Event Notes: Finding Food Justice within Planetary Boundaries

The Manchester Food Board Attended a ‘Nature of Prosperity dialogue’ hosted by the Centre for the Understanding of Sustinable Prosperity (CUSP) and held at Bridge 5 Mill in Manchester.

This event explored how community-level innovations can tackle health, affordability and sustainability in our food systems. How can we move to a food system that puts health and regeneration ahead of profit and ‘growth at any cost’? Can community initiatives provide sustainability, affordability and food justice?

Panel Discussion

-       Angelina Sanderson Bellamy – UWE Bristol

-       Sue Pritchard – Food and Farming Countryside Commission (FFCC)

-       Guy Singh-Watson – Riverford Organic Farm

-       Carolyn Steel – Author Sitopia

-       Hosted by Tim Jackson – Director of CUSP and ecological economist

Section one: Crises, what are the current crises in our food system?

Big food businesses

Big food businesses are a big part to blame for many of the issues in our food system. Cargill revenue increased last year by 23% to a record $165 billion. (More on Cargill’s impacts later in the article).

Given the context of the cost-of-living crisis, and food insecurity across the UK – there is clearly a disconnect. Households, where children are experiencing food insecurity, has nearly doubled in the past year. In January 21.6% of households with children reported that their children had directly experienced food insecurity in the past month, affecting 3.7 million children.  

The Governments lack of response to the National Food Strategy

The National Food Strategy was seen by the panellists as a good document with effective policy recommendations. However, there was a lack of response. Food prices were used as a stopper for many of these policy recommendations. For instance, the restriction of ultra-processed foods.

Food and Farming Countryside Commission (FFCC) are running a citizen’s assembly across the UK to ask ‘what do we really want from our food system?’. This will aim to amplify the stories of people demanding higher-quality food. This will give voice to the public and potentially combat arguments around the necessity of cheap food (regardless of quality) as well as other narratives such as the ‘nanny state’ intervention around what choice people have over their food.

Externalised cost of food production

If we internalised all of the impacts of the production and distribution of food into the price that you pay for your food, then on average the cost of food would double (link to Sustainable Food Trust). Often the two biggest costs are diet-related disease and natural capital degradation. Of course, not every price for food items will increase at the same rate. Things like livestock that impact our environment to a greater degree than other foods will more than double in price.

Wealth distribution, land distribution and availability of affordable, good-quality housing

The point was made that for a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous future food system with also need these qualities in our society. These issues are intertwined and contingent.

Section two: Policy Shift, what policies and actions do we need to get from where we are now to where we want to be?

The Beetroot Bond and shorter supply chains (food hubs)

FFCC introduced the idea of the ‘Beetroot Bond’ a universal community food bond. It would give every person a monthly dividend to spend on healthy and sustainable food purchased directly from local farmers and traders.

Nature-friendly farming and better trading standards with more accountability

Food production that is less violent and extractive and more respectful of nature is needed now more than ever. Understanding where these impacts are and shifting to reduce the carbon, biodiversity and other impacts is crucial.  

Community focused action

Food partnerships are a crucial part of a coordinated response to the issues and collective solutions in our food system. Resourcing and energy need to be put into this area.

Raise the baseline for what society thinks is acceptable from our food system

As an example of raising the baseline. Cargill (mentioned earlier in this article) is linked to pollution in the river Wye. Many of the intensive chicken farms in the area of the Wye supply Avara Foods in Hereford, which is the third largest poultry producer in Britain and is jointly owned by Cargill.

This pollution of the ecosystem of the river Wye is unacceptable and needs to be seen in the public eye as unacceptable.