Prof. Tim Lang’s solution to the “wartime” challenge facing the UK and the wider world’s agrifood systems includes legally binding sustainability targets, the introduction of a Food Resilience Act, national guidelines for procurement and increased regulatory bodies and commissions.
The key to success, according to all our expert contributors, is to view the system as circular, rather than made up of separate parts. It’s possible to create an agrifood system that is both productive and profitable, with actions such as:
- Bringing food production closer to manufacturing and distribution
- Encouraging collaboration between small innovators in emerging technologies like AI
- Looking at the whole-life cost and impact of food production
“Agrifood standards have in the past been done as certain standards within certain segments of the agrifood system, but now we have to look at it as one continuous system and set those standards accordingly. It’s at every level: Improving the quality of life for battery chickens in turn improves the quality of the product, means we eat better food and the farm can make more money and waste less. Too many chickens in the barns means poorer animal health and decreased production, so farmers lose profits as chickens go to broilers or for stock.” - Kirk Siderman-Wolter
“People are now really interested in what smaller, innovative companies are doing. Whether it’s industrial biotechnology or data, bioscience, robotics, AI… it’s a brave new world. And all those areas seem to meld together. Collaboration and data are going to be key to improve food security – smaller producers will work with crop robotics and data technicians to track what you’re buying, where it’s from… this interoperability will be everything.” - Sara Walton
“Current standards operate on a per-asset basis; for example, there’s standards for hedgerows, soil, animals and this means farmers end up having to comply with lots of different standards, where one can actually undermine another. It’s much better to have a whole system approach, taking into account the whole farm. And we know it’s possible - organic farmers have done it for years.” - Vicki Hird
“And while it has a positive impact on profits, it’s also the right thing to do. Standards help create a mechanism for doing the right thing.” - Kirk Siderman-Wolter