Back British fruit and veg, new Prime Minister told
The UK must stop relying on imports and fix diets by doubling the land used to grow fruit and vegetables and backing British, nature-friendly farming - environment and farming groups have told the new government.
In an open letter co-ordinated by the Soil Association, TV presenters and influencers have joined voices from across the farming, food and environmental sectors to call on the new Prime Minister to back and scale up the UK horticulture sector.
The signatories include chefs Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Anna Jones alongside author Dr Chris van Tulleken and farming influencers like Sinead Fenton. They warn that if the current decline in British fruit and veg continues, the UK will “face further disaster” for supermarket shelves, our health, and the environment.
The call follows a new report from environment charities the Soil Association, Sustain and The Wildlife Trusts that says action must be taken to boost consumption of local and nature-friendly fruit and veg, like organic. It insists farmers and growers must be given a fair deal and put in the driving seat to deliver sustainable food security and healthy diets.
The UK's fruit and veg supply is vulnerable
Campaigners have highlighted the “vulnerability” of UK horticulture, warning that public health will be further at risk if current trends continue and production declines further.
They are raising the alarm over the fact that imports account for most of the fruit and nearly half of the veg consumed in the UK, while less than a third of people eat their five a day.
They call for government intervention to back sustainable British farmers and growers and for land used for horticulture in England to double. This would only be a small change to take horticulture from around 2% to 4% of farmland.
The letter to Keir Starmer points out that more land is currently used to play golf than to produce fruit and veg.
The letter says: “Across the country, growers of all scales are working tirelessly to achieve a simple but vital mission: to nourish people with good food. But the sector faces devasting decline. Nearly half of our growers fear for the survival of their businesses and fruit and veg consumption in the UK is at the lowest level in half a century. Less than a third of us eat our five-a-day.
“What’s more, the produce that does reach us is too often imported from countries that are increasingly impacted by extreme weather. Almost half of our veg and more than 80% of our fruit is imported. This cannot go on. We urgently need more – not less – home-grown fruit and veg, or we face further disaster for supermarket shelves, our health, and the environment.”
The Soil Association is also asking anyone who agrees with the asks of the letter to head to the charity’s website and sign a pledge to say they support homegrown fruit and veg.
Farmers need a just transition to sustainable practices
The report from Soil Association, Sustain and The Wildlife Trusts calls for Starmer to go further than the last government and revive plans for a UK horticulture strategy, which were scrapped last year.
It also calls for the UK government to put more money into incentives for nature-friendly fruit and veg production, including organic, alongside tailored support for small-scale growers.
Report co-author and Soil Association senior policy officer Lucia Monje-Jelfs said: “British fruit and veg is in crisis. Our diets are costing the NHS billions every year and the countries we import from are being hit by the impacts of climate change. If we scaled up agroecological horticulture like organic, boosting access to healthy and sustainable food across the country, we could help to reverse the public health disaster, slash farming emissions, and restore wildlife. The new government must act to support the country’s growers.”
Agroecological systems that work with nature rather than against it, the charities behind the report say, should be prioritised to create a sector reliant on a healthy and resilient ecosystem instead of pesticides and artificial fertilisers.
The groups also call for farmers and growers to be supported through a shift away from farming on peat, which releases vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and causes severe soil erosion.
They urge government to invest in farmer-led research to support sustainable and nature-friendly methods of farming on peat, and to explore opportunities for growing crops in wetland conditions, also known as paludiculture.
It will also be necessary to scale up production in other parts of the country including market gardens and field-scale horticulture, particularly in areas that historically were important for fruit and veg like the Vale of Evesham, the report says.
Vicki Hird, strategic lead on agriculture for The Wildlife Trusts and co-author of the report, said: “Transforming our fruit and vegetable growing sector is vital for our health, climate, nature and for the precious lowland peat habitats that are currently destroyed by growing these products. We need to ensure we can grow more fruit and vegetables everywhere – and do this using sustainable methods that don’t harm the climate, and that work alongside nature using integrated pest management. Growers need to be supported in this period of change and must be treated fairly in the marketplace so that the transition to nature-friendly growing can happen for the long term.”
Will White, report co-author and Sustainable Farming Coordinator at Sustain, said: “The UK stands at a critical juncture in its approach to food production and public health. Our current food system is not only failing our health, with diet-related diseases costing the NHS billions annually, but also leaving our growers vulnerable to unrelenting market pressures and climate impacts. Given this new era of increasing climatic and geopolitical instability, it’s imperative that the new government backs domestic fruit and vegetable production with the robust policies outlined in this report, which include substantial investments in public procurement of homegrown produce, local food hubs, peri-urban farming, and farmer-led research. We must also ensure fairness and flexibility in supply chains to create the level playing field needed for our growers to thrive.”
Farmers need better markets and a fair deal
As well as doubling the land used to grow fruit and veg, the environment charities are also calling for action to boost consumption with government intervention to help create markets for British produce.
They call for an overhaul of public procurement so that schools and hospitals must prioritise homegrown fruit and veg from nature-friendly, agroecological systems.
The asks also include government investment in local food hubs which support short supply chains and create accessible markets for smaller growers, including on the edges of towns and cities.
And the report calls for better fairness and flexibility in supply chains for farmers – most of whom cite supermarket pressure as the reason they fear for their business.
Organic veg box company Riverford features as a case study in the report alongside G's and Barley Wood Kitchen Garden.
Riverford founder Guy Singh-Watson said: “Growing more British fruit and veg is essential for the nation's health and food security. We're clear that this can be done in harmony with nature - Riverford has been doing this for 35+ years, we are proof that it can be done. However, farmers need a fair deal in the supply chain so that nature-friendly farming systems like our own can flourish. Agroecological, regenerative and organic practices are significantly under researched, and too many growers are struggling to stay afloat. The bullying behaviour of supermarkets and their suppliers needs to end, we need the return of honesty and decency to our supply chains.
"The new government has a responsibility to spark a shift to a fair farming system where sustainable, British production brings us more of the food that is essential for human and planet health. Overall, a long-term plan is needed to build up more, shorter, and farmer-focused routes to market, which would not only allow British family farmers to make a fair return on their produce, but also allow them to invest in decent jobs for rural communities, protecting our climate and nature, and strengthening our supply of high-quality, homegrown food for generations to come.”