UK unprepared for food emergencies and threats to supplies, experts warn

The government is unprepared for disruptions to food supplies which are exposed to "shocks and threats", experts have warned.

The charity Foodrise has sent an open letter to No 10 signed by more than 180 academics, farmers and community food leaders, calling the UK "complacent about food as a national security matter" and saying there is no one responsible for feeding people in a crisis.

The signatories state that food supplies are vulnerable to climate heating, cyber attacks and software malfunction - calling the current system "highly wasteful" and "environmentally unsustainable".

They also warn that "international food supplies can be weaponised".

Foodrise cites a national security assessment published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in January, which said the UK "does not have enough land to feed its population and rear livestock".

As it stands, the UK has no national food storage, and its "Prepare" guidance on Gov.uk advises households to keep stores for emergencies lasting for a few days.

Last month, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting told The Sun that people should stock "some tinned goods that you can access if your electric goes" in the event of a disaster or war.

The letter's signatories are now calling on the government to commission an audit into its "current reliance on a few very large food firms".

They have recommended the creation of a new system of local food resilience, which would see individual committees enabling local emergency responders and their partners to prevent food emergencies.

A new national council of food security, defence and resilience should also be set up as a partnership between Defra and the Ministry of Defence, the letter urges.

Rather than "top-down" government advice, the experts also want households and communities to be directly engaged on food resilience, security and defence.

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Professor Tim Lang, emeritus professor of food policy at City St George's, University of London, said: "We need system shift: grow more food; more regionalism, diversity and storage at multiple levels, not just households; and public engagement in civil food defence.

"Central government must provide more strategic leadership while encouraging actions at different levels. Communities and households cannot resolve fault lines in the UK's food system."

A government spokesperson said: "Food security is national security which is why we're ensuring food supply is fully incorporated into our emergency preparedness planning.

"We are taking action now to deal with the impacts of extreme weather - one of the prime minister's first visits was meeting farmers hit by recent drought, announcing a £65m package to boost resilience.

"We're also going further to address the risks of climate change, including a new taskforce to strengthen climate security and working with farmers and industry to build supply chains that can withstand future shocks."

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