📢 Monday is the last chance to get your proposals to us for the
@EarthshotPrize
We are seeking individuals, communities, businesses and organisations who have impactful solutions to the planet's biggest environmental problems
Share your solutions 👇
New poll shows citizens want more support for farmers 👩🌾
With nearly 1 in 2 people cutting back on the quality of food they eat due to money, it’s time for policymakers to join the dots to ensure fairness for all, from farm to fork.
#TheFoodConversation
📢 LAUNCHED TODAY
Our final report sets out radical & practical ways to restore people’s health & wellbeing, recover & regenerate nature & the need for a 10-year transition plan for a more sustainable food system by 2030.
Read the full report:
📢 New report
#FarmingforChange
: mapping a route to 2030
🍎
#Agroecology
can produce enough healthy food for a future UK population, act on the climate crisis, and make more land available for nature.
📺
#ORFCGlobal
4pm
📖
We are proud to announce that we have been selected as an official Nominator for The
@EarthshotPrize
. It is the most prestigious global environment prize in history and was launched today by Prince William. Visit to find out more.
📊 Data from our poll w/
@Food_Foundation
- More than 19 million people say they're cooking more from scratch
- 17 million are throwing away less food
- 3 million have tried a veg box scheme / ordered food from a local farm for the first time
More here:
🚨 Out today: New report shows citizens are hungry for change
🇬🇧 2000-strong national poll backs up citizen dialogues
🍏 75% think government is not doing enough to ensure everyone can afford healthy food
📚 More on
#TheFoodConversation
findings 👇
📢NEWS
🎉We're delighted to have received a 3 year core funding grant from
@EsmeeFairbairn
to continue our work.
🗒After a great 2 years at
@theRSAorg
, we're now an independent, mission-led charity 👉 (come say hello)
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THREAD
Today we launch our final report, with recommendations for action underpinned by three principles:
1. Healthy food is every body’s business
2. Farming is a force for change
3. The countryside has to work for everyone
Full report:
🌍We want Britain to be flying the flag around the world in trade deals that boost climate and nature-safe farming, exemplary animal welfare, and healthy, sustainably produced food from a thriving agricultural sector.
#TradeUnwrapped
🧵👇1/8
Our new report
#FarmingSmarter
shows that
#Agroecology
is good business. Farming businesses now need policy-level vision and practical solutions to enable a transition to nature and climate wise models with confidence.
#OFCBitesize
#FutureFarming
Guardian piece covering our report launch. The ecological transformation of our food and farming system is urgent. Getting it right is essential for averting climate breakdown, restoring nature & securing human health, wellbeing & livelihoods
The health of our rivers is at the top of voters' minds💧
🌿79% want fines for food producers that pollute the environment
🏭78% want regulation to protect against industrial farming that harms nature & countryside
#CPC23
#TheFoodConversation
Today we launch the UK's biggest ever conversation about food.
We're asking what people really think about food. We’ll share what we find with policymakers + businesses ahead of the election.
We think they may be surprised.
#TheFoodConversation
👇
🌿 Tomorrow, nature campaigners around the UK ask government to
#RestoreNatureNow
.
🗣️ Nature doesn't have a voice, but citizens do.
💪 Nearly 80% of public across the political spectrum want fines and regulation to protect the environment.
@HughFW
Find out more👇
Help
#RestoreNatureNow
!
You can take action tomorrow, 28 September, and join
@ChrisGPackham
+ people from all over the UK to demand that our government acts now to fix the
#NatureCrisis
.
Find out how to get involved. 👇
"Agriculture has a major role to play but we must stop obsessing over cows and start talking about the fundamental changes that we need to make to our whole food system."
Our Chief Executive
@suepritch
comments on
#IPCCreport
This week, decision-makers gather for the government’s Farm to Fork summit. Will
#FarmingVoices
be heard?
This film puts farmers at the heart of the debate. What challenges do they face, and how does a resilient approach to farming support real food security?
Jacob Rees Mogg: "I want cheaper food. I want hormone injected beef from Australia. I've eaten beef in Australia, it's delicious. There's nothing wrong with it."
In these volatile times, here’s something business, academic & civic leaders do agree on.
We sent an open letter with 100+ signatories to Secretaries of State urging them not to use future trade deals to offshore the UK's climate and nature commitments
"We urgently need a long-term & legally defined plan from government"
@Riverford
's Guy Singh Watson 👏
Latest data for fruit & veg yields show the urgent need for more resilience in food & farming – and for a new govt to lead this.
