Promoting healthy, sustainable diets should be a priority for the new Government says the Plant-based Food Alliance UK (PBFA), laying out six asks for the newly elected Labour Government aimed at promoting healthy, climate-friendly food.
“The Labour Government is in a strong position to create structures that allow the country to harvest the abundant health, economic and environmental benefits of increasing plant-based food consumption,” Marisa Heath, CEO of the Alliance, said.
“In particular, a coherent food strategy that ticks health and climate goals, like the one introduced last year in Denmark, will support consumers to make better choices, will help the industry innovate, and ensure that UK farmers also benefit from a booming plant-based market,” Heath added.
The six asks formulated by the PBFA are as follows:
- Promote the role of plant-based foods in sustainable and healthy diets
PBFA asks policy makers at national, regional and local levels to support an increase in plant-based food consumption, helping the public to eat sustainable and healthy diets.
These foods should be scoped into new climate and health strategies, such as a land use framework, carbon budget delivery plan or green industrial strategy.
- Develop a Plant-Based Action Plan to unlock new economic opportunities and bolster food security
The Government is being urged to develop a Plant-Based Action Plan to ensure the UK becomes a world leader in this rapidly growing sector. Following in the footsteps of similar initiative in Denmark, which could include support for farmers to grow crops for plant-based products and investments in a wave of plant-based production facilities on British farms.
- Update the Eatwell Guide in line with sustainability guidelines
A call to refresh the Eatwell Guide, the UK’s national healthy eating model, to include the latest evidence on the health, nutritional and sustainability benefits of plant-based foods.
- Reform public procurement to prioritise sustainable foods
Labour should update the Government Buying Standards and the School Food Standards, ensuring that all food sold in public sector catering meets robust health, sustainability and animal welfare metrics linked to the refreshed Eatwell Guide.
This includes an increase in fruit and vegetables to be served in public sector settings, with at least one nutritious plant-based option to be made available on public sector menus every day. Dynamic standards would allow local businesses and farms to benefit from procurement contracts, and ensure compliance.
- Grow more fruit, vegetables, fungi and pulses in the UK
As promised in the Government Food Strategy, a plan for England’s horticulture sector should be developed and implemented, to reduce our dependence on fruit, vegetables, fungi and pulses grown overseas. This strategy should include a central role for innovation and infrastructure that can help scale supply chains to support the expansion of the plant-based sector.
- Level the playing field for plant-based products
Current restrictions omitting plant-based dairy products from using protected dairy terminology such as milk and cheese must be reviewed in order to build confidence and drive investment in the plant-based dairy sector.
With one of Europe’s largest plant-based food markets, a large part of the UK’s population identify as “flexitarian”, meaning that they intentionally reduce their daily meat consumption, often for health, environmental or animal welfare reasons.
Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 20% of total global greenhouse gas emissions and 32% of methane emissions. A transition to more plant-based eating will help to reduce this huge impact that animal agriculture has on the environment, aiding the new Labour Government’s commitment to Net Zero and the Paris Agreement.
