This research brief from the Centre for Food Policy summarises which government departments in Australia are responsible for food policy. An infographic shows the role of each of 11 departments that have a connection to food.

In this policy brief, the Food Research Collaboration summarises points relevant to food and diet in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Working Group 3 report, published in April 2022. The summary notes that both individual and policy-level choices about food are highly relevant to climate change and could make significant contributions to climate mitigation; that action is required on both consumption and production; that demand-side interventions can have beneficial effects for health; that individual action alone is not sufficient; and that “choice architecture” can influence demand patterns.

The UK’s National Food Strategy brought the term “agroecology” into mainstream policy discussions. This policy insight from the Food Research Collaboration traces how different definitions of the term have evolved, with varying degrees of emphasis on agroecology’s agricultural practices and political aims. The National Food Strategy defines agroecology mostly in terms of on-farm activities, rather than as inherently interlinked with wider food system shifts.

This report summarises the work of National Convenors of Food Systems Summit Dialogues in the period following the United Nations Food Systems Summit held in September 2021, with a focus on how “national pathways” are being used to guide national and regional food systems transformations. It argues that there is an urgent need for financing long-term food systems transformations.

This report by the Nature Friendly Farming Network, Pesticide Action Network UK and RSPB finds that the UK’s “Red Tractor” food standards label fails to support farmers in reducing pesticide use. It also reports a gap in perceptions of the Red Tractor label between retailers and consumers: retailers see the label as only a guarantee that farmers adhere to national pesticide regulations, while consumers are under the impression that the label indicates more sustainable production practices. The report includes excerpts of a response from Red Tractor.

In this blog post, Kath Dalmeny, Chief Executive of UK NGO Sustain, argues that the cost of living crisis in the UK should be tackled using windfall taxes on large corporations that are reporting record profits; Real Living Wages that are linked to the cost of living; strong safety nets such as free school meals for all children; extending the principle of “public money for public goods” to cover more state spending on food; joined-up local responses to food crises, e.g. through local food poverty alliances; and strong accountability in government for action on food poverty.

This report is a case study on the Greater Manchester city-region food system. It looks at how the city’s commitments on net zero and access to sustainable, healthy food can be met, drawing on interviews with 20 participants from across the food supply chain. The report discusses food waste auditing, procurement standards, procurement processes that enable small businesses to take part in contracts that otherwise have complex paperwork, collaboration between local caterers and suppliers, and investment in kitchen capacity in public institutions, urban agriculture such as allotments, and vertical farms to provide fresh food all year round.

This report, by Dr Kelly Parsons from the University of Hertfordshire for the UK’s Food Research Collaboration, examines 12 ways in which food policy can become more coherent across UK government departments, including informal communications, redesigning ministerial portfolios, and multi-stakeholder advisory groups.