Soil Association criticises government consultation on food and health

The Soil Association (SA) has responded to a government consultation on the future of food, farming, and environmental impacts, saying the paper failed to take into account public health.

Among other points, SA policy director Peter Melchett called for agriculture payments to be linked to public health outcomes and for the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) to recognise public health as a public good.

Melchett said in a report: “Less than a week from now, the Government will begin to formalise the policies and payments that will shape food production in the UK for the next generation. It is frustrating, therefore, that the ‘Health and Harmony’ consultation has, frankly, bugger all to say about human health.

“It is vital that it does so, for this could incentivise a range of vital changes to farming practice, from increasing veg production to reducing antibiotic usage, to getting schoolchildren out onto farms and into green spaces.”​

He also called on the government to increase spending to strengthen domestically grown produce, instead of importing food from abroad.

“The Government also spends hundreds of millions of pounds of our money every year buying food from abroad to serve in schools and hospitals and other public places,” he added. “Why isn’t this money being used to support British farmers, particularly those producing to high-quality standards such as high welfare, food that is good for wildlife, and organic?”​

According to Melchett, the consumption of fruit and vegetables could reduce as fresh produce becomes less affordable for UK households post-Brexit. This will potentially increase consumer dependence on ultra-processed foods.

SA policy and campaigns manager for food for life Rob Percival told Food Processing Technology: “Public health should be recognised as a public good in the context of agricultural payments. The Government should be supporting British farmers to produce more of the foods that are good for us, including fresh veg, while also harnessing the power of public procurement to stimulate demand for these foods.

“It should be doing everything in its power to tackle the threat of antimicrobial resistance, including by banning the routine, preventative use of antibiotics in animal farming and by promoting organic production systems which use significantly less antibiotics.”

Other organisations have also criticised Defra’s consultation. The British Meat Processors Association said that the absence of government support in its sector is currently the biggest threat to national meat production.

Meanwhile, environmental advocacy group Sustain presented a report titled ‘submission to the Defra Health and Harmony agriculture command paper consultation’. In which, sustainable farming coordinator Vicki Hird wrote: “There is a lack of international goals except for export yet high standards of fair trading, environmental protection and sustainable development need to apply to our footprint overseas, as well as at home. The government needs new thinking on reducing our land, water, biodiversity and public health impact overseas.”

The consultation is open for comment until 8 May.