♤

Draft policy on food security and the environment

1

Draft policy on food security and the environment

Summary

Natural England believes that:

1. Food security and environmental security are both essential, they are often highly interdependent and should be addressed together, particularly given the challenge of climate change.

2. Addressing the need for food security should be undertaken in a way which ensures natural

resources are used more sustainably and negative impacts on the natural environment are avoided, minimised or mitigated, both here and abroad. Protection of the terrestrial and marine environments will contribute to food security by maintaining the ecosystem services upon which we depend.

3. The current problem of food insecurity is, at the global level, primarily one of unequal distribution and access to food, and, in the UK, of household food insecurity and of poor nutrition. Sustainable food production can contribute to food security by providing food of good nutritional value.

4. In the long term, it is highly likely that global food production will need to increase. We should seek to avoid and mitigate the increase in global demand for food as far as possible through more sustainable consumption and diets and less waste in supply chains.

5. If, in future, food production in the UK and Europe needs to increase to provide people with a healthy diet, there will need to be simultaneous improvements in environmental performance. In Europe, the Common Agricultural Policy should aim to ensure both our food and environmental security.

6. Retaining the capacity to produce food in the UK and Europe is important for our food security, including through support for sustainable food production, appropriate research and development, protection of fertile land whilst allowing for other required land use changes, and suitable skills and knowledge.

7. Resilience in the food system will be stronger with a range of supply chains, including but not exclusively with healthy domestic agricultural and fisheries sectors, and we should encourage those with the lowest environmental impact. International trade policies relating to food and agricultural products should include the aim of the protection of the natural environment.

8. There is an important role for local enterprises, citizens, and communities in ensuring food and environmental security, such as through involvement in allotments and community orchards, and these activities have multiple health benefits. Sufficient land needs to be made available to local communities to enable them to participate in sustainable food production.

2

1. Overview

1.1 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 affirmed that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, ….”. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1966 went further and confirmed “the right of everyone to be free from hunger”.

1.2 The definition of food security used at the World Food Summit in Rome in 1996 was: “Food Securityexistswhenallpeople,atalltimes,havephysicalandeconomicaccesstosufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs, as well as culturally acceptable food preferences for an active and healthy life”.

1.3 It is estimated that there are currently 960 million people in the world who are undernourished, but also over 1.6 billion people who are overweight. The global demand for food is forecast to increase, with increasing wealth and urbanisation leading to changes in tastes, diets and lifestyles.

1.4 Against this is set the scarcity of natural resources that are available to produce food, with a decline in and competition for available arable land, losses of soil from erosion, depletion of fish stocks, and increasing water scarcity.

1.5 Added to this are the additional challenges posed by climate change. For example, the predicted increase in the risk of famine for several hundred million people and the threats to biodiversity of a changing climate.

1.6 The natural environment in England is under continued pressure from a range of activities including the more intense use of the land and sea, not least to provide food.

2. Context

2.1 The rise in world food prices during 2008 is estimated to have increased the risk of hunger for an additional 100 million people globally. Key international institutions, such as the United Nations, World Bank, and the G8 group of industrialised nations have become increasingly concerned about rising prices, their causes, and the impacts on food security.

2.2 In the European Union, the debate about food security has also become more prominent, including in the issue of set aside, the CAP Healthcheck and the Biofuels Directive. Similarly, the debate on the potential impacts on agricultural productivity and yields of European pesticide regulations has included the issues of food security and competitiveness.

2.3 In the UK, the need to ensure food security is increasingly being used to argue for increased food production, greater expenditure on agricultural research, protection of fertile land against coastal erosion, and for the introduction of genetically modified crops and use of GM animal feeds. In addition, the need to ensure food security is also being used to argue for a reduction in the UK’s dependence on imported agricultural inputs, such as nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers.

3. Issue

3.1 Food security is critically important to society here and in other countries, as insufficient quantities of food of sufficient nutritional value result in malnutrition, ill health, and starvation. Similarly environmental security is important to society, as the environment provides, amongst other things, air to breathe, water to drink, nature for its intrinsic value, the natural resources used to produce food and other products, and waste assimilation functions. Environmental pollution and degradation can cause ill health, premature deaths, and impose other social and economic burdens. Hence, both issues are important and are often interrelated.

3

3.2 The way in which food is produced, supplied, and consumed is critically important to the natural environment, and a move towards more sustainable food production and consumption is urgently required to reduce the negative impacts upon the natural environment. The natural environment itself supports the many ecosystem services maintaining our existence, including the provision of food. The challenge therefore is to identify and deliver integrated policies that can contribute to ensuring food security whilst protecting and enhancing the natural environment and encouraging sustainability.

