Sustainability in food and drink: Leading voices speak out

Speciality Food speaks to important voices across the food, drink and farming sectors to hear their views on sustainability in Britain.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: ‘Education is key to the future health of our planet’

What is the value of sustainable food in 2025?

It’s clear that more and more people are concerned about where their food comes from, how it’s going to impact their health, and what the cost to the planet is of the way it is produced. That’s a good thing. But we do need better information and better labelling to help us make better choices. 

How do you think consumers view sustainable food - do they recognise its importance and value (including monetary) or is there more education to be done? 

There’s always more to be done! One thing I like to emphasise when I’m teaching at River Cottage, or giving a talk - or any opportunity I get really! - is that the story of food is integral to the pleasure, and even the goodness, we get from it. 

I believe we have an appetite for good stories about food that goes right back to the hundreds of thousands of years we spent as hunter gatherers. We were experts at finding food in the natural world around us, and it was pretty much a full-time job. And when we were successful, and took time to sit down together with our group and share the good things we had gathered or hunted, then there was time to relax and tell stories. and what were those stories about? 

The food we had gathered of course! The thrill of the hunt, the passing on of knowledge, the celebration of a bounty of fruit, or roots, or shellfish that our understanding of the forest, or shore had given up to us. These feelings about food and where it comes from actually run very deep. 

What role do retailers - particularly independent fine food retailers - have to play? In terms of how they run their business as well as how they utilise their position in the sector?

I think independent retailers of fine foods are in a great position to tell better stories about better food, and feed the appetite we have to find something that’s authentic, local, well-made, and clearly represents the passion and skill of the growers and artisans who bring it into being. 

How about producers and distributors? 

Producers and distributors need to have a good understanding of these stories too. They need to support retailers by making sure they have all the background about what makes each product special. That’s quite a job of work if your represent hundreds of different producers, but it’s important that sense of value and integrity has to be communicated right through the chain. From farm to fork, as we like to say these days. 

What would you like to have changed/developed in terms of sustainability in the food industry by the end of 2025? 

Ultimately across the whole industry I think we need labelling that has something meaningful to say about sustainability, animal welfare, and nutrition. it’s complex of course, but it can be done. At the moment there is too much meaningless bluster and misleading distraction on our food labels that needs to be legislated out.  But we still need to leave room for true artisan producers to tell the real story of their amazing products. 

Why is this so important? 

I think over the coming years, as it becomes clearer and clearer that the food choices we make are absolutely fundamental to our well-being, and the health of our planet, people will be rightly demanding better and more useful information about their food. And if we can give them that, we can genuinely help them stay well, feel connected to their local food community and make a contribution to a more sustainable future. And if they are doing that, they will quite simple enjoy their food more. There’s no doubt in my mind that feeling good about the food you eat, even if that’s sometimes quite unconscious, actually makes it more delicious. 

Bill Young, OF&G’s new chief executive: ‘Meaningful change is needed in 2025’

Assurance schemes that benefit the UK

“When it comes to securing a sustainable, economically viable future for the food and farming sector, frustratingly, too many assurance schemes are controlled from overseas. I strongly believe UK licensees’ fees should fundamentally benefit the domestic market in supporting more sustainable farming practices. 

“The recent Farm Assurance Review on UK schemes omitted the issues created by foreign certification bodies. It also entirely missed the opportunity to discuss how UK schemes and standards could facilitate higher exports. Organic governance in the UK consistently evidences the delivery of environmental ambitions at the highest level, whilst being a productive system of food production. It’s a position that aligns closely with EU policy.” 

“Having spent over half my life working in quality assurance, leading Organic Farmers & Growers has huge appeal as it is British owned and governed by a board, primarily made up of British farmers. Backing UK assurance schemes is a surefire way to reinvest in the industry.” 

Improving food security

“In just 30 years, the UK’s food self-sufficiency has fallen from 78% and is rapidly spiralling towards 50%. It is disastrous. Food security is for me, one of the biggest issues the nation faces. 

“If we’re importing 84% of fruit and 47% of vegetables, there is an inherent vulnerability of our food systems. Increasing the level of self-sufficiency is key to achieving a more resilient supply chain. Independent retailers are well place to help drive demand by making up the shortfall in seasonal, British produce that is often evident in the multiples. 

“It is a concerning development that more agricultural land area is being taken out of production and being replaced by solar farms. There have been 15 applications in Lincolnshire alone. And while renewable energy is key to supporting environmental objectives, we cannot do so when this poses a threat to our food security. It’s very worrying. 

Balancing food production and the environment  

“The disconnect that exists in terms of people thinking that you can’t protect the environment while increasing food production is concerning because it’s simply not true. There are schemes that have repeatedly shown that it is possible to do both simultaneously, organic being one of them. 

“The speciality food sector plays a crucial role in shifting mindsets by helping lead consumers towards more sustainable and ethical choices. With 64% of Britons having a favourable opinion of environmentalism and 70% concerned about the impact of climate change3 there is a growing demand for sustainable and ethical food production. 

