The Co-op and M&S are among 100 retailers, food businesses, and NGOs that have called on the government to improve the UK’s food system and ensure food security for future generations.
The retailers are requesting the government to introduce a ‘Good Food Bill’, aimed at protecting citizens, farmers, and the food business.
This would be a piece of legislation that would set out targets and ambitions to improve public health, reduce inequalities, protect the environment, and improve UK resilience, they said.
The call comes as government research last month warned that the UK could face food shortages, increased food prices, and a threat to national security in the increasingly likely event of continued biodiversity loss and the collapse of vital ecosystems.
The Food Foundation executive director Anna Taylor said: “A Good Food Bill would provide the durable policy foundation needed to transform the food system for generations to come.
“Governments can achieve important wins within a single term, but only legislation can lock in change, providing certainty and protecting progress from shifting political priorities.
“With food strategies and legislation already in place across the devolved nations, this is a timely opportunity for Westminster to introduce legislation that benefits the whole UK.
“We are calling on the government to seize this moment, commit to new primary legislation, and lead the change needed to build a food system fit for the future.”
M&S Food director of food technology Andrew Clappen added: “To ensure national food security, we need a strong cross-government commitment which is supported by industry to increase domestic food supply.
“We support this call for a Good Food Bill, to refocus our national approach to build sustainable supply chains, increase investment in climate resilience, and support farmers and growers to put nutritious food on our plates.”
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