Morning, Wednesday, 19th October 2022
This conference will be an opportunity to discuss the Government Food Strategy and the pathway for achieving the aim of a healthy, sustainable and innovative food system.
It is bringing together stakeholders and policymakers to examine commitments and measures outlined in the Strategy, including in the areas of:
- support for farmers in uptake of new practices and skills development
- expanding the agri-food workforce
- food transparency and mandatory standard reporting
- development of regulation and trade opportunities
- ensuring safety and quality standards
Taking place against the back drop of rising food costs and supply chain disruptions, delegates will assess the extent to which the government’s proposals address strategic challenges, as well as the way forward for implementation, and implications for stakeholders.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- Government Food Strategy - key themes and implications - impact on key sectors - implementation priorities - monitoring progress
- stakeholder perspectives - views on the White Paper from key interests, including consumers, health, local government, hospitality, retail, manufacturing and agriculture
- trade and global markets - animal health and production standards - priorities in a changing geopolitical landscape - the Trade and Agriculture Commission recommendations
- food production - key areas for innovation - sustainability in the food and drink sector - fostering employment - skills development and uptake - priorities for the food sector workforce
- regulation - standards improvement and monitoring - mandatory reporting - procurement and standards transparency - addressing food crime - use of data to increase regulatory effectiveness
- local issues - resilience and food insecurity - the role of local government and other stakeholders in achieving change - improving school food
- the policy landscape - the Strategy in the context of: the forthcoming Health Disparities White Paper - HFSS measures in the Tackling Obesity Strategy - wider government Levelling Up ambitions
- next steps - improving health and environmental outcomes - priorities for government and policy-makers going forward - stakeholder roles and responsibilities - support for delivery
We are pleased to be able to include a keynote session with Daniel Roff, Deputy Director, Agri-Food Strategy & Coordination, Defra; as well as contributions from Rebecca Sudworth, Director of Policy, Food Standards Agency; Professor Lorand Bartels, Chair, Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC); Kristin Bash, Chair, Food Specialist Interest Group, Faculty of Public Health; Dustin Benton, Policy Director, Green Alliance; and Professor Bob Doherty, Research Lead, Transforming Food System Programme, FixOurFood.
Daniel Zeichner MP, Shadow Minister for Food, Farming and Rural Affairs has kindly agreed to chair a session in this seminar.
The conference will be an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues alongside key policy officials who are due to attend from Defra; DAERA, NI; DIT; Food Standards Scotland; House of Commons Library; The Scottish Government; and the Welsh Government.
