works for farmers, citizens and food businesses?
- How do the recent announcement for a poultry sector growth plan fit with tackling our over-reliance on industrial livestock production?
We know food policy and farming reform has consistent public support, and is also supported by an overwhelming majority of farmers.
83% of farmers recently polled said funding should be used to encourage less industrial meat production.
UK Government policy and legislation must act as the connector, providing a framework for the many different aspects of the food system to support rather than block one other. Under pressure from industry, it’s also important that the Government includes all stakeholders in the decision-making process to ensure a fair and just Food Strategy.
Eating Better and our members are keenly awaiting the publication of a promised Food Strategy Action Plan in spring this year, as well as a response from DEFRA to our Food Strategy Alliances recommendations. In Spring, we’ll also be publishing the next in our series of messaging guides, which will focus on influencing policymakers.