Food poverty means that an individual or household isn’t able to obtain healthy, nutritious food, or can’t access the food they would like to eat.

Despite increasing choice and affordability of food in the UK, many people eat what they can afford, not what they want.

This often results in people eating poor diets, which can lead to heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer, as well as inadequate levels of many vitamins and minerals. Obesity is now a sign of poverty in the rich countries, as hunger is in poor countries.

Fish is the main source of animal protein for over a billion people and provides livelihoods for 200 million. Ninety percent of these livelihoods are in developing countries.

With 75 percent of fish stocks around the world fully exploited, and a global fishing fleet that continues to expand, all global fisheries could collapse by 2048.

Pirate fishing, poor management and legal overfishing are causing losses in income worth $73 billion a year.

Acting ethically means taking values seriously and asking ‘what should I do, all things considered?’

We can’t question everything we do, but, whether we notice it or not, our values often influence the decisions we make in our personal, social and profession lives. For centuries philosophers have wrestled with how to do this better.

While there are no easy answers, their advice includes:

• Work out the likely winners and losers but bear in mind that the future is uncertain and some things can be wrong irrespective of the benefits

Europe's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is expensive and controversial: it costs EU citizens around €100 billion per year, half through tax and half through higher prices; it drives down world prices, making it harder for people in poor countries to make a living from agriculture; and, perversely, it supports some practices that damage the environment and public health.

Road fuel sold in the UK must contain 2.5% of renewable fuels. This is set to increase to 5% by 2010.

The EU has set a conditional target of 10% for biofuel content in petrol and diesel by 2020.

The UK and EU support only sustainably sourced biofuel. However, there is no internationally agreed definition of 'sustainable biofuel', nor a binding working standard.

The UK Governments believes biofuels offer significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions compared with fossil fuels and help to address climate change. But scientific evidence suggests it’s not so clear cut.

The use of antimicrobial drugs (antibiotics) in farming has come under increasing scrutiny because of fears that their overuse in animals speeds the development drug resistant human and animal diseases. Since the late 1990s, this has been the focus of more than ten reports by government advisory committees to the UK and the EU. The response to this concern has been a series of bans on the use of specific antibiotics as growth promoters.

Air freighting food raises concerns about its contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and consequently its contribution to climate change. This has prompted calls to reduce the practice of flying food to fill supermarket shelves. However, that could harm communities in poor countries who depend on horticultural exports.

In the UK, we use the equivalent of 58 bathtubs full of water every day. Most of this goes into making the food we eat and the clothes we wear, rather than coming out the tap. Only 38% of all the water we use originates here.

Around 70% of all abstracted freshwater is used in agriculture. But it’s not just about the amount we use. Where it’s from and how it’s used is also important.

Agriculture accounts for around 24% of all water used across the EU, but that rises to 80% in water stressed areas.

There has been an upsurge in interest in seasonal food with two thirds of consumers aspiring to buy food in season. It is seen to benefit consumers, society, farmers and the environment by having a smaller ecological footprint, encouraging other sustainable behaviours, reconnecting us with where our food comes from, and benefiting our health and rural development.

An increasing proportion of people in the UK say that they think healthy eating is important. But consumption patterns still fall short of aspirations for a healthier diet.