UK government sets out strategy for healthier, more sustainable and affordable diets

The UK government has announced its food strategy white paper that it said will help ensure it delivers its ambition for a “prosperous agri-food sector, and that healthier and more sustainable diets can be achieved by all”.

It follows the government-commissioned independent review of the food system, the “National Food Strategy” led by Henry Dimbleby and builds on existing work across government.

The objectives for this strategy are to deliver:

• a prosperous agri-food and seafood sector that ensures a secure food supply in an unpredictable world and contributes to the levelling up agenda through good quality jobs around the country
• a sustainable, nature positive, affordable food system that provides choice and access to high quality products that support healthier and home-grown diets for all
• trade that provides export opportunities and consumer choice through imports, without compromising our regulatory standards for food, whether produced domestically or imported

The government said to achieve these objectives it will, among a host of measures, seek to:

• broadly maintain the current level of food we produce domestically, including sustainably boosting production in sectors where there are post-Brexit opportunities including horticulture and seafood
• halve childhood obesity by 2030, reducing the healthy life expectancy (HLE) gap
  between local areas where it is highest and lowest by 2030, adding 5 years to HLE
  by 2035 and reducing the proportion of the population living with diet-related
  illnesses; and to support this, increasing the proportion of healthier food sold
• reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the environmental impacts of the
  food system, in line with our net zero commitments and biodiversity targets and
  preparing for the risks from a changing climate
• contribute to our export strategy goal to reach £1 trillion of exports annually by 2030
  and supporting more UK food and drink businesses, particularly small and medium
  sized enterprises (SMEs), to take advantage of new market access and free trade
  agreements (FTAs) post-Brexit

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