Plant-based policies: healing the cracks in our food system

There are deep cracks in our food system. It has great potential in ending the climate emergency but
at present comes at a high environmental cost. It generates an unequitable distribution of resources.
It does not enable healthy diets. And it is reliant on ever-growing numbers of livestock.
Our policy team works to improve the food system for all. In this document, we analyse a number of
policies which can begin to heal the cracks in our food system. We make policy recommendations in
three key areas: support for farmers, public sector provision, and access to healthy food. This
document has a wider scope than the summary document which picks out just three policies.

Area 1: Farm payments

Government must hand farmers the tools to protect the planet. This involves properly aligning the
financial support system for farmers with environmental and other benefits. There are two key policies
needed to do this.
Package of support
First, government should offer a package of support for farmers who are interested in moving out of
livestock farming towards pulse production or reforesting. The package of support should be designed
in consultation with farmers, and should include start-up capital costs.
Pulses are a much more sustainable source of protein than animal products. Rising livestock numbers
have contributed to the climate emergency, resource inefficiency, anti-microbial resistance, and
animal protection issues. The United Nations found that livestock globally account for as many
greenhouse gas emissions as all the direct emissions of all transport sectors combined. Industrial
livestock farming generates a large amount of food waste and considerable animal protection issues.
Food waste occurs as most livestock in the UK rely on feed, such as soya. On average only 12 percent
of the calories of this feed is retained, as the majority is used by the animals for movement,
respiration, etc.1 Urgent action is required on anti-microbial resistance but this is not likely possible
with such high livestock numbers. And this intensification, all too common in the UK but often
overlooked, makes good animal welfare all but impossible.
Pulse crops, by contrast, represent one of the most environmentally friendly ways of producing food.
They fix nitrogen, reducing their reliance on fertiliser and improving soil health by generating fertility.
They provide healthy, accessible food, as they contain plant protein, fibre, iron, and potassium.2 They
are low in fat and sodium, contain no cholesterol, and have a low GI index.3 They have very low
spoilage rates and can be easily stored for long periods, lowering food waste.4 They are also at the
heart of new and popular plant-based products.
The package of support should also be on offer for farmers interested in reforesting their land. Our
uplands provide a real opportunity here; a national reforestation programme could lock up 9 years’

1
Cassidy, E. S., West, P.C., Gerber, J.S. & Foley, J.A (2013). Redefining agricultural yields: from tonnes
to people nourished per hectare. Environmental Research Letters, 8: 034015. Available at:
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/034015/pdf
2
Marcela Villarreal of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, talk at the Grow Green
conference, 11th April 2019, British Library, London.
3
ibid
4
ibid

1
worth of UK emissions, as recent Harvard research found.5 Climate Finance money could be diverted
to fund this natural climate solution.
Annual payments
Second, as well as an initial package of support, annual support payments for farmers should be
properly aligned with the degree of public benefits provided. The EU’s CAP largely distributes
payments based on the amount of land owned by a farmer. The government has announced a “public
money for public goods” approach to replace this, but it does not intend to make payments
proportional to the public benefits provided, whether that is climate change mitigation, public health
benefits, or animal protection.
Plant-based, arable production is far more sustainable than livestock farming, and the financial
support system should reflect this. Arable production uses less land6 and water7 per calorie, and also
generates lower emissions on average, compared to livestock farming. There are two fundamental
reasons for this. Many livestock release large quantities of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. And
livestock farming usually involves feeding crops to animals which represents a large loss of calories
and protein, as only 12 percent of the calories are retained in animal products.8
Overall, these policies will help British farming shift gear. They will help overcome the economic
barriers which stand in the way of sustainable production.

