Resilience is key to food supply

The shock of the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to prioritise resilience rather than efficiency as the key principle in the food sector, according to new research.

But while international trade averted major shortages, an investigation into the state of UK food security led by the James Hutton Institute found the problemshad exacerbated previously identified flaws in the food system of inequalities and variation in diet quality in the UK population.

The loss of jobs due to the pandemic had seen the already high reliance on food banks and charity support rise further on low-income sections of society.

Project leader, Dr Mike Rivington, a senior scientist at the JHI, said that recovery from the pandemic would be challenging - but given the additional and mounting threats from climate and biodiversity loss, it also offered an opportunity to rebuild a resilient food system which better addressed the wider threats to society.

“Nearly half the food we consume is imported and UK livestock industries rely heavily on imported feed. Our research will provide government, businesses and other decisionmakers with evidence to help develop robust and sustainablefood systems which are better placed to respond to the current pandemic and future risks and opportunities.”

Professor Tim Benton of Chatham House added the supply shock of the pandemic was an example of what might lie ahead due to climate change and environmental degradation:

“Understanding what properties make our food system resilient (or not) will be key to ensuring adequate food supply in the decades ahead.”