How do we build back a better food system? • 5 min read

The question of how we feed ourselves has become the third great meta-issue of this crisis after public health and economic impact.

We’ve seen with startling clarity how just-in-time food supply minimises resilience. India and Vietnam have suspended new rice export contracts. Agriculture in Spain and Italy is struggling without the usual labour force. Coffee, dairy, tea and seafood are also foods under strain. 

British farmers, who were in crisis mode before the pandemic, are facing a labour shortfall despite enthusiastic land army volunteers. 

Although the supermarket shelves are full again, and online deliveries have stabilised, there are huge demands placed onto food banks and community groups who are a vital lifeline for many. Donations have decreased, volunteers are limited and despite huge donations from the supermarkets, millions of people are going hungry. In response, the government has just announced £16m in funding to support food redistribution charities tackling hunger, which will be managed by Fareshare and WRAP. 

As we transitioned into a new decade, we released a report identifying a huge opportunity for the food industry to build a fairer food system using circular economy thinking, given that one-third (33%) of British grocery shoppers regularly think about the ethical impact of the food they eat. 

We said that how we choose to eat has never been more divisive and polarizing. We did not anticipate this situation. The National Food Strategy, led by Henry Dimbleby, has such a great opportunity to overhaul the British food system.

If ever there was a time to apply morally conscious approaches through circular thinking, this is it. We need a more resilient, resource-efficient food system. Whilst having to feed 10 billion people by 2050, it must quickly work to avoid the most devastating impacts of global food production such as deforestation, biodiversity loss and accelerating climate change.

Importantly, these approaches can help address the ethical issues that matter most to consumers as seen in the research – animal welfare, meat reduction, fairer farming, reforestation and food security. Food security will now have a renewed focus in the National Food Strategy because of the issues raised by the pandemic. 

There is, I believe, uncertainty and confusion around what the future of food looks like from consumers and within the industry – there are 3 ways the food system can become more ethical, which are not box-ticking exercises but enablers of competitive advantage and system change:

• Understand times have changed: Some of the food industry realises our moral compass is increasingly being defined by what we choose to eat. Much of the industry has been business as usual. Will the COVID-19 crisis change things? More people are examining the impact of food choices they make, motivated by mindfulness for the planet, people, animals and health. A growing national appetite for ethically produced food is reflecting this.
• Go circular: The issues that resonate most with shoppers – animal welfare, meat reduction, fair deals for farmers, deforestation and food shortages – can all be addressed by applying circularity in a broader, more holistic way. Some of the food waste messages are now landing out of necessity -  50% of higher-income households are working harder to use store cupboard ingredients and not waste food (John Lewis 2020). How could we have activated this change on a huge scale without a crisis? Greater awareness of regenerative farming will support a transition toward regenerative practices that could bring a huge win-win for farmers, food companies and the environment. 
• How do we do better?  Viewing circularity through the lens of ‘how do we do better?’ and reframing strategy so that morally conscious approaches can be better promoted when it comes to resource efficiency is key. This will likely require collaboration, behaviour change, new skills and the adoption of new technology.

Whether it’s moving towards mixed agriculture and better husbandry with the resulting benefits that brings for land and livestock, maximising every gram of harvested protein through better data and asset tracking, or bringing food closer to home to improve farmer livelihoods, the circular economy can act as a forceful facilitator.

DOWNLOAD: Food Ethics: The rise of the Circular Economy