Area 2: Public sector provision

Public sector provision can help link production to consumption. The food that our schools
and hospitals serve should be of good quality and should showcase a nutritious, sustainable
approach to food.
Plant-based food has the potential to boost sustainability and public health. And patterns
of eating are already changing in this direction. Reports suggest that one in three people in
the UK has stopped or are reducing their meat consumption9, and one in three is regularly
buying plant-based milks.10
Fair access
Those who do have a commitment to a vegan lifestyle can expect fair treatment and to be
provided with suitable food by public sector institutions. One reason for this is that

5
Harwatt, Helen and Matthew Hayek, 2019. ‘Eating away at climate change with negative emissions:
Repurposing UK agricultural land to meet climate goals’. Available at:
https://animal.law.harvard.edu/publications/eating-away-at-climate-change-with-negative-emissions-
harwatt-hayek/
6
Hallström, E., Carlsson-Kanyama, A & Börjesson, P. (2015) ‘Environmental impact of dietary change:
a systematic review’ Journal of Cleaner Production, 91, pp.1-11. Available at:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652614012931
7
FAO (2006) Livestock's long shadow: environmental issues and options. Rome: Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations. Available at:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM
8
Cassidy et al 2013
9
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/nov/01/third-of-britons-have-stopped-or-reduced-meat-
eating-vegan-vegetarian-report
10
http://costsectorcatering.co.uk/sites/default/files/attachment/pages_plant-
based_profits_alpro_and_bb_foodservice_insight.final_pages.pdf

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veganism has been found to come under the scope of the Equality Act 2010 as a protected
non-religious philosophical belief.11
However, in practice this provision does not eventuate. The Vegan Society is regularly
contacted by people in vulnerable situations, who are reliant on others to cook for them
but struggle to access food in line with their ethical commitment to veganism. For instance,
vegan children at school or patients in hospital often face difficult circumstances.
Solution
To address this growing problem in the public sector, a simple solution is to legislate to
guarantee a plant-based meal option on every public sector canteen menu. In practice, this
would mean that plant-based meals are available to everyone on standard menus, without
anyone having to make a special request. This will ensure that everyone, including the most
vulnerable in our society (children, hospital patients and prisoners) will be able to access
nutritious, sustainable food when using public services.
Wider benefits
This policy would also secure wider benefits for people more generally. We believe that all
citizens should not just have a right to food, but also a right to nutritious and sustainable
food. Better provision of plant-based food can play a large role in making this happen.
This is in part because of the health benefits associated with increased consumption of
plant-based foods. Plant-based diets typically contain plenty of fruit and vegetables,
meaning less saturated fat and plenty of dietary fibre. The British Dietetic Association12 and
the NHS13 recognise that totally plant-based food is suitable for every age and life stage.
Additionally, research has linked vegan diets with lower blood pressure14 and cholesterol15,
as well as lower rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes16 and some types of cancer.17 Building
familiarity with plant-based food in public sector settings could help address some of the
many diet-related public health crises affecting the UK and putting strain on the NHS.
And environmentally, plant-based diets are the best off-the-shelf diets in terms of
greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, eutrophication and soil erosion. This was
confirmed by researchers at Oxford University, who, last year, concluded that eating a
vegan diet could be the “single biggest way” to reduce an individual’s environmental impact
on the planet.18 The United Nations has also urged a global move towards a meat and dairy
free diet for the benefit of our planet.19 Individually, one can reduce their food-related
greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by switching to a vegan diet.20 Increasing demand for
plant-based food should help to encourage production to shift, cutting greenhouse gas
emissions from UK agriculture.
Food has a social role to play, and providing plant-based food can boost inclusivity, as it
can be enjoyed by almost everyone, including those looking to reduce their animal product

11
https://www.thelawyer.com/vegan-rights-uk/
12
https://www.bda.uk.com/news/view?id=179
13
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-vegan-diet/
14
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12372158
15
https://www.nature.com/articles/ejcn2013248
16
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/veganism-and-diabetes
17
https://www.wcrf-uk.org/uk/media-centre/press-releases/new-research-shows-vegan-diets-could-lower-
prostate-cancer-risk
18
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987
19
http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1262xPA-PriorityProductsAndMaterials_Report.pdf
20
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-014-1169-
1?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=commission_junction&utm_campaign=3_nsn6445_brand_PID4003003
&utm_content=de_textlink

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consumption for their health or their environmental commitments, vegetarians, and
vegans. It is also straightforward to make plant-based dishes suitable for people with
religious dietary requirements, including people who follow the Islamic, Jewish, Sikh or
Hindu faiths. Offering more plant-based food in the public sector is a great way to ensure
that no-one is left out and that everyone is catered for. Institutions can save money by
drawing on the inclusive nature of plant-based food.

