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Eating Better welcomes National Food Strategy

News | Published  27 June 2019

The Eating Better Alliance has welcomed today’s launch of a 6-month review which will lead to the publication of a new National Food Strategy.

Government

The Eating Better Alliance has welcomed today’s launch of a 6-month review which will lead to the publication of a new National Food Strategy.  

The terms of reference for the National Food Strategy were launched today, with the strategy development and consultation process to be led by Henry Dimbleby (a DEFRA non- exec director and co-founder of Leon restaurants and the Sustainable Restaurant Association).  

The terms of reference set out the ambition for a food system in England that:

  • Delivers safe, healthy, affordable food, regardless of where people live or how much they earn;
  • Is robust in the face of future shocks;
  • Restores and enhances the natural environment for the next generation;
  • Is built upon a resilient and sustainable agriculture sector;
  • Is a thriving contributor to our urban and rural economies, delivering well paid jobs and supporting innovative producers and manufacturers;
  • Does all of this in an efficient and cost-effective way.

Simon Billing, executive director of Eating Better said: ‘We look forward to the independent review led by Henry Dimbleby to inform a National Food Strategy. This is a huge opportunity to create a 21st century food system that deals with health and climate challenges.’

‘We will support the development and implementation of the National Food Strategy. Starting by launching a ‘Better by half’ roadmap next month. The roadmap will set out a range of actions that need to be taken across government, food service and retail, food producers and investors to accelerate positive action. The roadmap will provide actions to create the environment to diversify and improve what people eat.’

‘The aim of the roadmap is to provide the right conditions for people to include more vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and pulses, as well as less and better meat and dairy.’

The launch was warmly welcomed by leading organisations in the Eating Better Alliance, who have contributed to the development of this:

Kath Dalmeny, chief executive of the Sustain food and farming alliance said: ‘A National Food Strategy could play a pivotal role in delivering sustainably produced and healthy food for everyone, as well as better livelihoods in food production. It could also support the transition to environmentally friendly farming and fishing that are now imperative. We are excited about the ideas, collaboration and optimism that the Food Strategy has already started to generate and look forward to taking part.’ 

Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation, said: ‘Today’s pledge to develop a ground-breaking new National Food Strategy will send a signal to the world that our food system needs radical reform in order to reign in its devastating impacts on our health and our planet. Let’s hope the businesses which put food on our plates see this as an exciting opportunity to be part of the solution.’

Find out more and get involved.