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Our country has lacked an effective food strategy for far too long.

Food is one of our most basic needs. It provides a job for millions of workers. It contributes £146bn a year to the economy. But the costs of living with obesity, for individuals and for the NHS, are far too high. We need more than just calories from food and the food industry.

We need good food that is affordable and appealing, and can grow our world-leading food industry in a way that is good both for our health and for the planet.

That’s why we will work in partnership with the food industry and with my colleagues across government on the Food Strategy – leveraging industry’s expertise and experience, including through the Food Strategy Advisory Board, to develop an approach that works best.

The bottom line is this: we are committed to backing British food. We want to increase investment in food production at all levels, leading to more profitable farms and cutting-edge manufacturing.

That means more jobs, food that is better for our health, and more exports to get the best of our British food on plates around the world. UK businesses will benefit from more trade, consumers will enjoy better quality food, and our children will live brighter and longer lives thanks to healthier diets.

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We know that to achieve these ambitious aims, our food system needs a clear vision and a plan that will provide stability. We also know that we need more food that is good for us. Because children born today are growing up shorter, fatter and sicker than those in previous years.  

Many in the food industry recognise the need for change, and want to be part of that change. 

This is why our strategies for health and food go hand in hand. All large food businesses will be required to report on how much healthy food they are selling. And in the future, we will be setting realistic targets for those sales to improve people’s diets and health.

Businesses will have the freedom to meet those targets in whatever way works for them, and in doing so, help make healthy food choices the easy and popular choices.

By shining a light on what we’re buying and selling, we can start shifting the balance to more nutritious food.

And we’ll do it by spurring investment in our world-leading food system. Investing in the future of our food industry, for the health of our country.

We will update on next steps for the Food Strategy after speaking with sector representatives and the Citizens Advisory Council later this month, and work with the food industry to ensure it is supported by the government to be successful into the future.

 

Steve Reed, secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Wes Streeting, secretary of state for Department for Health and Social Care

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