Finally, guaranteeing the availability of plant-based food will increase many people’s
knowledge and skills in relation to nutritious and sustainable food. There are many
misconceptions around plant-based food, for example, that it is plain and not tasty, that it
doesn’t provide enough nutrition and that it is expensive and difficult to prepare. By offering
delicious, nutritious, simple and affordable plant-based food these can shown not to be
true. This can remove some of the barriers that stop people from preparing and eating
nutritious and sustainable food at home.
Broad support
The policy has received the backing of important institutions and individuals. The recent
Committee on Climate Change report states that ‘the public sector should take a strong
lead by offering more plant-based food’.21 And the suggestion of guaranteeing a plant-
based meal on public sector menus has publicly received the backing of around a dozen
Labour parliamentarians.22 The public sector can set a great example of best practice when
it comes to offering sustainable, nutritious food to the public, hopefully providing a catalyst
for personal behaviour change along the way.
Legislation which guarantees access to plant-based meals in the public sector has already
been in place in Portugal23 since 2017. California is in the process of introducing similar
laws.24 It seems likely that more and more nations and states will adopt the idea, which is a
cost-effective way of securing so many benefits. The UK has the opportunity to lead the
way, meaningfully tackling climate change and diet-related public health crises, whilst also
protecting the legal rights of an ever-growing number of vegans.

Area 3: The right to healthy and sustainable food

In the UK, poor diet has an estimated cost of £6 billion a year25 on NHS budgets due to preventable ill-
health. Evidence indicates that this can be addressed through the promotion of healthier, plant-based
foods. Despite this, healthy food remains inaccessible for many, particularly those on low incomes.
It is therefore crucial to address the social and economic inequalities that have been identified as
determinants for poor consumption behaviours, and to acknowledge that poor diets are
predominantly a result of the fact that many are simply unable to afford nutritious and sustainable
food. Whilst healthy food as a guaranteed universal right should be aspired towards, we must address
existing health and social inequalities in order to make this possible.

21
P. 186 Net Zero Technical Report
22
See, e.g., https://www.vegansociety.com/take-action/campaigns/catering-everyone/legislation/whos-
backing-it
23
https://metro.co.uk/2017/03/10/it-is-now-illegal-not-to-offer-vegan-food-at-prisons-hospitals-and-schools-
in-portugal-6501872/
24
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB1138
25
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-obesity-and-the-food-environment/health-
matters-obesity-and-the-food-environment--2

