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The Future of Sustainable and Healthy Eating

Some reflections on the UK debate about Sustainable Diet Policies, Priorities &

Strategies

Tim LangCentre for Food Policy, City University London

Voedingscentrum10th anniversary conference ‘Together we explore the Future’, held on the SS De Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands,

November 16, 2010

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Introduction• 2000s: UK slowly realises C20th food is unsustainable• But what is a sustainable (low impact+healthy) diet?• What do we do about it, if we knew?

– Leave it to markets? – Have a strong force (Govt, companies)? – Do nothing?

• The C20th food system is in stress (new/old):– Environment: climate change, H2O, soil, etc– Health: from under-consumption to over- & mal-cons’n– Social: inequalities are high within & between countries– Economy: prices don’t reflect those tensions let alone £/$

• Policy frameworks are contradictory but…• Sust Diets has crawled onto the UK policy agenda• The Coalition Government is pushing it back (May’10)

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Cabinet Office 2008 report: what made this happen?

UK Government policy, 2000s

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1. The growth of UK policy on sustainable food production &

consumption

From fragments to ‘low carbon + healthy’

2000s: tectonic plates move• Environment: climate change, soil, water etc.• Resilience: 2000 Lorry strike ‘5 days from shortages’

– Food resilience in question: MoD / Cranfield Defra study / Chatham House

• Economy: 2006-08 commodity price spikeFood Matters (HMT PMSU): Companies worry about UK buying power

• Health: 2000-07 obesity crisis grows National Audit Office (2001), Wanless (2002+04),

CMO (2003), Commons Health Comm.ee (2004), Chief Scientist’s Foresight report (2008) 6

Meanwhile, institutional reform• 1990s: MAFF in crisis over food safety, BSE…• 1997: Blair and ‘new’ Labour elected• 2000: creation of FSA, Environ’t Agency, SDC• 2001: Curry Commission focus on enviro + farm

modernisation• 2006-08: global food rises G Brown review• 2008: Cabinet Office Food Matters report• 2009: SDC Setting the Table Integrated

Advice to Consumers• 2010: Defra Food 2030 commits to Sust Diets

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2. Slow realisation sustainable production is not enough.

Sustainable consumption has to be addressed

Policy has a difficult mix:• A material world with limits• A biological world which is fragile• Human physiology created c.500k yrs ago• A food system delivering ‘feast day’ food daily• Price signals which don’t internalise costs• Advertising and marketing distorting needs by

amplifying wants• Government reluctant to direct consumers• Consumers who believe they have choice

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The result?

• Unsustainable Food Production• Unsustainable Food Supply Chains• Unsustainable modes of Retailing• Unsustainable Diets • Unsustainable Waste

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3. What can we do?

What can we do? Options• Focus on consumers?

– Label, educate, inform, appeal to do ‘right thing’• Focus upstream?

– Change food composition, ‘choice-edit’• Alter land use?

– Meat & dairy are key ‘hotspot• Do nothing?

– But pressure is building up• Leave it to EU? Others?

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T Lang view: this requires ‘Omni-Standards’ across food

T Lang (2010) Environment & Planning A, August

Quality:• Taste• Seasonality• Cosmetic• Fresh (?)• Identity / authenticity

Social values:• Pleasure• Localness (identity)• Animal welfare• Working conditions• Equality• Cost internalisation• Trust

Environmental:• Climate change• Water• Land use• Soil • Biodiversity• Waste reduction

Health:• Safety• Nutrition• Access / affordability• Information & education

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Complexity could be done: OmniStandards in a label + traffic lights

source: Sustain © 2007

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UK public consciousnessCurrent appeals• Eat locally• Dieting• Low / no meat• Sustainable fish• Organics• Waste & recycling• Old ways of eating

Connotations with the past• World War 2 diets• Rationing• Thrift (due to constraint)• The past

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4. This is the terrain the SDC’s Setting the Table report set out to clarify

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UK’s Sustainable Development Commission project 2009

• A scoping project – ie opening not final words• Taking issue across gov’t: DH, FSA, Defra, EA etc• Contracted to Oxford University BHF HPG• 3 processes:

– Literature review– Stakeholder consultation – Review existing positions & interventions

• Developed a hierarchy of priorities• Report done, consulted + Govt and sent to Defra

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Key findings• no definition of ‘sustainable diet’ yet agreed but

stakeholders see need for one• Identified 10 key guidelines for sustainable diets• Reviewed 44 published academic research studies

and reports• Found more positive synergies (win-wins) than

tensions (win-lose) eg– Lowering consumption of low nutritional value foods

(fatty/sugary foods & drinks) has mainly +ve impacts on health, environment and reducing social inequalities.

• Found gaps in the evidence, most notably with respect to economic impacts of dietary changes.

• Produced a 3-level hierarchy of behavioural impact

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Identified existing UK framework guidelines = ‘soft’ cultural advice

• Consume less food and drink

• Accept different notions of quality

• Accept variability of supply

• Shop on foot or over the internet

• Cook and store foods in energy conserving ways

• Prepare food for more than one person and for several days

• Reduce food waste• Reduce consumption

of meat and dairy products

• Reduce consumption of food and drinks with low nutritional value

• Reduce consumption of bottled water

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Changes where health, environmental, economic and social impacts are likely

to complement each other:

• Reduce consumption of meat & dairy products

• Reduce food & drink of low nutritional value (fatty, sugary foods + tea, coffee & alcohol)

• Reduce food waste.

