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Today @foodresearchuk releases Open Letter from @ProfTimLang Prof Erik Millstone @SPRU & Prof Terry Marsden @sustainablecu. Open Letter urges @10DowningStreet & UK Government to address continuing failures in UK food policy and to halt fd policy drift. https://foodresearch.org.uk/download/15501/ 1/8
Everyone understands the world not just UK faces major crisis in covid. But UK (6th richest country in world) is compounding this with self-inflicted food damage. Post-Brexit, we see food inequalities, obesity, unequal regional powers, and weak food emergency planning. 2/8
We list key food fault-lines which must be addressed now. (1) Need to build proper civil food defence. By this we mean build a resilient civil society engagement and infrastructure for delivering food security for all. @UKhomeoffice Civil Contingencies Act 2004 is failing. 3/8
(2) Food policy making in this complex crisis is still being left to industry. Little public voice or civil society engagement. 3 years from @michaelgove mooting @food_strategy, we see @Defra @MPGeorgeEustice bringing little to Parliament on food. Food democracy is failing us 4/8
(3) Govt seems blind to poor nutrition standards. Took a footballer (who knows value of good nutrients) to kick sense into @GavinWilliamson @educationgovuk but no long resolution. Welfare foods & food bank use normalised. We propose @DWP strict application of @PHE_UK Eatwell. 5/8
(4) No wonder there's drift. There's a weak, warped advisory system on food. Ministers meet food industry (important) @Defra 'war room' but take little note of society except via its lens. We propose a food emergencies advisory group to be added to SAGE under @uksciencechief 6/8
(5) drift can be reversed by 12 immediate Actions @10DowningStreet to institute now. Bring forward @food_strategy now. e.g. Commit to reduce food banks and build sufficient costs for decent healthy sustainable diet into Universal Credit. Resilience Forums to include food. 7/8
Open Letter https://foodresearch.org.uk/download/15501/ reminds @10DowningStreet promises to 'level up', 'build back better', 'we're all in this together' will fail unless the food front is addressed. Stop the drift is not just what 3 Profs urge. It's what should happen to fulfill those promises 8/8
