Environmental charity the Soil Association has released its food and farming manifesto priorities.
The country’s political parties are hurrying to set out their plans and promises for the next five years to voters in light of the snap election announcement last week.
The Soil Association has said there is a changing climate which has put pressure increases on the NHS from diet related ill health.
The charity is urging the next government to put tackling climate change, improving public health, making sure the UK has healthy soil for future generations and farm animal welfare at the centre of their food and farming vision.
Soil Association's eight key priorities
• Investing in healthy soils – though soil stewardship payments, mandatory soil testing, incentives for more grass and clover, and agroforestry
• Zero carbon farming by 2050 – a commitment to ensuring the agriculture and food sector plays its part in tackling climate change, in line with the Paris Agreement
• Funding for farmer-led research – allocate 10% of the current research and development budget for innovative agriculture projects led by farmers themselves
• Stronger support for organic farming – building on the current system to increase the amount of land farmed using organic methods to benefit the environment and improve animal welfare, and to meet growing consumer demand for organic food
• A ‘good life’ for all farm animals within 10 years – setting a new welfare framework for all farm animals supported by the mandatory method of production labelling, stronger regulation of farm antibiotic use, and public investment to help farmers make the transition
• Investing in child health – commit to creating an environment where it is normal, easy and enjoyable for children and young people to eat well
• Better public procurement – to widen public access to healthier, higher welfare, local and organic food and to build stable markets for farmers and growers
• Every hospital becomes a ‘beacon of good food’ – contributing towards the ‘radical upgrade in prevention and public health’ called for in the NHS Five Year Forward View
'Innovation is critical'
Helen Browning, Chief Executive of Soil Association said the next Government will have the opportunity to develop a food, farming and land use policy for the first time in decades.
“We’re proposing eight priorities that we’d like to see in all manifestos. Climate change, public health, soil protection and farm animal welfare must be top priorities.”
She continued: “The next government should also do more to support research and innovation by farmers themselves, which is critical to the success of agriculture post-Brexit. The health of future generations should be safeguarded through investing in children's nutrition and through high welfare, low antibiotic systems for farm animals.
“Prevention is much better than cure. I urge all parties to step-up to the plate and fully recognise the importance of food and farming to public health, our environment, and the economy.”
The Soil Association is also calling for stronger support for organic farming methods alongside closer working across-departments and with devolved administrations, and better resourcing of DEFRA.
The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA), an organisation which represents the interests of the tenanted sector of agriculture, has also set out issues they would like to see covered in Political Party manifestos.
