Britain’s Biggest Retailers Demand New Law to Protect Food Security
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More than 100 organisations, including some of Britain’s largest supermarkets, have urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce a Good Food Bill that would place food security, public health and the resilience of the country’s food system on a statutory footing.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Co-op, Waitrose and Booths are among the signatories, collectively representing more than 64 per cent of the grocery market, according to the campaign.
They have been joined by manufacturers including Danone, Greencore and Samworth Brothers, foodservice wholesaler Bidfood and organisations spanning farming, investment, academia, health and civil society.
The campaign, led by The Food Foundation, Sustain and Green Alliance, argues that food should be treated as a strategic national priority alongside energy and defence.
Its intervention comes as growers and food businesses face rising production costs, environmental disruption and continuing geopolitical uncertainty. Extreme heat, drought and wildfires are already affecting harvests in Britain and across important European sourcing regions.
Binding targets for fruit and vegetables
Under the proposals, a Good Food Bill would introduce legally binding targets covering childhood obesity, household food insecurity and fruit and vegetable consumption.
Crucially for the fresh produce sector, it would also seek to increase the proportion of food grown in Britain.
Ministers would be required to consider food when making decisions across health, education, farming, planning, trade and environmental policy. The Government would publish a Reference Diet and produce five-year Good Food Action Plans explaining how its targets would be achieved.
Local leaders would be given a greater role in shaping food policy, while an independent body would report annually on progress.
Supporters say this structure would prevent food commitments from being quietly abandoned as governments or political priorities change.
The coalition points to a 16 per cent decline in UK fruit and vegetable production since 2015, while Britain now imports 78 per cent of its fruit and vegetable supply. It says food insecurity also affects 15 per cent of households with children.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said recent weeks had demonstrated the pressure facing the food system, adding: “Food and farming should be at the heart of government policy.”
Domestic production and global supply must work together
The proposed legislation could create an important opportunity to strengthen British horticulture, encourage investment and improve access to nutritious food.
But any credible food-security strategy must also recognise the indispensable role of international fresh produce.
Britain’s climate and growing seasons mean domestic production cannot provide the full volume or variety of fruit and vegetables consumers need throughout the year. Imports also provide essential protection when drought, flooding, pests or extreme temperatures reduce UK harvests.
A target to grow more British produce should therefore complement — rather than conflict with — efficient, affordable access to trusted suppliers in Europe and the rest of the world.
That makes trade and border policy inseparable from the Good Food Bill debate. Measures intended to strengthen national resilience could be undermined if avoidable costs, inspections or delays make imported fresh produce less affordable.
The challenge for ministers will be to connect policies that have historically been treated separately: farming, trade, public health, planning, climate adaptation and household affordability.
The campaign’s breadth suggests that businesses are looking for more than another food strategy destined to gather dust. They want long-term direction, accountable government and sufficient certainty to invest.
A Good Food Bill could provide that framework. But for fresh produce, its success would ultimately be judged on a simple test: whether it helps put more affordable fruit and vegetables on people’s plates while protecting the domestic and international supply chains that make this possible.