Food Ethics Council

Can road pricing, central to UK transport policy, promote more sustainable food systems?

Road pricing, whereby motorists are charged according to their use of roads, is central to the UK government's transport strategy, and a nation-wide system is possible within the next ten years. Over the summer, plans were announced to introduce pilot schemes from next year.

Over time, the kinds of scheme that the government is considering could make a big difference to the way the way food is transported, both in terms of how food gets to the retailers and how we, as consumers, get to the shops. Whether they encourage food systems to become more – or less - sustainable however, hangs in the balance; the environmental and social outcomes of road pricing will depend heavily on how the government weights various aims such as tackling congestion and reducing pollution, the way in which charges are collected and where new pricing measures fit within the overall package of transport, planning, commercial and fiscal policies.

The Food Ethics Council is undertaking a project, funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which aims to harness any potential of road pricing to promote sustainable food systems by ensuring that impacts on food distribution are fully considered in transport policy. The project is led by Research Fellow, Paul Steedman.

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