3.3 Some integrated solutions on the supply side, might include: greater adoption of practices, systems, and technologies that can increase agricultural

productivity whilst lowering environmental impacts;

retaining a capacity to produce food sustainably, including sufficient land whilst allowing for required land use changes;

ensuring a range of supply chains are used to supply food, whilst favouring those with the lowest environmental impacts;

finding ways of agreeing and managing any potential trade-offs or conflicts between agricultural production and the environment, including biodiversity.

3.4 And on the demand side, solutions might include:

mitigating the projected increase in global population, through, for example, better family planning;

improving resource efficiency and reducing wastes within the food chain, including at household level;

encouraging more sustainable consumption patterns and diets.

Policy 1

4. Food security and environmental security are both essential, they are often highly interdependent and should be addressed together, particularly given the challenge of climate change. 4.1 Achieving farming and fishing that ensures food security and the protection of the natural

environment is a major challenge for the 21st Century. There is a need to find ways to ensure that the natural resources on which farming, fisheries, and food production ultimately depends are not degraded, at the same time as ensuring sufficient food is available to the population. Amongst other things, a healthy natural environment is essential to enable our land and seas to produce food.

4.2 Domestic food production is important for our food security as it is vital component of our food supply system which lowers risk and increases resilience to shocks and disruptions. It also provides a range of other benefits, such as employment. However, food production in England is currently unsustainable. For example, agriculture is heavily reliant on exhaustible resources, such as fossil fuels and phosphate. We must therefore work together to make food production more sustainable with a more mutually beneficial relationship with the natural environment.

4

4.3 Climate change is already adversely affecting food security in the world through droughts, flooding, sea-level rises, and other effects. Climate change presents both opportunities and challenges for agriculture and food production, with implications for the natural environment. If food production needs to increase, this must be undertaken in a way which supports efforts to combat and adapt to climate change. The food chain needs to reduce the significant greenhouse gas emissions created by its activities and there is an important role for farmers and land managers to act as ‘carbon managers’.

Evidence 4.4 Biodiversity is essential for the sustainable production of food and other agricultural products. It offers potential material for the development of new crops, and provides critical biological support to production via, for example, soil biota, pollinators, and pest predators. Most landscapes in England are agricultural which are part of our identity, culture and history, and provide a range of recreational and educational opportunities.

4.5 Globally, the increase in agricultural production has improved the quality of life for many people, but has also led to damaging consequences for the natural environment. For example, the expansion of agriculture in areas of the world not previously used for production has caused deforestation and loss of habitats and species. In Europe, increasing agricultural yields also led to negative and damaging consequences for the environment.

4.6 In England, farming has made progress in becoming more environmentally responsible in recent years, with over 60% of English farmers signing up to agri-environment schemes, becoming more environmentally aware, and adopting more environmentally benign or beneficial land management practices and techniques.

4.7 Some technical and economic drivers in farming, however, have encouraged activities which have caused environmental damage. With the right regulatory framework, appropriate incentives, market signals and mechanisms, and increased awareness, much of this damage could be avoided or reduced and agriculture could become more sustainable than at present.

4.8 Some of the environmental impacts of agriculture in the UK and England to address include:

an estimated 13 million tons of carbon are lost annually from UK soils;

diffuse pollution from agriculture accounts for 60% of the nitrogen load in UK freshwater;

over two-thirds of the UK’s nitrous oxide emissions result from agriculture;

the number of specialist bird species in the Farmland Birds index continues to decline;

in 40% of National Character Areas, past losses of landscape character either showed no sign of reversal or change is continuing to adversely transform character.

4.9 Total energy use by UK agriculture has fallen by over 30% since 1985, while output has remained fairly constant. However, it is estimated that 95% of all food production is ‘oil dependant’ with the manufacture of nitrogen fertiliser the single largest indirect use of fossil fuels in agriculture. It is estimated that on current usage levels of 125 million tonnes a year, available stocks of phosphate will be depleted within 60 years’ time.

4.10 Climate change is predicted to increase the risk of famine for several hundred million people worldwide. Overall, higher temperatures could reduce global cereal production by 5% although may allow increased yields in parts of the North. Warming sea temperature and the acidification of oceans will have an impact on fish stocks and the marine environment.

5

4.11 Agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions: 14% of the global total, and 7% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions, including 36% of the UK’s total methane pollution and 67% of total nitrous oxide pollution. In the UK, GHGs from agriculture have fallen by over 20% since 1990. All food production and consumption is estimated to account for 31% of climate change impact and between 20–30% of total environmental impact of European consumption.

4.12 In the UK, the external costs to the environment of the food chain include costs related to greenhouse gas emissions (£2.9bn/yr), costs attributable to food transport (£5.5bn/yr), and the net external cost to the environment of agriculture at around £700 million.