4
Subsidy
There are economic barriers which hamper people’s consumption choices. Fast-food outlets tend to
be located disproportionately in low-income areas.26 By contrast, fruit and vegetables can often be
expensive. This adversely affects the ability of residents in poorer communities to be able to access
affordable, healthy food. Moreover, residents are likely to have less money to spend on cooking
facilities, pushes them towards convenience foods that are cheaper (and unhealthy), or else towards
consuming less food altogether. A fruit and vegetable subsidy of just 10% would enable citizens to
make healthier choices, and would be a long-term investment into treating health inequalities27 by
encouraging people to try things they would otherwise not have purchased because of their price.
Education
Promoting a healthy diet within the education system would also supplement this. For instance,
implementing a free scheme offering local fruit and veg in schools, as well as compulsory cooking
classes, would address considerable barriers to healthy food habits.28 Promoting healthy habits at an
early age makes it more likely that they will persist into adulthood.29 Such community-based practices
as these have already been noted as being beneficial as a ‘holistic’ approach to addressing practical
needs.30
Geography
The factors which affect access to healthy food are varied and many. They include poorer quality
housing, which limits the ability to safely store and prepare healthy foods.31 In addressing such
barriers, it would also be beneficial to implement a legal duty on local authorities to address the
geographical barriers to accessing nutritious foods. These often affect those living with a disability, on
a low income, or in old age.
National legal framework
In order to ensure that the right to food is upheld by the state, it is also imperative to create a national
framework law which protects and realises every element that consists of this. The International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a UN human rights treaty, has already outlined key
elements to the right to food:32 adequacy; sustainability (food that should be accessible for present
and future generations); availability (quality and quantity that is sufficient to satisfy dietary needs of
individuals – mix of nutrients, etc) and access (affordable without having to compromise other basic
needs, such as heating). Access to plant-based food products meets these criteria. Enhancing the
status of ICESCR in domestic law would therefore ensure that this right is upheld. This also asserts that
a Universal Basic Income which reaches everyone, should underpin these individual policies. This
would address the social and economic determinants of poor dietary choices, and improve food
security.
In order to tackle wider societal concerns, we must acknowledge that structural reform is required in
our welfare and food production systems and ensure that we aspire towards a universal right to food.

26
BMA Diet-Related Illness 2016
27
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/boer.12085
28
http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/POST-PN-0522/POST-PN-0522.pdf
29
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28931384
30

https://orca.cf.ac.uk/107601/15/O%27Neill_An%20exploration%20of%20solutions%20for%20impro
ving%20access%20to%20affordable%20fresh%20food%20with%20disadvantaged%20Welsh%20com
munities.pdf
31
BMA Diet-Related Illness 2016
32
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet34en.pdf

5
We need to create policies that enable and ensure the right to sustainable, nutritious food, and place
food sovereignty at the heart of the creation of a sustainable food policy. Improving access to healthy
foods is not sufficient – we must tackle factors such as poverty, deprivation and inequality, which are
influential in causing negative health outcomes, and empower citizens to make healthier choices for
their overall quality of life.

Conclusion

There are at least four deep cracks in our food system. The food system 1) comes at great
environmental cost and its contribution in ending the climate emergency is untapped; 2) raises issues
of access and generates an unequitable distribution of resources; 3) does not enable healthy diets; 4)
and is reliant on ever-growing numbers of animals, whose well-being is systematically neglected.
In this document, we have addressed food production (area 1), and food consumption from an access
point of view (areas 2 and 3). We have outlined how a plant-based approach can begin to heal those
four cracks that mar our food system and the individuals which compose it.
1) The climate emergency is best addressed via a plant-based approach, as a great deal of evidence
suggests that this is the most carbon-light. 2) Equity can be addressed by retaining existing
government support for farmers but distributing it in a fresh way which takes account of public
benefits. Issues of access are complex, but policies such as a fruit and vegetable subsidy will help to
make nutritious, sustainable food more accessible. A plant-based approach is more efficient in terms
of resource use, food waste on-farm, and greenhouse gas emissions, so that on an international level
this approach is more equitable. It will minimise the adverse consequences the UK’s system has on
other countries. 3) There is evidence suggesting that more plant-based diets are needed to rebalance
current patterns of consumption. Supporting the production and consumption of pulses, fruit, and
vegetables is necessary to boost health and the well-being which accompanies it. 4) A plant-based
system is not reliant on livestock, and will also reverse the worrying trend towards intensification of
animals both in other countries and our own.
Many of the suggested policies divert existing funds, will lead to longer-term savings, or are cost
neutral to begin with. Moreover, the food system is too central to society to be ignored.
The public expects government to lead where the food system is generating problems for society.33
With the government having accepted the net zero target, radical action is now required. And as eating
patterns and attitudes change, the time for these policies is now.

33
p. viii, Wellesley, L. and Froggatt, A (2015) ‘Changing Climate, Changing Diets: Pathways to Lower Meat
Consumption’, Chatham House.