The UK should not look solely to British farmers to feed the
nation, DEFRA secretary
Hilary Benn is set to announce at a
Fabian Society lecture on food
security today (Wednesday, 10 December).
Instead, Mr Benn is expected to tell the society that an
international agreement to help secure food supplies at home and
abroad is needed.
Ahead of the lecture Mr Benn said: "Domestic food production is
really important - we rely on it - but we cannot and should not
look just to the UK for all the food we need."
The UK should look to the security of its sources of supply.
Although global food production had outstripped population growth
over the past 50 years, there would be 9bn people living on the
planet by 2050.
"If we want to avoid too much demand chasing not enough world
supply - which raises prices for everyone, including consumers in
the UK - then we need to help create a stable food market which can
meet global demand for future generations." This was both a moral
duty and an investment in the nation's future security, Mr Benn
said. Global food production needed to double just to meet
demand.
"If food production is not sustainable as the century unfolds,
it will never be secure. Increasing production and protecting the
environment are not in competition with each other - those who
suggest they are just haven't got it."
Dependence on a food system that relied on fossil fuels must
change, said Mr Benn. It should include the smarter use of
fertilisers, tractors powered by renewable energy and harnessing
science in the form of new crops and technologies.
Referring to this week's meeting of the world's environment
ministers in Poland, Mr Benn called for a long-term plan for
meeting the challenge of food security. "As a world, we need to own
up to the true scale of the problem," he said.
"We need to look at how we can build on the work of the World
Food Organisation, the
Food and
Agriculture Organisation and others, to create a kind of new
Kyoto - a new global deal to secure the future of our food."