Policy 2

5. Addressing the need for food security should be undertaken in a way which ensures natural resources are used more sustainably and negative impacts on the natural environment are avoided, minimised or mitigated, both here and abroad. Protection of the terrestrial and marine environments will underpin food security by maintaining the ecosystem services upon which we depend. 5.1 The natural resources required to produce food, including land, soils and water are finite.

Agriculture can either degrade or help to improve their quantity and quality, depending on the approaches employed in managing the land to produce food and other products. The natural environment helps to produce our food; it re-cycles our waste; and supports the many ecosystem services maintaining our existence. It provides the raw materials for industry and plays a direct part in many other kinds of economic activity.

5.2 Soils are essential to produce our food and, when managed well, can increase yields and long- term fertility. Soils support our diverse landscapes and play a vital role in maintaining the balance of gasses in the air, as well as helping to clean water. Soils also have a role in storing and releasing carbon, with consequences for climate change. Poorly managed soils can increase flood risk and can cause substantial economic costs, including through reduced yields. There are many opportunities for improving and restoring the quality of soils in England which would support agricultural productivity, environmental protection and biodiversity.

5.3 Water is vital for food production and our rivers, lakes and wetlands are distinctive components of the English landscape. Over abstraction, land drainage, flood risk management practices, and diffuse pollution from agriculture can all affect the quality of water and the water environment. The sustainable use of water in agriculture is important, and will become increasingly so given the impacts of climate change.

5.4 Fishing and aquaculture are important industries and fish and seafood are important sources of nutrition. Protecting fish stocks and the marine environment will help to ensure food security in the future. Fishing activities should be managed using an ecosystem-based approach to allow the restoration of fish stocks to levels that will deliver optimum sustainable yields, for the benefit of fisheries, their supporting marine ecosystems, and food security. Aquaculture activities need to be appropriately managed and monitored to prevent the translocation of disease or non-native species and have a high level of integration with their local ecosystems.

Evidence 5.5 Globally, there is a scarcity of natural resources available to produce food. For example; arable land has declined from 0.35 ha/head in 1970 to 0.24 ha/head in 1994; estimates of losses of soil from erosion range between 8 to 15 tonnes per hectare per year; and, 1.8 billion people will be living in areas of absolute water scarcity.

6

5.6 The world’s environment is continuing to come under pressure from human development and agriculture. For example:

26 hectares of the Amazon rainforest are destroyed every minute, often by logging and for cattle ranching, but also for soy production;

currently 70% of freshwater drawn globally is used for irrigation of crops, in some cases causing the salinisation of fresh water sources;

excessive and inappropriate use of fertilizers has led to large dead zones in coastal areas and the misuse of pesticides has led to pollution and loss of biodiversity.

5.7 The United Nations estimate that the combined effects of climate change, land degradation, cropland losses, water scarcity and species infestation may cause crop yields to be 5–25% short of projected world demand by 2050.

5.8 The global demand for fish as a source of protein is growing. However, annual global production from wild capture fisheries has plateaued since the 1970s at approximately 85 million tonnes. In order to meet the increasing demand for fish, global aquaculture production has grown significantly, such that 32.4% of fishery products by weight were derived from aquaculture in 2004. Globally, 16% of fish stocks are now over exploited and 52% are fully exploited, with 8% are significantly depleted or recovering from overfishing.

5.9 In 2002, 50% of the UK catch (by value) came from stocks that were in borderline or unsustainable condition. It is estimated that 1.3 million tonnes of fish caught in the North East Atlantic each year are discarded for being too small or the wrong species and the European fisheries discard rate is estimated at 20–60%. Trawling can be destructive; it is estimated that in the North Sea, beam trawl fleets reduces biomass on the seafloor by 39%.

5.10 Aquaculture plays an important role in supplying fish and shellfish to consumers, but can also have significant environmental impacts: from disease, escaped fish, increased concentrations of nutrients, medicines and other chemicals all impact on local environments; while globally it relies heavily on industrial fishing to supply the large quantities of fishmeal and oil used for feed. Some innovative fish farmers are beginning to redesign their farms to function more like healthy aquatic ecosystems, with high levels of integration greatly reducing water pollution and disease.

Policy 3

6. The current problem of food insecurity is, at the global level, primarily one of unequal distribution and access to food, and, in the UK, of household food insecurity and of poor nutrition. Sustainable food production can contribute to food security by providing food of good nutritional value. 6.1 Hunger and malnutrition in the world are primarily caused by poverty, conflict, bad governance,

crop failures, poor diets and nutrition, and unequal distribution and access to food. Continuing inequalities in wealth and income are likely to perpetuate the unequal distribution and access to food throughout the world and particularly in developing countries. It is therefore critical that governments and international institutions find ways of ensuring food insecure people have access to the means to obtain or grow food, either through increasing incomes relative to food prices or providing the resources to produce food.

