Food and agriculture policy | TableDebates

Routledge Handbook of Urban Food Governance

Routledge Handbook of Urban Food Governance

This book brings together a range of issues in the field of urban food governance, covering the history of the field, its frames, theories and concepts, practices in case studies including the United States, Brazil and Tanzania, different scales and actors, and envisaged futures for urban food governance.

Aligning food systems with climate and biodiversity targets

Aligning food systems with climate and biodiversity targets

This report from UK-based think tank Chatham House assesses global policies on climate, biodiversity and food. It argues that current plans to protect the climate and nature up to 2030 are not ambitious enough, and that only a transformation of the global food system can meet goals on biodiversity and climate mitigation. It argues that immediate priority should be given to both reducing farm-level impacts of livestock rearing and reducing overall production of animal-sourced foods, thus freeing up land to restore nature and sequester carbon, particularly in higher income countries.

Food Research Collaboration

News and resources

Blog: Our food safety standards are in unsafe hands

In this blog post published by the Food Research Collaboration, Prof Erik Millstone argues that upcoming legislation (the Retained EU Law (Reform and Revocation) Bill) could threaten food safety standards in the UK. The Bill, although not aimed specifically at the food sector, will enable the revocation of European Union laws in the UK. Millstone notes that Prime Minister Liz Truss has expressed support for deregulation of the food sector, for example by removing the sugary beverages tax. Food Standards Scotland has also warned that food standards relating to food labelling, chemical contaminants and hygiene levels could be lost unless new laws are introduced rapidly.

Food, Farming & Countryside Commission

Proposed framework for land-use decisions in England

The UK’s Food, Farming & Countryside Commission has published a proposed land use framework for England, following Defra’s announcement that the government will publish its own strategy in 2023. The FFCC distinguishes its proposals from the government’s current strategy in two ways: the FFCC argues that any land use framework must encompass all uses, including both rural and urban; and it argues that both top-down and bottom-up planning approaches should be used at the same time.

The Attraction of Agroecology and the barriers faced by new entrants pursuing agroecological farming and land work

Supporting new entrants to agroecology

This report from the Landworkers' Alliance sets out how the UK government can help new farmers enter the agroecology sector. Based on a set of interviews with new entrants to the sector, it sets out current barriers to entry, including difficulties in accessing land, housing, capital, training, markets and industry connections as well as negative perceptions of farming jobs.

Net Zero, Food and Farming in the UK

Net Zero, Food and Farming in the UK

This book discusses how the net zero transition and associated changes in land use, farming and diets could affect the UK food system.

Image: tadaphotos, Field Farm Grain, Pixabay, Pixabay Licence

Journal articles

Agroecology and healthy diets can help meet EU food targets

This paper, co-authored by TABLE research director Elin Röös, sets out five storylines for the development of agroecology in the European Union and models the impacts of each scenario on progress towards several established or proposed policy targets. It finds that significant dietary change and waste reduction are necessary if agroecological farming is to contribute to meeting the policy goals.

Victory is in the Kitchen! Wartime lessons for today’s food systems? A blog by Eleanor Boyle

‘Victory is in the Kitchen’: Wartime lessons for today’s food systems?

During World War II, the British government transformed the domestic food system, implementing laws to cut food imports, encourage citizens to grow more of their own food, reduce food waste, and ration scarce foods such as meats, butter and sugar. In this blog post, educator and food writer Eleanor Boyle draws out the lessons that this historical case study offers for transforming today’s food systems in the face of the environmental crisis. She argues for reducing food waste, introducing modern versions of “British Restaurants” to offer low-cost meals and, controversially, rationing some foods including beef and dairy. About the author: Eleanor Boyle is an educator and writer in Vancouver, Canada. Formerly a journalist and college instructor, she holds a BSc in behavioural science, a PhD in neuroscience, and more recently, an MSc in food policy from City University London, working with Professors Tim Lang, David Barling, and Martin Caraher. Her publications include High Steaks: Why and How to Eat Less Meat (New Society 2012) and Mobilize Food! Wartime Inspiration for Environmental Victory Today (FriesenPress 2022). Eleanor has deep ties to Britain through family, study, and travel.

Chart 2050

News and resources

Audio documentary: Reflecting on the first animal welfare law

The Culture & Animals Foundation (CAF) has launched the first two episodes of “Martin’s Act at 200,” an audio documentary that explores the origins and legacy over two centuries of the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act, which was signed into UK law 200 hundred years ago and is widely considered the first piece of animal welfare legislation from a modern political body. Three series of six episodes each will eventually be released, examining animal advocacy around the world.