Responding to today’s food and farming summit at Downing Street,
co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, said:
“A food and farming summit is welcome at a time when food prices
continue to soar [1]. Such a summit is something the Green Party
called for over a year ago [2].
“However, with the emphasis on supermarkets and major food
manufacturers, it feels like this summit is lacking the
transformative vision that we need. The door to Number 10 seems
blocked to many UK small scale farmers and food producers who
have creative ideas on supplying healthy and affordable food
while at the same time showing how agriculture can help tackle
the climate and ecological emergency.
"The Green Party has long supported regenerative agriculture,
farming that works with nature rather than against it. A major
focus here should be building farming systems that capture
carbon, whether through organic farming or agroforestry, as well
as the restoration of peatlands.
"There is a growing public trend towards more plant-based diets
which provide new opportunities for UK farmers as well as easing
the climate pressure from meat and dairy production. We need a
horticulture plan to replace the plan withdrawn last month but
focused on local production for local markets rather than the
mechanised vegetable factories favoured by the supermarkets [3].
“We should be seizing this opportunity to look at the successful
farming methods which capture carbon, improve soil quality and
increase biodiversity.”
Notes
1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65596502
2. https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2022/03/11/greens-call-for-emergency-food-security-summit/
3. https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fruit-and-veg/horticulture-alliance-resigns-from-government-roundtable-ahead-of-sunak-summit/679218.article
