FARMING

Who would want to be a farmer today? No successor to the CAP, no certainty of stable costs for material inputs or revenues from crop sales, lack of skills and people wanting to go into farming. Farmers have certainly had a very poor deal from those that they trusted. It is time to change.

Our food system is failing us all. Ultra-processed food is exacerbating poor health and is linked to an increased risk of 32 health problems including cancer, obesity and diabetes. Poor diets are estimated to cost our NHS £6.5bn a year yet successive governments have failed to take on the unhealthy food lobby.

The impact of climate change means our food supply is under threat too, along with the livelihoods of our farmers. At the same time, the way we produce our food is damaging our natural world. Agriculture is responsible for about one tenth of all UK greenhouse gas emissions; it is the greatest driver of nature loss and is largely responsible for the scandal of polluted rivers.

Shocks like extreme weather, the war in Ukraine and leaving the EU impacted our food supply chains – all of us have experienced empty shelves and food price rises, with those on lowest incomes worst hit. Our rural economies are struggling, and the rural poverty gap is increasing. All whilst one third of all food produced in the world ends up wasted.

Bold decisions are needed. Subsidies should fully support our farmers, including smaller and family farms, to invest in bringing land back into good health and making it a carbon sink rather than a carbon emitter. And the process of claiming should be made simple and straightforward.

Green MPs would aim to achieve a secure supply of food produced on these islands and a thriving rural economy built upon farming. And we can do this whilst bringing nature back to life, delivering healthy food, providing employment and support to hard-pressed farmers and growers.

Green MPs will work with farmers and other stakeholders (Environment Agency, Natural England/Wales, Schools, Retailers) to transform our food and farming system, so we are producing healthy, nutritious food at fair prices for consumers and with fair wages for growers. We will also aim to increase the amount of food grown and traded in the UK, and as locally as possible.

Elected Greens will push for:

• Financial support for farmers to be almost tripled to support their transition to nature-friendly farming.

• Biodiversity and soil health to be conserved and improved, leading to cleaner rivers.

• Offer sustainable employment, decent livelihoods, career opportunities, good working conditions and ongoing training to those involved in growing food.

• Encourage a move to mixed farming along with a reduction in meat and dairy production and implement new horticulture support for fruit and vegetable production

• Farm payments to be linked to reduced use of pesticides and other agro-chemicals.

• All children to have a free school meal each day and free breakfast clubs for children to Year 6.

• Schools to involve children in growing, preparing and cooking food, as part of the core curriculum.

• Policies that ensure that good quality surplus food is not wasted.

• End unfair trade deals.

Rebuilding national food security

In a world where supply chains are becoming less secure and commodity prices more volatile because of our changing climate and geo-political risks, greater domestic food security is critical. Rather than relying on imports of fresh fruit (80%) and vegetables (50%) we need to build local fresh food networks and bring horticulture back into our urban fringe. Such schemes are already providing a good alternative to processed food in cities such as Copenhagen. Green MPs would draw on examples of good practice elsewhere and campaign for:

• Increasing domestic food production and expanding local horticulture.

• Incentivising growing a much greater variety of plant food types to protect sourcing and enhanced nutrition.

• Rebalancing the power dynamic between big food manufactures and local alternatives such as local food networks, community-supported agriculture and other co-operatives.

• Tackling the unfairness in the system through revitalising the abandoned National Food Strategy.

• Strengthening the powers of the Grocery Standards Adjudicator and the Food Standards Agency.

• Reducing the vulnerability of the small-scale farming suppliers relative to the oligopolies in retail and food manufacture, by regulating for fairness in negotiation and new legally binding codes of practice.

• Putting farmers, including smaller and family farms, back in the room so they are part of developing new farming policy, including a new Fairer Farming Charter.

The Green Party is the Farming Party