More perspectives in our
#FarmingVoices
📽️👇
Ahead of today’s
#FoodSummit
at No 10,
@suepritch
highlights the need for independent voices to balance interests of trade and business – and to urgently address the triple crisis of climate, nature and diet-related ill health in our food system.
Read 👇
Last week, our CEO
@suepritch
was delighted to join colleagues and partners in celebrating the brilliant achievements of
@theprincesfund
over the past 40 years.
This includes showcasing those that are working hard to champion farming communities and tackle food insecurity 👏
"Food security for whom, and for how long?"
In a new blog out today,
@suepritch
asks who will be speaking for public value at No 10’s
#FoodSummit
, and how can government build a food system that works for citizens, not just shareholders?
Read 👇
To build a better food system for a healthier nation, we need to make the best use of our land.
👏
#NationalFoodStrategy
It is possible to restore nature AND produce food on the same patch of land, through a transition to
#Agroecology
🧵Congratulations to the new government and new MPs. Looking forward to working with you as the hard work begins.
From farm to fork - food matters, to everyone, everywhere. Farmers, businesses and citizens have ideas to help our leaders make it work better...
Long-term food security depends on nature & climate recovery, not ever cheaper food.
Voters don't want this either. They want a gov who will act to ensure healthy, sustainable & fairly produced food is accessible to everyone.
#TheFoodConversation
#Lab23
💻 We have a new website!
🌱 You can check out what we do, our current work programmes and where we work.
📚 Or head to the Library to explore our collection of reports, research and videos.
💬 Or to the Conversations section for blogs and interviews.
In the midst of headlines about weaponising food and the
#CostOfLivingCrisis
, it's tempting to set aside ambition & revert to binary responses to pressing need.
Yet meeting short term need AND long term sustainability is still the only solution that makes sense.
@suepritch
👇
📺 NEW FILM RELEASE. Farmers who can’t afford to eat the food they produce. Local people who can’t afford to live in their own villages. 'God's Lone Country' exposes the very real problems facing rural communities. WATCH FULL FILM HERE:
🎥 Launching tomorrow: a new film about low income rural Britain. Farmers who can’t afford to eat the food they produce. Local people who can’t afford to live in their own villages. Transport networks that isolate communities. Stay tuned for more.
@Jonesthejourno
@TogetherukTV
🌊 We have seen a groundswell of interest in
#Agroecology
on the back of our
#FarmingforChange
report.
🕵️♀️ Help us build the evidence, ideas and community to enable a UK transition to agroecology by 2030.
🌳 Join our
#RoutestoAction
workshops this Feb:
Today, we join civil society, farming groups & food businesses to unveil the
#HopeFarmStatement
, a watershed moment urging the next government to prioritise food & farming within its first 100 days.
So, what are its 6 key recommendations? ... 🧵
Great to hear
@herdyshepherd1
calling for a
#LandUseFramework
- "a plan for how we fit our disparate needs into our landmass" - to deliver multiple outcomes from landscapes and aid decision-making 👉
Here's how one could work👇
Ultra-processed foods are being disguised in supermarkets with branding saying they are 'healthy', 'low-fat' and 'high in protein'.
@xandvt
, in partnership with The
@OpenUniversity
, exposes the truth behind what's really in so called 'health foods'....
Our progress report ‘Our Common Ground’ is published today, with proposals for a safe, secure & inclusive food system, flourishing rural economy & sustainable countryside for all. We welcome your views, challenge and advice. Please join the conversation.
📊 Results from our 'learning from lockdown' survey of 380+ sector professionals:
- 80% want most things to be different in the recovery
- None wanted everything to go back to how it was before
Full results:
(Thread)
1/3 🧵Today: Farmers and environment groups join together to issue a new, strong consensus on the future of farming.
Read the declaration 👇
#TogetherForFarming
New:
@WWF_UK
Land of Plenty report calls on UK governments to urgently adopt decarbonisation strategies for agriculture & land use and sets out a blueprint that harnesses
#Agroecology
and regenerative practices for real change.👏
The evidence is clear🧵👇
🍔 How worried are people about junk food?
📺 Government proposed a 9pm advertising ban last year, then delayed.
💪 Citizens across political parties tell us: they want government to take action.
More
#TheFoodConversation
@DoctorChrisVT
@CernyCaroline
"We must have brave conversations about hospicing industrial meat and making way for an agroecological farming system."
@dr_cscott
on the power and politics at the centre of the meat debate.
