A coalition of prominent food industry leaders, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Waitrose and the Co-op, alongside charities such as Barnardo’s, Amnesty International UK and WWF-UK, have collectively appealed to Andy Burnham to prioritise food security in the national agenda. They emphasise making it as significant as energy and defence security. The letter, which also includes health campaigners, investment firms and farming organisations, underscores that the next “food shock” is inevitable rather than a possibility.
The letter highlights concerning trends, noting that British production of fruit and vegetables has declined by 16% since 2015, with 78% of supply now imported. This increased dependency and diminished domestic capacity reduce the nation’s resilience to future disruptions.
“Each new shock lands on a food system with less capacity to absorb it.”
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It calls for the government to elevate food as a priority across all departments and levels, ensuring that decisions about health, farming, planning and trade contribute to securing better access to healthy and sustainable food for all communities.
The coalition warns that inaction disproportionately affects those with fewer resources, with food insecurity already impacting 15% of households with children. Economic challenges are pushing healthy diets out of reach for many, resulting in increased pressure on the NHS.
To address these issues, the letter urges Andy Burnham to introduce a Good Food Bill - a legally binding framework designed to enhance national food and nutrition security, promote public health, and strengthen food system resilience.
The push comes amid pressures such as international conflicts raising fertiliser costs by approximately 40% since last year and frequent extreme weather events, including this summer’s widespread European wildfires, threatening crop yields. The Government’s National Security Assessment has also highlighted global biodiversity loss as a direct risk to the UK’s food supply.
Food prices in the UK are projected to be 50% higher by November compared to mid-2021 levels at the onset of the cost-of-living crisis, according to analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). Campaigners warn that as prices rise, families often resort to cheaper, less nutritious food options, reducing fruit and vegetable consumption.
The proposed Good Food Bill would for the first time enshrine food policy within a statutory long-term framework, setting legally binding targets to reduce childhood obesity, increase fruit and vegetable consumption and domestic production, and lower household food insecurity.
Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts commented: “Recent weeks have shown just how much pressure our food system is under. We need a more resilient food system that attracts investment, backs British farmers and helps keep affordable, nutritious food on tables across the nation. Food and farming should be at the heart of government policy, helping to build a stronger and more resilient future.”
Richard Hall, Vice President and General Secretary for North Europe at Danone, added: “Poor diet, especially amongst children, is one of the biggest challenges facing the UK today. Addressing it will require Government, industry and civil society to work together on practical, evidence-based solutions. The Good Food Bill provides an important framework to improve public health while giving businesses the long-term certainty they need to invest and help deliver that change.”
Anna Taylor, Executive Director of The Food Foundation, stated: “The UK food system is dangerously exposed to shocks far beyond our borders. Over the last few years, we have seen this play out through rising food prices and increasing diet and health inequalities, with the price gap between healthy and less healthy food at the widest it’s been for over a decade. At the same time, farmers are struggling to make ends meet. What we need now is a Good Food Bill that sets out a long-term framework for building resilience in the UK food system - one that holds successive governments to account and protects businesses, citizens and farmers alike.”