6.2 In the UK, the current problems of food insecurity relate to diets, affordability, and access, rather than an absolute shortage of food or chronic problems with supply. Problems persist in the quality of some people’s diets (too much saturated fat, salt and sugar, not enough fibre, vitamins, fatty acids, etc.) and in household’s access to fresh fruit and vegetables, both because of low incomes and poor access to suitable retail outlets.

7

6.3 In Europe, food prices ought to more accurately reflect the true costs of production, including the environmental and social costs; helping to correct market failure and make the most sustainable forms of food production the most profitable. However, low income households in the UK spend a greater proportion of their income on food and many people struggle to afford a healthy diet. We therefore recognise the need for government to support those most vulnerable to food insecurity through various safety nets, including adequate benefit levels and targeted programmes such as the Healthy Start scheme.

6.4 It is important to note that it is not just the amount of food available which is important for food security, but also its nutritional value (within the context of healthy, balanced diets). Sustainable food production can contribute to food security by providing food of good nutritional value, as well as protecting soils and other natural resources upon which agriculture ultimately depends.

Evidence 6.5 It is estimated that there are currently 960 million people in the world who are undernourished (mainly in the South), but there are also estimated to be over 1.6 billion people who are overweight, 650 million of whom are obese (mainly in the North). The World Health Organisation estimates that an extra billion tonnes of CO2 a year is created by the over consumption of food.

6.6 In 2007, the world’s farmers produced 2.3 billion tonnes of grain – a 4% increase on 2006 and three times the amount that was produced 40 years ago. Global grain production has kept pace with population growth at about 350kg per person per annum, although some 73% of grain in industrialised countries and 37% in developing countries is used as animal feed rather than consumed directly.

6.7 In the UK, the poorest 10% of the population spend 15% of their household income on food, compared with 7% by the richest 10%. The diets eaten by lower income families fall short of the diets recommended for good health. In 2002, food-related ill-health was estimated to cost the NHS £6 billion (9% of its budget). Obesity in England has trebled in 20 years; nearly a quarter of adults and about 10% of children are now obese. However, four out of ten older people (over 65) admitted to hospital are malnourished. A foresight project predicts large increases in obesity in the years ahead, with 40% of Britons being obese by 2025, and 60% by 2050.

6.8 Some evidence suggests that sustainable food production which has a mutually beneficial relationship with the natural environment can have nutritional advantages. For example, the ‘Eating Biodiversity’ project led by the University of Exeter found that lamb produced on species- rich grassland contained higher levels of Vitamin E and fatty acids (notably polyunsaturated fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)).

Policy 4

7. In the long term, it is highly likely that global food production will need to increase. We should seek to avoid and mitigate the projected increase in global demand for food as far as possible through more sustainable consumption and diets and less waste in supply chains. 7.1 The largest increase in demand for food in future will be in developing countries, as this is where

populations are expected to grow and consumption patterns to change. This is also where there are more opportunities for increasing food production, as well as parts of Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia.

7.2 Future changes in the global production and consumption of food will lead to changes in trade flows of food and agricultural commodities. These changes may have an impact on the ability of the UK to obtain sufficient food supplies. Maintaining strong and diverse trade links and retaining a level of domestic production and productive capacity are important strategies for containing this risk.

8

7.3 Increasing food production in the UK to address global food insecurity concerns, however, is unlikely to make a significant contribution to addressing the problem, whether by direct supply to food insecure countries or through lowering agricultural commodity prices on world markets. There will, however, continue to be opportunities for UK farmers to produce food for domestic and export markets. There are also many opportunities to offer our knowledge, expertise and advice to others of sustainable agricultural practices and environmental stewardship.

7.4 More sustainable supply chains and sustainable consumption will need to play an important role in achieving food security both here and abroad. For example, there are good reasons for favouring high quality meat from grass or by-product fed animals reared as part of integrated mixed farming systems or in areas where other forms of food production are more difficult, and which can help to maintain landscape character and biodiversity. Extensive grazing systems in marginal areas often deliver many benefits but are generally less economically viable than intensive livestock systems.

7.5 At the same time, there are arguments for reducing our current consumption of meat and dairy products overall, and particularly from predominantly cereal-fed (and/or non-by product fed) animals. The quantities of grain and oilseeds produced for intensive livestock systems are globally significant and represent a considerable share of the environmental footprint of our food consumption. Further research comparing the impacts of different types of production of meat and dairy products, as well as potential alternatives to cereal feeds and improvements to feed efficiency, is required to help develop more sustainable livestock production.

7.6 To enable sustainable food consumption, education and accurate, honest, and transparent information about food is important. Education about food and farming can help people to understand where their food has come from, how it has been produced, and ways to reduce its environmental impact. Food labelling and marketing needs to inform consumers of the provenance and production methods of food.