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Changes likely to have a significant positive sustainability impact, but

where gains in one area might have a more negative impact elsewhere:

• Increase fruit & veg consumption, particularly seasonal and field grown

• Consume only fish from sustainable stocks• Eat more foods produced with respect for

wildlife & environment e.g. organic food

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Changes making smaller contribution to dietary sustainability, with largely complementary effects across issues

• Reduce energy input by shopping on foot or over the internet

• Cook & store food in energy conserving ways• Drinking tap water instead of bottled water

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Reviewed practical initiatives

• Found 40 on sustainable food supply– Govt local food growing projects

• Assessed 12 for the breadth of sustainability • Only 3 initiatives had good sustainability scope• Few had adequately evaluated possible impacts• Some +ve moves towards consistency

– eg Healthier Food Mark for public sector caterers

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Recommendations include:• DA(F) to oversee cross-Govt guidelines

– Step 1: FSA Eatwell Plate become Sust Diet – Step 2: develop full sustainability guidance

• Defra, FSA, DAs – seek EU position– develop evidence on behaviour change

• Food Research Partnership explore ‘hotspots’ eg meat & dairy, fish, soy, palm

• Explore implications for consumer behaviour and supply chains

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5. Where to now?

Policy positions in UK vary• ‘It’s all dangerous, so avoid, ignore & resist’:

– Small business, some big business, right wing• ‘Business-as-usual’ (consumer responsibility):

– Pragmatists, some sections of business• ‘Sustainable intensification’: (production focus)

– Chief Scientist’s Foresight project (reports late 2010), FAO Sust’ble Crop Intensific’n Div

• ‘Whole system change’:– Policy outer circle eg SDC, NGOs, green business

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If we are serious, Sust Diet means…

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Change from …

…to… …with trouble ahead over…

Nutrition guidelines

Eco-nutrition guidelines

linking calories with carbon

Food products Total diet Eco-brand imagesControl green claims

Verifiable standards

Advertising and marketing

Global all year sourcing

Sustainable seasonality

Defining sustainability

Low cost food as a good

Full cost accounting

Consumer expectations

We’ll change what & how we eatFOOD WHY WHATMeat Cancer; water;

land useOffer less; mainly or only grass-fed

Coffee / tea Water; labour conditions

Less; only fair trade; drink water

Fruit All year round? Seasonal Fish Health vs. fish

stock collapseEat less; only MSC?; alternatives

Vegetables Health; water; GHGs; Kenyan beans?

Seasonal greens

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Companies engaging• International companies:

– 2002: SAI launched Groupe Danone, Nestlé, Unilever

– 2009 (Oct 16): G30 top TNCs initiative Coca-Cola, Tesco, Unilever, News International

– 2010: World Economic Forum process (out 2011)• UK companies:

– 2007: IGD Food Industry Sustainability Strategy Champions Group focus on low carbon + ethics

– 2008: Tesco gives £25m Manchester SCI– 3 retailers’ choice-edit M&S Plan A, Co-operative Group, Waitrose

• A product specific approach, not overall diet

Governments start to act (but focus on consumer choice)

• Sweden publishes Environmentally Effective Food Choices (2009) = 1st Sustainable Diet document• Appeals to responsible consumers & agri-food chain

• Germany: Council on SD’s shopping advice• NL: Towards Sustainable Production &

Consumption (June 2008)• France: INRA-CIRAD sustainable food systems (2009-11)

• UK: Integrated Advice to Consumers (led by Food Standards Agency)

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Civil society / NGOs• Bubbling UK ‘democratic experimentalism’

– Sustain: www.sustainweb.org.uk – WWF: One Planet Diet– CIWF: ‘eat less meat’ campaign– Friends of the Earth: meat campaign– Fife Diet (Vancouver 100 mile diet)– Food4Life project (2006-11): school food

• International NGO debates about:– Need to go beyond ingredients to processes– Full labelling being too complex; can lead to ‘blame

the consumer’? [SDC agrees]31

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6. Meanwhile a new UK government is elected

(May 2010)

New Coalition Government• Focus on cuts:

– Axeing central gov’t and arms-length bodies– FSA, HPA, SDC, RCEP, CFPA, SACN, etc

• Hints that Food 2030 strategy to remain in some form with focus on delivery

• Health Responsibility Deals to ‘work with not against business’ (Alcohol, fitness, food, behaviour, work)

• Infrastructure uncertainties ahead– Research, Skills, Education, Standards

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Policy future is less certain• Language of ‘Sustainable Diets’ is out, but

‘low impact diets’ might be in• It’s unclear what this means:

– Omni-standards or just low carbon?• Meanwhile some business worries & acts:

– PepsiCo UK commits to lower many impacts by 50% in 5 years (but not to sell less Pepsi!)

– Tesco audits for embedded water– Sainsbury has its ‘Storecard’ (private system)– M&S Plan A, Co-op, etc = ‘choice editing’

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Conclusions• Food system symbolises wider challenges

– It’s complex but not incomprehensible– It requires multi-level /-sector /-disciplinary work– It links material, biological, cognitive and social

• The UK discourse on Sust Diets is normal: faltering, subject to pressure, messy, but interesting

• Can we generate leadership & incentives? Yes, but how and who acts is up for grabs

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Thanks!

t.lang@city.ac.uk