#Agroecology
Read the full blog 👇
📺NEW FILM RELEASE. Today we launch a short film to expose the very real problems facing rural communities and give a voice to the millions of ordinary people who live in our countryside. Watch the full film here:
@Jonesthejourno
@TogetherukTV
"[Across] political tribes & demographics...most of us want a beautiful countryside that feeds us & is full of nature & beauty" 👏
Great piece from
@herdyshepherd1
on a new vision for farming 👉
This is consistent with findings from
#TheFoodConversation
Fantastic to see
#NationalFoodStrategy
’s strong emphasis on regenerative farming &
#Agroecology
Our report
#FarmingforChange
shows it can feed a growing UK population healthy food - and provide other solutions too.
So, what is agroecology?
And why is it so important?
1/4 🧵
🚨 New 📽️👉 Is food working for everyday people?
Citizens in
#TheFoodConversation
ask each other what they think about food. How does it link to the biggest issues in their lives, from family finances to the NHS?
Tomorrow, more exciting news is coming. Watch this space.
📚 Report launch -
#FarmingSmarter
: investing in our future
🌍 Join us to discuss a radical solution – a new
#Agroecology
Development Bank – and how it could speed transition to fair and sustainable farming for climate and nature
🎟️ Thur 25 March 5-6pm
“We try and build resilience into our farm ... I think this is a real message for farmers all across the country."
A timely call from
@hanslope
in this
@SusFoodTrust
short. With the right support, farm businesses can produce good food, care for nature AND thrive.
“The vast majority [of farmers] do believe...farming can deliver on sustainable, nature-friendly food. I do not want to see support for the industry get degraded as it is hijacked by individuals who do not have farmers’ interests at heart.” 👏
@JoeWStanley
British farming is at a crossroads. It’s more important than ever that farmers’ voices are heard.
Thanks
@FarmersWeekly
&
@PhilipCaseFW
for amplifying
#FarmingVoices
& helping to shine a light on the realities of being a farmer right now 👉
Latest 📽️
“It’s not that citizens want cheap food. It’s that they don’t have any other option.”
FFCC’s
@dr_cscott
at yday’s
#ORFC24
event on changing the narrative from a cost-of-living crisis to a cost-of-profit crisis, sharing insights from
#TheFoodConversation
.
📢 "We have created a plan too big to ignore." 📢
The world's first
#PeoplesPlanForNature
is calling for immediate action to tackle the UK's nature crisis.
Add your voice to the people's call now 👇
Last week,
@herdyshepherd1
laid out what a healthier, greener and fairer future for farming could look like 👉
With a new government at the helm and farming at a crossroads, it's more important than ever that
#FarmingVoices
are heard 👇
🎥 Tomorrow we launch our final reports: Our Future in the Land, & accompaniment, Field Guide for the Future. Speakers include
@michaelgove
@HenryDimbleby
@PHE_uk
. Join the livestream @ 6pm as Commissioners outline radical & practical proposals for change
📚Alongside the report launched yesterday, we published an inspiring collection of case studies, our inquiry findings & stories of innovation. It shows people already making changes needed for healthier people & planet. A glimpse of a better future.
New blog series! Catch up on the discussion from our
#RoutestoAction
workshops - radical ideas and practical next steps for anyone interested in
#Agroecology
, and what it could mean for producers and citizens across UK nations. 1/2
This call for pragmatic solutions from
@RoryStewartUK
at
#FutureCountryside
points to the need for a new way to make decisions about land.
The time is ripe for a practical and radical approach - for a
#LandUseFramework
for England.
Former Defra Minister
@RoryStewartUK
opens the first main session of
#FutureCountryside
with a note of realistic caution: there are rarely perfect solutions that can fulfil all objectives and please everyone.
We are hosting the opening event of the Oxford Farming Conference 2020 with
@weareagrespect
, starting conversations around diversity and inclusion in farming and the countryside
@oxfordfarming
.
Register here for the free event on 7th January 2020:
Thanks to all who came to our report launch event and who joined us online. Watch this space for future opportunities for collaboration and driving change forward. But for now, some food.
📢 New report: Beyond charitable food aid
In the wake of the PM’s
#FoodSummit
, the report explores how funders and communities can transition away from delivering food aid - to build real, long-lasting food security
More👇
@FoodPolicyCity
@FoodPlacesUK
🚨 Out today: New poll shows healthy food is now seen as out of reach for the majority of people
Plus: country’s biggest conversation about food sets off across UK nations to hear from citizens
More👇
#TheFoodConversation
Mark Lea from
@GreenAcres_Farm
: Don't compensate farmers for setting aside space for nature. Nature is fundamental to farming. Protecting nature and producing food are not mutually exclusive activities. In conversation with
@FFC_Commission
at
🌳“We’re at a critical moment: climate action needs more than words.”