7.7 As well as more sustainable consumption and diets, we will need to seek to avoid and/or mitigate the projected demand for food through a reduction in the amount of waste created in agriculture, food supply chains, and by households. Wasting food is not only an inefficient use of ecosystem services and limited resources, but also a contributor to global warming when food degrades and emits methane.

Evidence 7.8 The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that global food production will need to rise by 50% by 2030 and to double by 2050, to meet the demands of a rising world population. 50% of the projected increase by 2050 is accounted for by projected increases in population, with the other 50% projected due to increasing and different patterns of consumption from changing tastes, lifestyles, and urbanisation.

7.9 Currently, the UK only produces approximately 0.97% of the world’s cereal output. It has been calculated that average global wheat yields will need to increase over the next 25 years from 2.6 to 3.5 tonnes per hectare. In 2007, average wheat yields in the UK were already 7.2 tonnes per ha.

7.10 The direct greenhouse gas emissions arising from the UK livestock sector accounted for 4.5% of total UK GHG emissions in 2005. Some livestock farming sustains high value landscapes and habitats crucial to biodiversity and helps to maintain soil carbon levels. It is estimated that 12kg of grain is required to produce 1kg of grain-fed beef, with animal feed accounting for the largest environmental impact from this type of production. Nearly 50% of all cereals produced in the world are fed to livestock for meat and dairy production, and in the UK around 70% of cereals are used as feed. Energy efficiency in livestock production can be increased through the utilization of organic wastes when animals are part of integrated farming systems.

9

7.11 In the UK, if people followed WHO’s guidelines for a healthy diet we would eat 50% more fresh fruit and vegetables, 15% less meat and milk, 20% less fats (vegetable oils, butter and margarine), and 75% less cheese. These changes in diets would have both positive and negative environmental impacts. For example, less GHG emissions resulting from fewer numbers of livestock in the dairy and meat sectors, but expansion of protected horticultural production, e.g. polytunnels, possibly lowering landscape quality and values in some areas.

7.12 One in five people think oranges can be grown in the UK and less than a quarter of young people know apples are picked in autumn. A majority of consumers seek information from labels when making food purchase choices but labels are currently more likely to confuse and mislead consumers than inform them. However, if used properly, credible labelling schemes have the potential to inform consumers and differentiate products.

7.13 The food industry produces 6.5 million tonnes a year of waste – 10% of all UK industrial and commercial waste. In the food chain, around a third of all food is wasted at household level, half of which is edible, and the cost to food manufacturing of wasted natural resources is between £2 and £3 billion a year.

Policy 5

8. If, in future, food production in the UK and Europe needs to increase to provide people with a healthy diet, there will need to be simultaneous improvements in environmental performance. In Europe, the Common Agricultural Policy should aim to ensure both our food and environmental security. 8.1 As well as international efforts, different responses to food insecurity will be required in different

situations in different parts of the world. Reconciling the necessary increases in agricultural productivity with greater respect for the ecosystem services which underpin food production will require changes in production. In Europe, the EU should lead this change and take action by supporting appropriate practices and technologies and helping to develop the skills and knowledge of farmers.

8.2 The CAP needs to be progressively transformed so that it becomes primarily a tool for rewarding the environmental services and other public goods arising from sustainable land management, where the market fails to do so. The CAP should aim to provide environmental security through management of the ecosystem goods and services underpinning soil, air, water quality, biodiversity and cultural landscapes, as well as addressing the challenges posed by climate change. It should also aim to encourage sustainable farming that can contribute to long-term food security, rewarding it for the environmental and other public benefits it delivers.

8.3 It is possible that even if the UK population moves towards healthier and more sustainable diets and if supply chains become more efficient, food production may, in future, need to increase to help feed a higher national population and to make a contribution to ensuring our food security. We believe that we must work together to reduce environmental impacts and avoid damage to the natural environment whenever seeking to increase food production.

8.4 Improving the environmental performance of agriculture and increasing food production in England is possible but will present challenges, particularly for maintaining and enhancing the diversity of England’s wildlife and landscapes. Principles need to be agreed for resolving any trade-offs between food production, biodiversity, and landscape quality.

8.5 We need to retain special protection for those areas which have a high biodiversity, geological, access or landscape value, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, National Nature Reserves, National Parks, and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. As pressure on land increases over time, these protected areas will become even more essential for achieving a sustainable multifunctional countryside.

10

8.6 In some parts of the English countryside, a greater number of mixed farms and adoption of mixed farming systems could offer benefits in terms of efficient food production and the maintenance and enhancement of landscapes and wildlife. This is due to:

system efficiencies through greater reuse and recycling of resources and ‘wastes’, e.g. use of plant wastes to feed animals, which mean that these do not become pollutants, or lessens the requirements for external inputs;

the benefits to biodiversity provided by mixed farming, as there is more likely to be edible food sources for species throughout the year;

the benefits to landscape character: mixed farms have long been the backbone of many English lowland landscapes.

