1st Edition
Food Policy in the United Kingdom An Introduction
This book provides an introduction to food policy in the United Kingdom, examining policy development, implementation, influences and current issues.
The book begins by providing a wide-ranging introduction to food policy in the UK, situating it within wider global debates and establishing key drivers, such as issues related to global citizenship, trade and finance. The use of food control as a policy lever is also discussed and contrasted with alternative approaches based on behaviour change. The book presents an overview of the history of UK food policy, from which there is much to be learned, before moving onto current challenges posed by political instability, both at home and abroad, global pandemics and cost of living crises. Foremost is the need to manage public health, including both malnutrition and obesity, while promoting sustainable and healthy diets, as well as the broader issues around addressing food security and food poverty. The book also examines public sector food initiatives, such as school food and early childhood provisions, and food regulation. As a part of food regulation, chapters examine food scares and food fraud, from chalk in flour to "horsegate". The role of media, marketing and advertising is also considered within a policy perspective. Taking a wider lens, the book also discusses the impact of global food trade and the financialisation of food on food policy in the UK and vice versa. The book is supported by instructor eResources on the Routledge website designed to support student learning as well as provide regular updates on UK food policy developments. The eResources include student activities, group exercises and links to further reading and additional resources.
This book serves as a key introduction to UK food and agricultural policy for students, scholars, policymakers and professionals, as well as those interested in food systems, public health and social policy more widely.
1 Introduction
2 Food policy in the UK: from public health and nutrition to sustainable diets
3 Food policy and nutrition: the triple burden of modern diets
4 The growth of food insecurity: the new face of food poverty
5 Sustainable diets: linking nutrition and environment
6 Food media, marketing and advertising
7 The UK food industry
8 Global food trade and commodities: the financialisation of food
9 Public sector food initiatives: the case of school food and early childhood provision
10 Food scares, food safety and food fraud from chalk in flour to "horsegate"
11 Examples of success in UK food policy
12 Conclusions, reflections and the future for food policy
Biography
Martin Caraher is Emeritus Professor of Food and Health Policy in the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London, UK. He was a founding member of the London Food Board and has sat on the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) advisory board. He has published five books, including The Economics of Emergency Food Aid Provision (2018) and Food Poverty and Insecurity (2016).
Sinéad Furey is a senior lecturer in Consumer Management and Food Innovation at Ulster University Business School, UK. She previously worked in food and consumer policy roles for the Consumer Council, Education and Training Inspectorate, and the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland.
Rebecca Wells is a senior lecturer in Food Policy in the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London, UK, and the Programme Director for the Centre’s MSc in Food Policy. She previously worked as a producer and food journalist on radio programmes for the BBC, including BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme.
"More from a specific political science viewpoint and focused on certain contemporary policy issues in the food supply chain, this book reviews historic development of different facets of the UK food policy. The book is suitable for wider academic and practitioner readers including both undergraduate and graduate students."
Ziping Wu, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute
"This book provides a much needed and comprehensive account of food policy across the UK discussing the responsibilities and actions of the public sector, business, and the charitable/community sector in relation to food policy. It will be of interest to academics, policy professionals, and community organisations."
Greta Defeyter, Northumbria University
"A critically important resource for researchers and policymakers alike – the authors present a strong, well-reasoned case for situating food insecurity within the context of fundamental rights that the state has responsibility to uphold. The section on School Food and Holiday Hunger serves as a stark reminder that policy solutions must address structural causes and that a sufficient income is essential to ensure that all of our children have access to enough healthy food."
Pauline Leeson CBE, Chief Executive, Children in Northern Ireland
"Someone once said there are two things that we should never have to witness: one is the making of sausages the other is making of food policy. Neither is for the squeamish, apparently. But this book provides us with a palatable examination of the complexities of food policy in action in the UK in a way that sees us coming back for more. Highly recommended."
John Coveney, Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
"A highly relevant book exemplifying the UK’s contribution to food policy discourse, covering broad-ranging socio-political and economic policy dimensions with a UK focus but drawing on global contexts. Contemporary policy topics are critiqued e.g. sustainable diets and food systems; food insecurity/right to food. A must have text book for educators, students, researchers, communities and policy makers. It will certainly have a prominent place on my digital book shelf!"
Dr Clare Pettinger, University of Plymouth
"Sorting out our food systems is key to addressing the societal and environmental challenges of our time. Yet there is growing inequality and a yawning policy gap in relation to food. The crisis in food is here now. Listen to the experts. Read this book and learn why long-term, coherent food policy is desperately needed."
Dan Crossley, Executive Director, Food Ethics Council
"This excellent and timely book will be an invaluable resource to anyone eager to understand the history of UK food policy. It includes up-to-date analysis of the growth of food banks as "successful failures" against a backdrop of ruinous welfare policies and the damaging conflation of the food waste and food poverty problems."
Sabine Goodwin, Independent Food Aid Network
"The UK continues to be a fascinating topic for critical food policy analysis. British food policies have ranged from imperialist (let others feed it) via indifference (it’s up to individual choice) to crisis-led intervention (war food rationing), with many variations between. And now its past policy zigzags face new, complex and unavoidable challenges. Some are self-inflicted such as Brexit and socio-economic divisions. Others are international such as ecosystems stress, runaway consumerism and geo-politics. This mix is why the book is so useful and timely. We can and must learn better policy paths than Britain’s."
Tim Lang, Emeritus Professor, University of London
"Our global food system is in crisis, the UK is experiencing rising food insecurity combined with growing levels of nutrition related illnesses. Food Policy in the UK: An Introduction sets out a clear history of food policies in the UK from school meals to the recent UK food strategy. Using practical tools, such as the Overton Window, to support their analysis of what has worked and what has not. It highlights the challenge of combining health and agriculture actors, with the need for more political commitment, less corporate power and more citizen voices in our food policies and systems, citing the success of the UK Ministry of Food in the post war years. A must read for public health and nutrition stakeholders."
Dr. Regina Keith, School of Life Sciences
"Through the lens of food policy, Caraher et al explore the big issues facing us all today: the environmental crisis, poverty, the power and influence of industry, media and marketing, and the role of the state versus individual responsibility. This book will be relevant and useful for everyone, not just those who study or work in food policy."
Annie Connolly, Research and Engagement Lead, University of York"Packed with detailed case studies and comparative analysis, this is an essential resource for anyone interested in understanding how policy determines and distorts the food system, how we have ended up where we are and the potential for policy to make a positive impact."
Dr Polly Russell, Founder & Curator British Library Food Season
"A text book for our times from some of the sharpest minds in the academic food politics biz, former Radio 4 Food Programme producer Dr Rebecca Wells and Professor Martin Caraher with Dr Sinéad Furey. Together they show how the abstraction of 'food policy’ works in our lives: from trade deals to its effects on our health & well-being and what it means on the farm, at the table, in supermarkets, in schools."
Sheila Dillon, Journalist & Broadcaster, The Food Programme
