Nature decline and rising temperatures pose risk to UK food security – report

Long-term declines in the natural environment and worsening climate change pose serious risks to UK food security, a Government report has warned.

The latest three-yearly report on food security has found the UK was 75% self-sufficient in the food that can be grown in this country last year, and produced the equivalent of 62% of overall food consumed.

But while the figures are broadly unchanged in the past two decades, the report warned that long-term declines in “natural capital” – resources such as clean water, healthy soils and wildlife such as pollinators – are a pressing risk to UK food production.

Extreme weather continues to have a significant effect on domestic production, particularly arable crops, fruit and vegetables.

Rising temperatures are set to increase the likelihood of extreme weather events, and “represent significant overall risks to UK food security”, the report warned, despite some potential for new crops and a longer growing season.

The report said the number of households which were food secure – with access at all times for everyone to have enough food for a healthy, active life – fell from 92% in 2020 to 90% in 2023 amid the cost-of-living crisis, and there were high levels of inequality in food security and good diets.

The report was published as farmers staged another protest against the “toxic” Budget in October which farmers say puts their businesses, futures and food security at risk.

The Budget included imposing inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million and speeding up the phase-out of EU-era subsidies in favour of nature-friendly farming payments.

The “RIP British Farming” protest, with tractors on the streets of Westminster, was organised by Kent Fairness for Farmers and Save British Farming, and came as Sir Keir Starmer was challenged to “change course” on inheritance tax at Prime Minister’s Questions.

In response, Sir Keir repeated his assurance that the vast majority of farming families would be unaffected, and contrasted £350 million to support farmers paid out last week by his Government with, he claimed, a £350 million underspend in relation to farmers by the Tories when they were in power.

His comments came after the Environment Department (Defra) highlighted £343 million in payments for nature-friendly farming activities last week, benefiting more than 31,000 farmers.

Defra also announced new details for its environmental land management schemes, which pay farmers for “public goods” ranging from healthy soil, rivers and hedgerows, to habitat creation and large-scale nature restoration work to reverse declines in the natural world that society depends on.

The food security report warns that the UK continues to be “highly dependent” on imports to meet demand for fruit, vegetables and seafood, and many of the countries this food is imported from face their own climate-related challenges and sustainability risks.

Climate change, nature loss and water insecurity pose significant risks to the ability of global food production to meet demand over the longer term, the analysis warned.

It said that in the UK, long-term declines in natural capital are slowing and levelling against some key indicators.

However, another Government report on biodiversity earlier in the week painted a bleak picture for much of England’s wildlife, protected areas and habitats in the short and long term.

The first food security report since 2021 also highlighted the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the UK seeing some of the highest food inflation in the G7 group of leading nations, although no shortages of food items for a “sustained” period.

The war also pushed up fertiliser and energy costs, while agri-food labour shortages continue, compounded by the post-Brexit end of freedom of movement with the EU in 2021.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed this week held a call with business and industry, in which he said work was under way to develop a new food strategy to provide healthier, more easily accessible food to tackle obesity and improve health.

It would also build resilience in the face of climate shocks, drive investment in the food and drink sector, and support the “farming road map” to reduce the impact of farming on nature and wildlife, and decarbonise the sector while supporting it through the transition, officials said.

A Government spokesperson said: “Our cross-Government food strategy will make sure our food system can continue to feed the nation, realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals, now and in the future.”

Joss MacDonald, from The Food Foundation charity, said the report showed fewer people in the UK had enough to eat, with significant dietary inequalities across income groups, ethnicity and disability.

“The report also highlights that our food security is being increasingly threatened by extreme weather events and damage to the natural world which are affecting harvests in both the UK and further afield,” he said.

“It is now abundantly clear that serious action is needed to strengthen food security at both a national and household level.”