Evidence 8.7 Soil erosion affects 9% of the area covered by the EU 25, with the figure rising to 26% in the case of Bulgaria and Romania. Water abstraction is increasingly important for modern agriculture, but nearly half of Europe’s population still lives in water stressed countries. Intensive irrigation can also lead to soil salinisation which interferes with plant growth and contributes to desertification. It has been estimated that salinisation affects 1 – 3 million hectares across the EU. Some 55% of the nitrogen leaching into European waters comes from agriculture. Farmland bird populations declined by 24% in the EU between 1980 and 2002 whilst farmland butterfly populations fell by 27% between 1972 and 1998.

8.8 The CAP budget in 2009 allocated €41 billion to agricultural market expenditure and direct aids (Pillar 1), whilst only €14 billion (Pillar 2) was allocated to environment and rural development schemes. As part of the CAP Health Check reform, an estimated €3.24 billion of Pillar 1 funding will be shifted to Pillar 2 to meet new challenges from 2009 to 2012.

8.9 The UK population is predicted to rise from the current 61 million to 77 million in 2060 – a rise of 25%, making the UK the country with the largest population in the EU (ahead of France at 72m, Germany at 71m, Italy at 59m and Spain at 52m).

8.10 There is potential for simultaneously achieving more efficient food production and reducing environmental impacts. This is because pollution represents wasted resources (e.g. nitrogen, phosphate and soils), and because controlling pollution may have positive effects for biodiversity in the wider environment (e.g. aquatic species in rivers).

8.11 Biodiversity in the more immediate environment, however, is often disrupted by, or is in competition with agricultural production. For example, if almost all the available (solar) energy is sequestered to a crop there is little left for biodiversity unless it feeds on the crop. But, it is possible for biodiversity to have an agronomic value by, for example, being part of an ecosystem that suppresses pest and disease populations, whilst other species are essential to agriculture. Hence, there is a difference between making food production more efficient and less polluting (so that greater productivity can be obtained with less loss of soil and nutrients), and ensuring that any increase in production is not at the expense of biodiversity and/or landscape quality.

8.12 England has eight National Parks which cover an area of 1,050,886 ha and account for 8% of England’s total land area. The 36 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) cover 2,042,832 ha or 15% of England’s total land area. There are over 4,000 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in England, covering around 7% of the country’s land area. Many SSSIs are also National Nature Reserves (NNRs) or Local Nature Reserves (LNRs).

11

8.13 Between 1990 and 2004, there was a 22% fall in the number of mixed and general cropping farms across England. Species which benefit from mixed farming include lapwings which often nest in cereal fields but feed newly hatched young in invertebrate-rich pasture, and brown hares that graze different crops at different times of year.

Policy 6

9. Retaining the capacity to produce food in the UK and Europe is important for our food security, including through support for sustainable food production, appropriate research and development, protection of fertile land whilst allowing for other required land use changes, and suitable skills and knowledge. 9.1 By seeking a healthy and adaptable farming and food economy in the UK and Europe, and by

protecting and enhancing a healthy and resilient natural environment, we will be in a position to respond positively and appropriately to the challenge of food security in the future. Maintaining a productive capacity for food production can contribute to resilience in an uncertain world, and would involve four approaches:

1. Encouraging increased adoption of those existing farming and food systems with high environmental value and lower environmental impacts. For example, Environmental Stewardship’s Higher Level Scheme, integrated agriculture, organic farming, traditional orchards, and sustainable livestock grazing.

2. Investing in research and development and extension of new farming practices, techniques, designs, and technologies that can produce food with a lower impact on the environment, both in terms of the inputs required and the diffuse pollution generated.

3. Protecting enough fertile land, which could be used for agriculture and food production if required, whilst valuing the current environmental services provided (e.g. flood management) and allowing for the creation of new habitats, coastal change, and the diversification of rural economies.

4. Training and education of a sufficiently skilled workforce of environmentally aware farmers, fishers, and food producers, and support for mechanisms to enable knowledge transfer and the dissemination of good practice.

9.2 As pressure on land for all uses increases, it will be necessary to take a strategic view about the mix of benefits to be provided by land and to consider how to integrate food and non-food production with landscape and biodiversity objectives, as well as strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change. The Best and Most Versatile land classification system and Cost- Benefit Analysis will be useful in informing decisions on proposed land use changes in particular areas, which should include external costs and benefits, and take account of the ease of reversibility of any changes and opportunity costs.

9.3 Biotechnology, including genetic modification, has the potential to contribute towards agriculture becoming more environmentally sustainable, more productive and better able to adapt to climate change. Novel biotechnology products could lead to significant changes to how we manage our land and water resources. There may be both important opportunities and major risks for the environment which need to be understood and assessed clearly prior to commercial release.