“OF&G’s commitment to transparency and local control resonates deeply with producers, retailers and consumer who value authenticity and traceability. Fundamentally, all agricultural systems exist to produce food but organic delivers quantifiable, proven solutions that fulfil both dietary and environmental requirements. 

Looking ahead

“It’s encouraging to see attitudes embracing sustainability throughout the supply chain. I believe it means there’s tremendous growth potential within the regenerative space. In the UK 75% of farmers feel regenerative techniques are important to the future and half have expressed a desire to adopt regen practices. Organic can be seen as ‘regen without the chem’ – it’s a natural next step for those committed to responsible farming. At the end of the day, organic stands as an undeniably robust solution to many of the challenges we face.” 

Sophie Kirke, senior commercial manager at Soil Association Certification: ‘Indies are key to growth in organic’

We feel that organic is a really important part of the sustainability puzzle, a key sustainability solution. That’s because organic is a whole systems approach to sustainable farming and supply chains. Organic farmers use natural and innovative methods to, say, build soil health or manage pests and as such, organic farms are havens for wildlife. They have a 30% more biodiversity on average than non organic farms. They have healthier living soils with 25% more soil carbon storage on average and more soil microorganisms. Organic farmers also practice EU KS highest standards of animal welfare, where all animals are truly free-range. 

What’s more, organic is legally regulated and independently inspected at all stages of the supply chain, right the way from farm to fork. 

We’re really pleased to report that the organic market has now entered its 13th consecutive year of growth and in 2024 it showed strong growth across all key channels – also that independent retail was one of our best performing channels in terms of organic sales growth in 2024. 

Seventy per cent of the independent retailers who are involved in our research reported sales growth when it came to their organic land at lines last year, and 90% report or they predict future growth in 2025, which is really positive. One of the key reasons for this is that they see organic aligning more than ever with shopper concerns around health and sustainability. We know that retailers expect good organic ranging and distribution to be key to further building organic sales growth in 2025, alongside building better connections with consumers on the benefits of organic and helping them to understand organic as well. 

When it comes to products, we know that organic fruit, vegetables and dairy account for 50% of all organic sales in the UK. So having a good kind of range across this core, what we call entry, category for organic is really important. These are entry products for organic shoppers because they align so well with their needs around healthy, minimally processed and fresh ingredients. If you’re new to organic, you’re most likely to go and buy an organic fresh fruit or vegetable or an organic dairy product, so having a good range is key. 

We also know that organic ambient products can do really well in independent retail. We’ve seen good sales growth across the likes of organic oils and vinegars, organic cereals and other functional products such as chia seeds and turmeric which play into the health trend. That’s partly because of Tim Spector raising awareness of some of the evidence when it comes to organic and gut health. Organic plays well into the gut health trend partly because there’s some new emerging studies showing that synthetic pesticides can disrupt the gut microbiome and organic farming. 

Education is important when it comes to promoting organic – in-store messages about it and POS, shelf wobblers and things like that, are really key to helping to promote organic and Soil Association have a range of marketing materials for this. 

Last year the Organic Research Centre did some research on organic shopper trends, and found that two thirds of shoppers are now intentionally buying organic at least once every three weeks – meaning that the majority of households are intentionally and actively looking for it, which is really good news. 

There are three top reasons why people buy organic; number one, the fact that it has no artificial pesticides, so people are really recognising that that is not only better for them and their own health but also recognizing that that’s better for the environment. The second reason is understanding that organic has higher standards in general, including higher standards for animal welfare, which plays into the less but better meat and dairy trend. Number three is recognizing that organic is better for personal health in addition to the planet. 

Jason Gibb, co-founder of Bread & Jam and Oh So Wholesome: ‘The environmental danger of UPFs’

UK consumers are hooked on ultra-processed foods (UPF). Over half of our weekly shopping baskets are filled with them. When people criticise UPFs, as they rightly and increasingly do, they mostly focus on UPF links to obesity, cancer, and mental illness. Less discussed but no less important is the damaging role they play in worsening the climate crisis. There are three key ways they contribute: 

● First, UPFs drive overconsumption while offering little or no nutritional benefit. These worthless ‘empty calories’ are expected to double by 2050. In Australia, optional calories already account for a third of diet-related greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water use.

● Second, UPFs heavily rely on fossil fuels. The food industry prioritises a handful of high-yield crops for UPF production. These require intensive agrochemical inputs - fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides. Raw materials then undergo energy-intensive processing - extraction, modification, refinement. They are often (non-greenly) shipped around the globe between each stage. 

● Finally, there’s the packaging. Nearly all UPFs come wrapped, packed, or bottled in plastic. With only 9% of all plastic packaging ever recycled, the rest is burned, buried, or is still bobbing around contaminating our oceans. 

Consumers need help to ditch UPFs and return to scratch cooking, eating a variety of fresh, minimally processed whole foods. Speciality retailers have a key role to play here – over to you.