Roots and Routes: When Policies Collide

Roots and Routes is a series of webinars and workshops from the Food Ethics Council. Through it we aim to explore the drivers and root causes of issues affecting the UK food system and collectively consider routes forward towards meaningful long-term change.

The first webinar of the series – Roots and Routes: When Policies Collide –  was held on 16th September 2026. It set out to explore the root causes of policy incoherence in the context of UK food systems, asking what happens when policies collide, contradict or otherwise fail to align.

Food Ethics Council Member Dr Sinéad Furey chaired a panel of expert speakers comprising:

• Matt Bixby, Member of the Citizen Advisory Council
• Rt Hon George Eustice, Managing Director of Penbroath Ltd and former Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Dr Kelly Parsons, Assistant Research Professor, University of Cambridge; post-doctoral researcher whose research interests include policy integration and policy coherence
• David Thomson, Director of Strategy and Devolved Nations, Food and Drink Federation and CEO Food & Drink Federation Scotland (and formerly held several positions in Scottish Government)

A lively Q&A followed, gathering diverse perspectives across national, devolved and regional levels. The session was supported throughout by visual scribing from artist Sally Pring, culminating in the graphic below.

Watch the webinar recording here on Vimeo and find future Roots and Routes events from the Food Ethics Council here.