“Our food system is damaging the very foundations of our food security.” When Paul Behrens delivered this assessment to over a thousand policymakers and business leaders in Westminster last month, it could have been a counsel of despair. It wasn’t. That’s because Behrens, speaking at the National Emergency Briefing on climate and nature, framed the…
For decades, climate negotiations have treated food security as separate from emissions reduction. The Belém Declaration on Hunger, Poverty, and People-Centred Climate Action changed that. Forty-three countries plus the EU committed to putting the needs of those living with poverty and food insecurity at the centre of climate solutions. This high-level declaration represents a milestone…
During the Second World War, the UK reshaped farming, land use, and diets with unprecedented speed in reaction to unforeseen events. We need that scale of deliberate change again, but this time we have something wartime planners didn’t: the chance to act before crisis forces our hand. The case for acting now is already clear….
In recent years, we’ve witnessed empty supermarket shelves, panic buying, and supply chain failures that would have seemed impossible a decade ago. Chronic vulnerabilities in the UK food system—from farmer poverty to just-in-time logistics—have created a system where minor shocks can cascade into major crises. The question isn’t if another crisis will hit, but whether…
Parents skipping meals to feed their children, healthcare workers relying on food banks, middle-income families struggling to afford fresh produce—these increasingly common realities reflect something more profound than individual hardships. They provide compelling evidence that our food environments are fundamentally failing to provide accessible nutrition for all. The statistics underpinning these examples are sobering: the…
Industry insiders sounded the alarm earlier this month when an anonymous group of food industry executives released a whistleblowing memo, warning of unprecedented threats to UK food security. Their revelation confirms what many people working in and on our food systems have long understood but has rarely been publicly acknowledged by industry: our food supply…
The UK’s food and farming systems reached a crossroads with the release of the Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget (CB7). Energy, manufacturing, and other sectors are decarbonizing, leaving agriculture as the UK’s second-highest emitting sector by 2040, accounting for 27% of UK greenhouse gas emissions. This raises a fundamental question about our food system…
“Healthcare systems and hospitals are usually inert to most forces that try to get them to change,” observed a former UK government civil servant in a recent study I co-authored examining climate and health policy. “They are built to be incredibly stable and resilient systems, and do a very, very good job of resisting the…
Fragmentation has long described the UK’s approach to our food system. And with the challenges facing our food system increasing—from climate impacts threatening production to rising food insecurity and diet-related illness—this approach is failing to deal with these interconnected issues. But could 2025 mark a turning point for UK food policy? At the end of…
The numbers in the UK are staggering: Unhealthy diets cost an estimated £268 billion annually. Some 2.8 million people are out of work due to diet-related illness. Two-thirds of our calories come from ultra-processed foods that are also high in fat, sugar and salt. And three decades of government effort to address the issue involving…
As a food systems researcher, I’m deeply invested in transforming food and farming practices to work better for everyone. My recent food systems manifesto outlines key priorities—from sustainable farming to healthy food environments. But underlying all of these is a more fundamental need: to ensure access to adequate, nutritious food as a basic right. This…
Where can we find inspiration for food systems transformation? In recent years, Wales and Scotland have emerged as pioneers in progressive governance and food policy, challenging conventional approaches to wellbeing and sustainability. But why focus on Wales and Scotland? Unburdened by the inertia that often plagues larger countries, they’ve shown a willingness to experiment with…
Elta Smith is an independent researcher, writer and consultant. She is an experienced leader in making better policies for our food systems. Her research focuses on the intersection of food, the environment and human health.
She has directed and managed studies for UK, EU and international organisations covering issues not only from ‘farm to fork’, but from ‘lab to fork’, particularly the role of science and technology in transforming the food chain.
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