🌍
@ffinlocostain
explains how, by committing to real action on land at
#COP26
, the UK can unlock solutions to the climate+nature+health challenges of our time.
Full 📺
#LandUnlocked
Government action on food can improve the nation’s health, protect the NHS & bolster the economy.
Like the smoking ban, citizens support policies that set guardrails for businesses so that public health is put before private profit.
#TheFoodConversation
Our diet is as great a threat to our economy as it is to our health. Nine times as great as previously thought. Whichever government is in power in 10 years time will be crippled by this if we don’t act.
The UK must transition to a sustainable food system by 2030. We need to back farmers and put them in the driving seat to design and lead the change.
Our report sets out radical and practical actions to get us there:
Help map
#RoutestoAction
.
Land Management workshop Wed 24 Feb 🎟️ 🎟️
How can one land holding deliver 🍎food 🤒health 🌳nature 🌍climate 💰economic benefits for all?
What does this mean for the UK if applied at a landscape scale?
@CCRI_UK
@CLAtweets
📊New poll data with
@Food_Foundation
@YouGov
reveals 85% of people want to see some of the personal or social changes they've experienced through Covid-19 continue afterwards.
+ significant changes to our relationship with food, family & environment.
NEW polling: public demands government intervention on healthy food
70% support gvmt policies to reduce impact of food production on environment
62% see it as gvmt responsibility to set policy/regs to make eating healthy food easier
@Food_Foundation
📢 LAUNCHED TODAY
Our Scotland inquiry report gathers stories from people & organisations making real changes on the ground.
It includes examples of cooperation and innovation, land reform, rural mental health initiatives, and ethical dairy farming.
Great to see our East of England Coordinator (
@Alicemidmer
&
@BBCLookEast
) supporting
@COFARMHQ
in Cambridge. Our recent 'Food Builds Community' research with
@LocalTrust
- - demonstrates how vital growing spaces are for communities.
Is the ultra-processed food debate a tipping point for change?
At our event on Monday,
@SoilAssociation
's
@Rob_Percival_
highlighted the need to look beyond individual products to a food system geared towards ultra-processing.
More👇
#TheFoodConversation
Back in 2022, we spoke to
@bentheoandrews
about how farming with nature can build on-farm resilience.
“The most successful farms going forward will be the most resilient... We talk about food security for the UK... we should apply the same mindset to our own farms”
🍅 So, what do we want from food?
#TheFoodConversation
💪 New report and 2,000-strong national poll find citizens from across the political and demographic spectrum want government to act.
❌ No evidence public worries about 'nanny state'.
More 👇
For too many people, healthy food is out of reach – and the
#CostOfLivingCrisis
is making it much worse.
#HungryForHealth
hears from people forced to make decisions between the food they want and the food they can get.
‘Cheap’ food isn’t working - here’s why🧵👇
New
@adfreecities
study shows advertisers, including big food, target poorer areas 👉
Here, Sophia from
#TheFoodConversation
talks about the direct link between living in inner city Birmingham and how many junk food ads & outlets her children see 👇
It's time to build back better.
FFCC Chief Exec
@suepritch
says we must learn from responses to the pandemic to create a more diverse, sustainable and fairer supply chain.
Big question for our commission over the next 18 months of our inquiry: What is a fair future food, farming and countryside policy? Fair for those wanting
#cheapfood
,
#fairprices
for producers, fair for
#futuregenerations
?
Over 70% of the UK's soil is managed by farmers.
With
#Agroecology
, farmers can be a force for change - restoring the soil and creating a better future for the people and wildlife that depend on it.
A
#FieldGuideForTheFuture
story for
#WorldSoilDay
👇
Our Common Ground progress report was published yesterday, proposing a 10yr transition plan for agriculture to meet SDGs, linking public health with food & farming and better resource alignment. Download the report or read online:
Our new report and Rough Guide to the Multifunctional
#LandUseFramework
aim to contribute to important discussions, share tried and tested ideas and build on what works.
They're based on practical and grounded experience, working with many partners.
Find out more
Today,
@riverford
’s
#GetFairAboutFarming
petition will be debated in parliament, paving the way for fairer supply chain practices to support UK farmers.
As our CEO
@suepritch
says, citizens in
#TheFoodConversation
also want a better deal for farmers, not cheap food at any cost.