National Food Strategy
The National Food Strategy is an independent review for Government led by Henry Dimbleby.
“This is no time for half-hearted measures. If both government and businesses are willing to take bold action and prioritise the public’s health, then we have an incredible opportunity to create a much fairer and more sustainable food system for all families. Of course it’s right every child should have access to healthy and affordable food, no matter where they live – and last year has been a stark reminder that nutritious meals are vital in keeping us all healthy and resilient”.
Jamie Oliver
British Chef
“Analytically tight, empirically thorough, the Dimbleby Report is not only a masterly study of UK’s food problem, but it also constructs a framework wide enough to be deployed for studying the food problems societies face everywhere. The Report’s recommendations are detailed, convincing, and would be entirely implementable if we cared about ourselves and the world around us.”
Sir Partha Dasgupta
Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge and author of The Economics of Biodiversity
“The pandemic has turned the divide between the rich and the poor into a gaping chasm. A terrible legacy of this time will be the exponential growth of food banks and hand-outs. Sadly the fact is that the less well off you are, the more likely you are to be prey to unhealthy food. There is a nutritional gap between rich and poor in this country, and it's a slowly unfolding tragedy. Dimbleby not only recognises this – he has a plan to do something about it. Measures like extending free school meals to more children and trialling prescriptions of fruit and veg could kickstart the change we need to see. I trust the Government will act on his advice."
Dame Louise Casey
Baroness Casey of Blackstock
“The National Food Strategy report deserves to be widely read and deeply considered by everyone with responsibilities for any part of our food system. Its compelling narrative focuses attention on the urgent challenges facing the food system and how we must work together, across government and industry, to create a system which is good for the health of people and the planet. I welcome the report, including its recommendations to expand the role of the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The FSA is an independent regulator, trusted to make sure food is safe and is what it says it is. Our work is led by science and evidence, but places the interests of consumers at the heart of everything we do. We look forward to discussing the report with government and other partners and collaborating with them to create a resilient, healthier and more sustainable food system.”
Professor Susan Jebb
Chair of the Food Standards Agency
“This significant report makes strong recommendations to make everyday foods healthier for all, and which must be considered as part of the comprehensive action needed to tackle obesity. Diets high in sugar and salt drive dangerous risk factors such as obesity and high blood pressure, putting millions of people at increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
“Building on the success of the soft drinks industry levy, a new charge on sugar and salt would encourage food and drink manufacturers to further reduce the sugar and salt content of everyday foods, helping make the healthier choice an easy choice for every family.”
Charmaine Griffiths
Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation
“The National Food Strategy is a welcome addition to the debate about the future of land use and food production in the UK. The strategy highlights the need to properly reward farmers for environmental improvements above and beyond what they already do, and rightly recognises the world class environmental and animal welfare standards of British food. It is precisely because of these standards that Government and industry can argue with confidence that consumers should buy British meat, fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy and environmentally conscious diet.”
Mark Bridgeman
President of the Country Land and Business Association
"Everyone knows farming has to change if we are going to meet our climate and biodiversity goals and improve the health of the nation. But it is far, far easier said than done. Dimbleby offers a nuanced and imaginative way forward, one which harnesses the capacity of farmers and land managers to be a major part of the solution in tackling these challenges, while being fairly rewarded for their hard work and ingenuity. Many farmers are up for the challenge, but will need these recommendations to be implemented to make this possible."
Helen Browning
Chief Executive of the Soil Association
“This report is visionary and courageous and also much needed. It provides hope at a time when Covid 19 has exposed our vulnerability as a nation, which is in part the result of our poor diet. It is also deeply practical, offering solutions that can reverse a broken system and vested interests that currently result in healthy food being least available to those who most need it.
The “Community Eatwell” programme, in particular, recognises the huge potential role of empowered local communities working with primary care to radically change our eating habits and our health.”
Dr Michael Dixon
Chair of the College of Medicine
“The Dimbleby report is a wake-up call to this country and government to do something about our food system and the epidemic of obesity and ill health destroying our country. We eat more ultra-processed unhealthy food than any other European country and it is getting relatively cheaper and more deadly each year.”
Tim Spector
Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London and author of Spoon Fed
"There is so much to celebrate about our food, but we do need to act urgently to protect our health and that of the environment. This is a compelling and overdue plan of action. If the Government adopts it, we will, at last, be putting our food system on the right path to health and prosperity.”
Prue Leith
Judge of The Great British Bake Off
“The Dimbleby Report has worked through an incredibly complex landscape and resulted in a set of comprehensive, eminently workable recommendations that are practical and will have a direct impact on our lives. I take great heart in several recommendations that particularly resonate and relish the opportunity to see a new generation of children given the opportunity to learn to cook. A fundamental skill no child should be without. I applaud the findings and recommendations of the report.”
Tom Kerridge
Michelin-starred chef
“An incredibly important body of work with some real solutions to some of the thorniest questions around public health and climate change (and how they are inextricably linked). Part 2 of the National Food Strategy at last gives us a chance to transform both for the better and be leaders in this field, through a thorough overhaul of how we approach food and farming.”
Thomasina Miers
chef and co-founder of Wahaca
“The National Food Strategy’s ambitious proposals are long overdue and starkly set out the challenges the UK faces and how our current food system is harming our health and the planet. The government must act on these recommendations and support consumers in making healthier and more sustainable food choices.
“The report highlights some key questions for the UK’s trade policy. Given the government’s commitment to upholding standards and tackling climate change, it is essential that ministers heed the report’s warning on the worrying precedent the Australia deal could create and set core food standards for imports. The UK can’t work to transform its own food system and support people in making food choices that are better for their health and the environment if we allow foods to be imported that are produced to lower safety, environmental or welfare standards.”
“The report highlights some key questions for the UK’s trade policy. Given the government’s commitment to upholding standards and tackling climate change, it is essential that ministers heed the report’s warning on the worrying precedent the Australia deal could create and set core food standards for imports. The UK can’t work to transform its own food system and support people in making food choices that are better for their health and the environment if we allow foods to be imported that are produced to lower safety, environmental or welfare standards.”
Sue Davies
Which? Head of Consumer Rights and Food Policy
"Good food isn't just about deliciousness. It's also about health – our own health, and the health of the environment. This fascinating report elevates food to where it belongs – at the forefront of public debate."
Yotam Ottolenghi
Chef
“There is so much to be excited about in the National Food Strategy. Henry and his team have spent two years listening and learning from families to work out the best way to support them to live healthier lives. We wholeheartedly support this bold and ambitious strategy, particularly the recommendations to extend eligibility for free school meals, to commit to at least three years funding for the Holiday Food and Activities programme and to reframe food education as a subject worthy of the same attention as English and Maths."
Stephanie Slater
Founder and Chief Executive, School Food Matters
"The culture of food in Britain has changed beyond recognition in the last 20 years, and it has been amazing to witness. But it's time for the next step. We all hate the idea of anyone telling us what to eat, and it never ever works. But simple measures like a sugar and salt tax that reflects the true cost of these foods will help us as food producers to look at our recipes and adjust them with more sustainable and healthier alternatives."
Bill Granger
Restaurateur
