Sustainable farming and food: emerging challenges

This paper from the Food Ethics Council contributes to the UK Sustainable Development Commission’s (SDC) discussion forum. It spells out some of the stickiest questions facing farm policy in the run up to further CAP reforms. With a foreword by Jonathon Porritt, Chairman of the SDC, its publication was welcomed by Sir Don Curry, Chair of the UK Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy Delivery Group.

The paper asks:

• What role does agriculture have in the UK in light of competition from other land uses?
• How can farming and the food sector meet the challenge of climate change without exposing the UK food supply to other environmental and economic shocks?
• How far can we protect biodiversity and improve the animal health and welfare standards of our food, wherever it is produced, within the terms of our international trade commitments?
• How can our international trade in food best support the wellbeing of people, animals and the environment in poor countries, within the UK and globally?
• How can agriculture promote the wellbeing of both people and the environment in the UK and internationally?
• How can we address the big challenges in sustainable farming and food, yet also give communities, regions and nations greater freedom to pursue their distinctive priorities?