The Future of Food

Earlier this month, we hosted a panel discussion in Totnes Civic Hall on the Future of Food. The panellists included Chantelle Norton (Food in Community Director), Guy Singh-Watson (founder of Riverford), Paul Bradbury (Incredible Edible Totnes Project Manager), Poppy Okotcha (grower and advocate for access to land) and George Monbiot (author and journalist). The event was facilitated by Emma Hopkins, Events Lead at Totnes Climate Hub and member of Mothers Manifesto who are calling for policy change on issues around food security. 

L-R: Poppy, Emma, Guy, Paul, Chantelle and George at the Future of Food event

The aim of the event was to come together as a community to explore issues around the vulnerability of our food systems. We recognise that this is driven by issues of social injustice as well as the climate and nature crisis. 

Over 200 people attended, drawn by our fantastic speakers and the opportunity to discuss and share insights on a topic that affects us all. Our panellists started by sharing the major issues from their perspective. They then discussed responses they would like to see globally as well as locally here in Totnes. 

What are the major issues around food in the UK and globally?

Paul believes that food isn’t properly honoured in the UK. We have lost touch with harvest traditions, forgotten our ancestors’ knowledge about what constitutes a healthy diet (e.g. fermentation, food combinations) and stopped planning for crop failures and dire impact this can have. 

Guy highlighted how agriculture is the cause of 33% of global warming (including food transportation). It is also responsible for 50% of biodiversity loss. A major driver of this is the move away from mixed farms to single enterprise farms. The free-market approach incentivises specialisation and large-scale efficiencies.

George shared his view that the global food system today has many similarities to the global finance system leading up to the crash in 2008. There has been a move towards standardisation to allow the effective flow of food around the world. But the downside is a reduction of resilience in the system. And unlike in 2008, we can’t bail out the food system by creating future food. We need to acknowledge the problem before we can hope to solve it.

Grain is the hardest food system to crack

There was a long discussion about the major issues around grain. George explained how grain is the opposite of horticulture. It is hard to localise because it doesn’t grow well in all regions. It responds very well to scale, but most countries do not have enough fertile usable land suitable for growing grain. 

The majority of our calories come from grain. However, only 25% of the world’s population can be sustained by grain grown within 100km of home. Most arable land in the UK is used for grain. However, to grow it sustainably (e.g. using crop rotation methods), we would need three times the space. 

This makes us vulnerable to dependency on a small number of countries where grain can be grown. If there is global instability or a crisis in one of these countries, grain production and transport will be immediately affected. We saw this recently with the war in Ukraine. 

Food security is a national security issue. Millions of people could be thrown into starvation if war, climate crisis or corporate exploitation affects global grain production. 

What are the local and global solutions to these issues?

The panellists stressed that there are no silver bullet solutions. There needs to be a diversity of solutions to address the scale and complexity of the issues. Some of the solutions discussed by the panel include: 

• Improved policy and political will for change

The event was held on the eve of the UK General Election. Emma started by asking the panellists what the incoming government should prioritise. 

Chantelle recommended they make the national food strategy into a Food Bill. She also highlighted the need to transform food procurement for institutions like schools, hospitals and prisons. 

Guy explained that we desperately need an agricultural policy rather than abandon it to the marketplace. It’s irresponsible to leave it to supermarkets and global corporations to set the direction. 

Poppy called on the new government to immediately implement the Climate and Nature Bill.

• Honesty about where our food really comes from 

Guy called out the fact that we live in a world where everyone lies and gets away with it. Supermarkets lie about where the food on their shelves is from. Tesco chicken purports to come from ‘Willow Farm’. In reality, it’s produced by companies owned by the global corporation Cargill. Those chickens are reared in hideous conditions and have never gone outside. 

This dishonesty makes it impossible for ethical providers to differentiate themselves. Guy declared his opinion that it should be illegal to wilfully mislead consumers.

• Changes in personal consumption habit

George stressed that an important step is eating less meat and animal products. All the panellists agreed, but Chantelle highlighted that further research is needed into fully plant-based diets to ensure that the nutritional needs of people with differing requirements such as children and the elderly are met. 

However, we can all commit to eating less meat and dairy. This would also help to solve the grain issue outlined above by reducing the amount of grain needed to feed livestock. 

• Citizen engagement and action 

Poppy shared statistics about gardening in the UK. Gardens cover an estimated 10 million acres of Great Britain and 87% of UK citizens have a garden. There is a huge grassroots opportunity for citizens to learn about food production by using some or all of their garden to grow food. 

Realistically, most of us can’t grow enough food to feed ourselves. But by engaging in the growing process, we can start to understand the cycles of growing and become better informed.

Paul stressed the importance of growing food in towns and cities. Incredible Edible demonstrates how to grow in small spaces. They have communal herb planters at Steamer Quay and vegetable beds at Totnes Station. 

Chantelle remarked that when communities work together, everyone can contribute. Get involved, leverage your strengths and passions in the movement! 

Totnes Climate Hub hosts a range of events and workshops on topics from composting to climate science. We also hold monthly advice sessions on ethical finance and green energy. Visit our Events listing for more information.