Government seeks help to cut food industry impact

FOOD RETAILERS and manufacturers are being encouraged to help the government with a strategy to reduce the social and environmental impact of the food and drinks industry.

The draft Food Industry Sustainability Strategy, released for industry consultation last week, does not directly concern farmers but it will affect them. For instance, the proposals target rising carbon emissions by encouraging the sourcing of local food and curbing food imports.

The strategy also pledges support for farm assurance schemes. It says the Red Tractor scheme should become the “baseline” standard for all food, while higher tier schemes, such as Freedom Foods, LEAF and Conservation Grade, would receive a boost to widen their take-up.

Robin Tapper, the NFU”s head of food and farming, described the strategy as a follow-on to the Curry Report beyond the farm gate, and said it could bring benefits for farmers. “This is a very public boost for things like the Assured Farm Produce scheme, which is good, because the food industry has often stood on the sidelines on sustainability,” he said.

But Charles Trotman, rural economy adviser at the Country Land and Business Association, was not impressed by the strategy, saying that legislative action was the only way to ensure the sustainability of farming faced with pressure from the retailers.

 Bill Vorley, head of sustainable markets group at think-tank IIED, said that the failure to address the power of the retailers was a huge omission in the strategy.

 “The focus on ethical trade tiptoes around the issue of how retailers deal with primary producers. Agriculture must get its act together and tell the government what sustainability really means.”

Junior DEFRA minister Lord Whitty said the food industry had a major role to play in securing a better quality of life for everyone, and admitted there was a long way to go yet.