9.4 The Government’s focus on bioenergy to achieve nearly half of the EU’s target of 15% of UK energy to come from renewable sources by 2020 will result in a dramatic increase in energy produced from crops in the next decade. This will lead to an increasing demand for land to grow energy crops both in the UK and globally. Crops grown for electricity and heat production, such as Miscanthus will compete with food production for land, whilst the markets for food and transport fuels will compete to procure crops which can be used for either purpose.

12

Evidence 9.5 Maintaining the capacity to produce food in the UK is a source of ‘option value’ and applies the precautionary principle in an uncertain future. In the UK, 49% of food consumed is currently of UK origin, and we are self-sufficient in approximately 60% of all food, (i.e. we produce 60% of our food requirements, but as we export some of this, of the actual amount consumed 49% is UK origin). In particular sectors, UK self-sufficiency levels range from nearly 100% for liquid milk to less than 10% for fruit. Our European partners, Italy, France and Germany, produce between 80 – 90% of their fruit.

9.6 Little evidence is available for how far domestic food production and/or different supply chains could meet the nutritional needs of the population, what the environmental impacts might be, and the required amount and type of land. Research is needed to quantify the nutritional requirements of the population (in terms of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, etc.), consider the systems or mix of production systems and supply chains to meet these needs, and the impacts on food security, land use, and the natural environment which could result.

9.7 The total land area of England is 13,051,303 hectares. About 72% of this is used for agriculture (which has declined by about 2% over the last 20 years), with 9% for forestry and woodlands, and the rest consisting of the built environment. Around 70% of agricultural land is currently used for food and feed production, with the remainder used for non-food crops such as fibres and biofuels. The Environment Agency estimates that coastal managed realignment in England would result in the loss of less than 0.01% of total agricultural land. The Best and Most Versatile land classification enables choices to be made about future land use within the planning system.

9.8 Examples of biotechnology-derived organisms which could possibly help to improve the environmental performance of agriculture and/or facilitate adaptation to climate change, including crops with a lower requirement for nitrogen fertilizers and improved resistance to biotic stresses, such as pests and diseases.

9.9 In 2004 it was estimated that an additional 350,000 hectares of land might be used for electricity and heat crops by 2020, although this could be as much as 1.2 million hectares if biomass were to supply the UK with 3% of its energy needs. For biofuels for transport, if the target given in the UK’s Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation was met domestically, 20 – 32% of arable land would be needed for energy production.

Policy 7

10. Resilience in the food system will be stronger with a range of supply chains, including butnotexclusivelywithhealthydomesticagriculturalandfisheriessectors,andwe should encourage those with the lowest environmental impact. International trade policies relating to food and agricultural products should include the aim of the protection of the natural environment. 10.1 A diversity of supply chains will strengthen resilience in the food system, as it enables greater

flexibility and adaptability when responding to external shocks. As such, we should seek to maintain a mix of local, regional, national, European and international supply chains, whilst particularly encouraging those with the lowest environmental impact. We should also expect a diversity within the food processing, manufacturing, and retail sectors and fair trading relationships and competition between all actors within the food chain.

10.2 Account needs to be taken of the impacts of our consumption on the global environment, the world’s oceans, and the natural environments in other countries. For example, the declining numbers of livestock in the UK have not been mirrored by a reduction in meat consumption: instead there has been increasing imports to meet the shortfall in domestic output. Similarly, the issue of soy used in animal feed is linked to the UK’s global environmental footprint through the conversion of natural areas to soy plantations in Latin America.

13

10.3 Trade at all levels can be beneficial to ensuring food security as it provides access to a wider range of foods and allows wider markets for our products. Trade liberalisation policies have, however, often enabled and encouraged specialisation and the expansion of certain types of food production in different countries and/or areas, resulting in environmental problems. Conversely some traditional production systems associated with high environmental value have become uncompetitive leading to land abandonment and biodiversity loss.

10.4 These negative impacts of trade liberalisation can partly be mitigated in the UK and the EU through policy instruments. It is important, therefore, that trade agreements do not constrain the legitimate use of policy measures to protect and enhance the natural environment. Elsewhere in the world similar measures, regulations and standards may not be in place or sufficiently adequate, leading to the possible ‘exporting’ of environmental damage, including habitat loss, and unfair competition between producers. International environmental food production standards, agreed and applied by all governments, are therefore now required.

10.5 In the interim, we must also seek to agree ways of managing different environmental standards and regulations, to avoid placing European producers at a competitive disadvantage and displacing production to areas not previously used for agriculture or where environmental standards may be significantly lower or absent. Evidence 10.6 Excessive dependence on particular supply chains, including a sole reliance on national or international supply chains, can expose the food chain to sudden shortages in the event of natural, technical or political shocks and instability. Of all the food consumed in the UK, 50% is from imports from all continents (except Antarctica), with the other half supplied domestically.

