The answer to the question of whether we can afford nature-friendly food is, of course, that we can’t afford not to. The health, nature and climate challenges we are facing all stemming from the same problematic source – an unsustainable food system designed for a climate that no longer exists.i
Our food security, or nutritional security to be more accurate, as well as our wider security – such as from floods and wildfires - depends on thriving ecosystems such as the healthy soil, water and insect populations we need to grow food.
Great nature-friendly food should be for all
The current complex food system - harmful to wildlife, farmers, workers and livestock as well as our health - is effectively propping up the cheap food supply, profiting food companies, but with the costs ultimately born by all.
Unless governments recognise this and support farmers far better, build strong supply chain regulations and invest in new food structures, the problems will grow.ii Recent reports on food companies confirmed that progress will be incredibly challenging without government support.iiiiv
But will this mean higher food prices? What about families on low incomes, struggling with low pay, precarious jobs, inadequate welfare and hungry kids who cannot have these issues top of mind? It does not mean they don’t care.
Healthy, nature-friendly food should not just be for the affluent.
It should be for all and food banks and more junk foodv should not be the solution. Farmers too get this but are often powerless. They are so far removed from the retail shelf full of processed foods and have too little control of what happens to their produce and how much it costs.
Bridging the gap
How can we bridge the gap between what low-income consumers can pay and what nature-friendly producers need?
A recent three-year initiative, by Sustain and partners, piloted practical ways to ensure agroecological, organic, nature-friendly food producers could get the revenue they needed whilst selling to low-income families.
Nine pilotsvi across the UK, reaching 80,000 people trialed innovative approaches to ‘bridge the gap’ – between fruit, veg and pulses, grown using organic and regenerative methods by small and medium size farmers, and what people on low incomes could afford – in both retail and school settings.
People in the pilots reported a strong improvement in their sense of health, wellbeing and autonomy from being able to choose food they think is best for them, in an enjoyable and dignified way.
The findings suggest detailed routes to fix three key barriers and ways to scale up these approaches:
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the supply (boost British agroecological fruit, veg and pulse production)
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the missing middle (supply chain, infrastructure, fair pricing); and
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the access (enable low-income good eating – with public procurement, vouchers and other financial tools).
It is doable but needs major changes, as our Homegrown report showed.
The pilot data shows that connecting organic, sustainably grown produce from small and medium-sized farms with low-income households can generate £8.78 in social value for every £1 of public investment, matched with £1.10 from shoppers.
Put simply, it means more jobs, better health, and a cleaner environment.
Going beyond fruit and vegetables
We need more such pilots covering all the UK’s dietary needs, from bread to proteins, exploring ways to get it working for arable and livestock farmers. Barriers will include infrastructure and prices. For instance, we know abattoir closure is a huge issue for low impact and conservation grazers and the low price of many imported arable ‘commodities’ will be hard to beat.
But much of the grain, protein and fats - industrially produced with chemicals and monocultures - goes into junk, or ‘discretionary’ foods. These are foods that we don’t need but are so heavily marketed that it is hard, in many cases impossible, for consumers to avoid them. Changing the food environment, the high street, advertising and marketing, school meals and more are all critical to ensure consumers can choose good affordable foods.
How do we make nature-friendly diets accessible and desirable?
This is a hard area for change as the current food system relies on the harmful practices which its low prices, uniformity and just-in-time delivery approaches have created.
But we urgently need change for a nature and climate resilient and nutritious food system for the 70% of the UK land that is farmed. This means far better support for farmers in the nature transition, strong regulation of the whole supply chain and curbs on marketing junk food, plus new measures to build better markets that work for farmers and consumers, cutting out the costly and extractive intermediaries.
If you'd like to know more, join us for a live panel discussion on Wednesday 7th January at 6pm. We'll be exploring the future of UK food systems, food prices, and the vital role nature must play in creating resilient, healthy diets for all.