'UK food security under threat': Comment on new memo from food industry whistleblowers

Commenting on a food security memo [1] written by a group of senior professionals working within some of the UK’s biggest food retailers, producers and manufacturers, and published by Inside Track, Tom Lancaster, land, food and farming analyst at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said:

“This memo from a group of food industry insiders confirms what we already know – that climate change poses an existential threat to our collective food security, and that we’re not doing nearly enough to tackle it and ensure the resilience of our food supplies.
 
“Last year saw one of the UK’s worst harvests on record [2] after a winter of devastating rain. Extreme weather added £361 to the average household food shop [3] in 2022 and 2023. Everywhere you look, from the price of olive oil and easter eggs now, to the absence of tomatoes and cucumbers on our shelves in early 2023, we see the signature of climate impacts on our food system. These whisteblowers are highlighting an urgent issue that both business and government need to be doing much more to address before it’s too late.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. https://insidetrack.org.uk/foodmemo
    
2. https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/2024/england-set-for-top-three-worst-harvest-as-impact-of-wet-winter-continues-to-linger
    
3. https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/2023/families-hit-by-605-food-bill-as-extreme-weather-and-energy-crisis-bites

For more information or for interview requests:

Tom lancaster, land, food and farming analyst, ECIU, Tel: +44 (0)7703006738, email: tom.lancaster@eciu.net