10.7 In 2002, the transport of food produced 19 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, of which 10 million tonnes were emitted in the UK, representing 1.8% of the total annual UK CO2 emissions. Transport of food by air currently has a small absolute impact but has the highest CO2 emissions per tonne and is the fastest growing mode. There is ongoing research investigating the relative environmental impacts of different supply chains.

10.8 Soy, grown and imported from Latin America has become the main source of protein in animal feed: 97% of the soymeal produced worldwide is used for animal feed. Nearly a third of Brazil’s total soy harvest is exported to the EU and 78% of UK soybeans are imported from Brazil. Soy farms are expanding into natural areas in Latin America including the grasslands of the Brazilian Cerrado, the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest, and the Chacos region.

10.9 The value of world food trade in 1995–97, was about US$315 billion – twice the level of 1980–82. Some £20.6 billion of food is imported to the UK and £9.8 billion exported. Many countries have sought to actively participate in global trading regimes but have required substantial economic restructuring. Some countries have found that this has driven unmanaged economic activities and caused environmental degradation. Air, water and soil pollution, and unrestrained natural resource exploitation have increased to levels that jeopardise the viability of the economic activities they support.

10.10 These impacts have been witnessed in Europe as well as in countries elsewhere. For example, in the East of England, specialisation in agriculture in order to compete in a globalised economy has increased rapidly over the last 30 years, due largely to the decline in arable/dairy enterprise mixes on farms and replacement primarily by purely arable systems. These changes have had an impact on the quality of the landscape, habitats and farmland biodiversity.

14

Policy 8

11. There is an important role for local enterprises, citizens, and communities in ensuring food and environmental security, such as through involvement in allotments and communityorchards,andtheseactivitieshavemultiplehealthbenefits.Sufficientland needs to be made available to local communities to enable them to participate in sustainable food production. 11.1 There is potential for commercial local food production and associated distribution and selling

to play an enhanced role in ensuring the UK’s food security, through contributing to a diversity in supply chains and retail outlets, as they currently only represent a small share of the UK’s total food economy. Local food production and consumption can encourage a greater diversity in primary production in an area which offers the potential to strengthen resilience in the food system and bring other benefits.

11.2 There is an important role for allotments, city farms, community gardens, and other green infrastructure in providing land for informal food production and for places for wildlife. This type of production can often produce more food per hectare compared with commercial agriculture. There can also be important associated health benefits for people engaged in these activities of increased consumption of fruit and vegetables, greater physical exercise, and contact with the natural environment.

Evidence 11.3 Less than 1% of food sold in supermarkets is ‘local’. Strong local and regional food economies can contribute to a diversity of supply chains, develop connections to local farming communities, enhance the appreciation of the natural environment, and encourage a diversity of primary production in an area. It has been estimated that the local food sector could make up to 10% of the UK’s food economy.

11.4 Informal and small-scale food production has been shown to have a greater productivity per unit of land compared with large scale commercial agricultural production. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that horticultural crops can provide up to 50kg of fresh produce per m2 per year depending upon the system employed. It also estimates that productivity of urban agriculture can be as much as 15 times the output per hectare of rural agriculture.

11.5 According to the United Nations Development Programme, in densely populated Hong Kong, 45% of local vegetable needs were being met through the cultivation of just 6% of the land area in 1996. It has been estimated that London could produce 18% of its requirements for fruit and vegetables within the capital’s boundary.

11.6 Encouraged by the Government’s Dig for Victory campaign, by 1943 over a million tons of vegetables were being grown in gardens and allotments in Britain, to help feed a population of around 50 million people. This compares with approximately 2.3 million tons of vegetables produced commercially in 2006, to meet 76% (self-sufficiency rate) of the needs of over 60 million people today.

11.7 Community supported agriculture schemes can help people ‘reconnect’ with the land and increase their awareness of how food is produced, and farmers’ markets can provide an important social meeting place for food producers and citizens, as well as an alternative route to market for farm produce.

11.8 Informal local food schemes can improve access to healthy foods for inner city dwellers living in ‘food deserts’, whilst ‘growing your own’ can increase people’s access to and availability of fresh fruit and vegetables. Other benefits include greater physical exercise and contact with the natural environment, which itself can improve mental health and quicken recovery from illness.

Natural England is here to conserve and enhance the natural environment, for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people and the economic prosperity that it brings.

© Natural England 2009

www.naturalengland.org.uk

Natural England publications are available as accessible pdfs from: www.naturalengland.org.uk/publications

Should an alternative format of this publication be required, please contact our enquiries line for more information: 0845 600 3078 or email enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk

Cover photograph: © Natural England/Nick Turner

Consultation responses

We are very keen to hear your views on this draft policy, so please let us have your written comments by 25 September 2009.

Comments should be sent to: susan.lenaghan@naturalengland.org.uk