“Shifting challenges in building a just, healthy and sustainable food and drink system” was the title of this year’s City Food and Drink Lecture attended by the Master, Reverend Keith Powell, and 25 delegates from The Cooks Company.
The keynote speaker was Professor Sir Charles Godfray, Director of Oxford Martin School, a research and policy unit at Oxford University. He urged more than 650 leaders in the food and drink industry to face up to the very real challenges faced by food industries over the next few decades, posing the question of whether the current food system is resilient enough to feed the world whilst addressing both the health and environmental challenges now impacting everyday life.
During his 45-minute lecture, Sir Charles highlighted the hurdles that both industry and government need to tackle head on, including future population growth, the nature of global food demand and the need for more in-depth research.
He declared “if we take advantage of astute land management in the UK, we can produce more food and have more biodiversity”, and being “a small island, we do not have the luxury of allowing any piece of land to be unproductive”. He went on to urge the government to be “politically brave”, with there being room for improvement when it comes to making sensible fiscal interventions, rather than “knee-jerk reactions”.
The Lecture also recognised the critical importance of the private sector. Referring to the increase in plant-based meat alternatives and their use in reducing carbon footprint, Sir Charles predicted that “within 10-15 years, the vast majority of meat in products like patties and mince will go from meat to meat-substitutes” driven by companies needing to be carbon-conscious. In order for people to willingly make this shift, he suggested we must consume meat and dairy in a way that has a “less judgmental narrative” and remain aware of people whose livelihoods depend on livestock. However it was key that companies were “able to crack delivering meat substitutes that genuinely compete with that of livestock in quality and price – as this is what will have significant impact on Co2 levels.”
The panel discussion following the keynote lecture featured Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, Founder of The Black Farmer, Sue Davies, Head of Consumer Rights and Food Policy at Which?, Sophie Lawrence, Stewardship and Engagement Lead at Rathbone Greenbank, and was chaired by Charlotte Smith, presenter on BBC1’s Countryfile and on Radio 4’s Farming Today.
Sue Davies from Which? raised how research has shown that people are finding it “much more difficult to eat healthy, let alone sustainably” with food price inflation on products like bread, cheese and oats rising by as much as 80%. Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones put forward his thoughts on consumers blaming manufacturers and supermarkets, with the opinion that “we have to take more responsibility for the decisions we personally make”. Sophie from Rathbone Greenbank Investments stated that “affordability is absolutely key. Studies have shown that calorie for calorie it’s 3 times more expensive to eat healthy so in a cost-of-living crisis, we need to be taking strong action on this issue”.
The outgoing Chair of the City Food & Drink Lecture, John Giles, commented “There is so much happening in the world of agriculture, food and drink at the moment, in the UK and around global food security issues: how we go about feeding a global population of 9 billion, the impact of the war in the Ukraine, mitigating against climate change and of course the challenges all of these have on our diet and nutrition”.
Later, after the event, Giles noted “One of the things that Sir Charles talked about was for the government to make brave decisions around the key issues relating to the development of the UK agri-food and drink supply chain. Less than 24 hours later, the government announced a series of measures to support the UK agri-food sector at the Food Summit that took place in London the day after our lecture. This only goes to show the currency and relevance of the discussion and debate held at this year’s City Food & Drink Lecture”.
He went on to say, “This is to be welcomed, of course, but is probably just the start of a hard road if we are to truly develop a fair, just and sustainable supply chain in the future.”
You can watch the video of the event – HERE
Held on 15th May 2023 in the Great Hall at Guildhall, City of London.
The City Food & Drink Lecture is an invitation-only, high-profile event in the City of London organised by the eight food-related City livery companies – the Worshipful Companies of Bakers, Butchers, Cooks, Distillers, Farmers, Fishmongers, Fruiterers, Poulters. Every year a leading figure in the British food business is invited to speak about the issues they regard as most important in shaping the way food is produced, distributed, marketed, sold and consumed. Around 600 delegates attend the event, plus a virtual audience of about 300 from around the world.
With thanks to our premium sponsor, Rathbones Investment Management, and our other sponsors and supporters: ABP, the Agri-EPI Centre, Anpario plc, Compass Group UK & Ireland, Davy’s Wine Merchant, Driscoll’s, Eden Search, Fresh Produce Journal, HSBC plc, Noble Foods, OrchardWorld, Roythornes Ltd, Saffery Champness LLP and Sunny Side Up.
