We Cannot Keep Treating British Food Production Like An Optional Extra

Here is a sentence that should make everyone in Britain sit up a bit straighter:

The UK is not self-sufficient in food.

Not “we’re a few avocados short in February” dependent... Properly dependent.

Defra’s own UK Food Security Report shows that in 2023 the UK’s production-to-supply ratio was 62% for all food and 75% for indigenous foods — which means food we can actually produce here.

So, even before we get to wars, climate shocks, cyber attacks, fuel disruption, blocked ports, global price spikes, or another container ship deciding to park itself sideways in a crucial shipping lane, we already know the system is vulnerable.

And yet, as a country, we seem oddly relaxed about making life harder for the people who produce food here.

Which is bold.

Not clever, necessarily.

But bold.

This is where the debate usually becomes ridiculous.

People ask: “How long before Britain starves?”

That is not the right question.

The better question is: how quickly would shelves start emptying, prices rise, certain categories disappear, supply chains prioritise bigger buyers, and vulnerable households feel the pain?

Because food systems do not fail with a polite memo and a three-week consultation period.

They fail messily.

Food security is not just about whether the country can technically produce enough calories on a spreadsheet. It is about whether people can access affordable, available, trusted food when things go wrong.

That makes British farming and food production a national infrastructure issue.

It also makes it a business issue.

And, whether marketers like it or not, it makes it a brand issue too.

Brands spend fortunes talking about provenance, sustainability, community, authenticity and purpose.

Lovely words.

Very shiny.

Excellent on a deck.

But those claims become rather wobbly if the supply chains underneath them are being squeezed until the people producing the food can barely make the numbers work - horse burgers anyone?

You cannot build a credible responsible brand on an irresponsible food system.

Over the last five years, UK farming and food production have been hit by a succession of policy, regulatory and cost pressures.

In February 2023, at a National Farmers Union conference, Keir Starmer promised to back British farming, stating:

“Food security is national security. That’s why the Labour Party is committed to buying, making and selling more in Britain.”

Fair enough... That sounds sensible.

Then, in October 2024, Rachel Reeves’ Budget introduced inheritance-tax reforms to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief that farming groups warned could hit asset-rich, cash-poor family farms, undermine succession planning and make domestic food production less secure.

Which is a curious way to show your commitment to food security.

A bit like promising to protect the fire brigade and then selling the hoses.

But it is not just the current government taking chunks out of farming and food production. This has been a rolling pile-on, delivered by successive policies, cost increases and regulatory changes.

• The post-Brexit move away from the Basic Payment Scheme replaced direct farm support with environmental schemes, creating cashflow uncertainty for many farm businesses.
• The sudden closure of new Sustainable Farming Incentive applications in England in 2025 damaged confidence in one of the key replacement support mechanisms.
• The Australia and New Zealand trade deals increased competitive pressure on UK producers, particularly in beef, lamb and dairy.
• The Border Target Operating Model added new checks and costs around imports of animal and plant products.
  Employer National Insurance increases from April 2025 added more cost to labour-sensitive sectors including farming, processing, logistics and retail.
• National Living Wage increases are positive for workers, but still add pressure in low-margin food production and horticulture.
• Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging introduces new cost layers for food and drink producers.
• Changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief from April 2026 have created serious concern for family farms that are asset-rich but cash-poor.
  

And through all of this, farmers are still expected to invest, modernise, protect nature, manage land, cut emissions, improve productivity and keep producing affordable food.

Splendid.

Perhaps they could also build a small nuclear reactor in the lambing shed while they are at it.

Now, this is not an argument for trapping British farming in 1953 with a flat cap, a sheepdog and a suspicious view of Wi-Fi.

British farming and food production absolutely need to modernise.

We need:

• Better technology.
• Better data.
• Better water resilience.
• Better soil management.
• More automation.
• Smarter logistics.
• Less waste.
• Stronger direct routes to market.

But here is the thing. You do not modernise an industry by making it less viable. You modernise it by backing it.

As individuals, we can help by:

• Buying British and seasonal where possible, especially meat, dairy, eggs, fruit and vegetables.
• Using farm shops, box schemes, local butchers, bakers, dairies and regional producers when practical.
• Paying attention to provenance, not just price.
• Reducing food waste.
• Supporting brands and retailers that make credible commitments to British sourcing and fairer producer relationships.
• Challenging the lazy assumption that cheaper imports are always better value. Sometimes “cheap” just means someone else is being squeezed until the spreadsheet looks pretty.

As professionals and businesses, we can go further:

• Build provenance into brand strategy properly, not as a decorative label.
• Help British producers tell better stories, reach higher-value customers and capture more margin.
• Use procurement policies that consider resilience, locality and supplier sustainability — not just lowest cost.
• Support food and farming businesses with better websites, eCommerce, CRM, direct-to-consumer models, subscription offers and customer data.
• Invest in campaigns that make British food feel modern, desirable and commercially relevant — not dusty, worthy or apologetic.
• Partner with producers rather than treating them as a cost line to be crushed.
• Treat supply-chain transparency as a brand asset.

British food should not be marketed like a charity case.

It should be marketed as quality, resilience, trust, taste, community, sustainability and national capability. Not to mention, it's bloody good!

Because that is what it is.

Of course, not everything can be grown or made in Britain. Nobody is suggesting we start cultivating bananas in Birmingham or pineapples in Peterborough.

But producing less of what we can produce, while becoming more dependent on fragile global supply chains, is not a serious strategy.

It is wishful thinking with a barcode.

And wishful thinking does not fill shelves.

Fortunately, this is not all doom, tractors and policy-induced headaches.

There are already some brilliant organisations, campaigns, producers, networks and unlikely television heroes doing valuable work to support British farming and food production.

A few worth knowing about:

1. NFU (National Farmers'​ Union) — representing farming and growing businesses across England and Wales, campaigning for British agriculture, food security and a more stable future for farmers.
2. The CLA — Country Land & Business Association — supporting landowners, rural businesses and land-based enterprises that are central to the countryside economy.
3. Wildfarmed — building a market for regeneratively grown wheat and flour, helping farmers move towards systems that improve soil health, biodiversity and crop resilience.
4. Cool Farm — giving farmers and supply chains tools to measure carbon, water, biodiversity and food-loss impacts, so sustainability can move from vague claim to measurable progress.
5. Gather Food & Drink Summit — bringing the South West food and drink community together around innovation, collaboration, local food systems and regional resilience.
6. Jeremy Clarkson, the irrepressible Kaleb Cooper, the ever stoic Charles Ireland, Diddly Squat Farm, Diddly Squat Farm Shop, and Clarkson’s Farm — whatever your view of the Mr Clarkson, the show has done something few campaigns manage: it has made mainstream audiences pay attention to the realities, absurdities and pressures of modern British farming.
7. LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) — helping farmers adopt more sustainable, integrated and regenerative approaches while keeping productivity and farm resilience in the conversation.
8. Soil Association — supporting organic and nature-friendly farming, soil health, higher standards and a more sustainable food system from farm to fork.
9. Nature Friendly Farming Network — a farmer-led network showing how food production and nature recovery can work together, while giving farmers a stronger voice in the transition.
10. Sustainable Food Trust — campaigning for food and farming systems that connect soil health, human health, climate, nature and fairer economics.

The point is this: British farming does not need pity.

• It needs policy that understands it.
• It needs customers who value it.
• It needs brands that back it properly.
  

And it needs better stories, better routes to market and better commercial support so the people producing our food can build resilient, modern, profitable businesses.

Because if we want British food security, we have to stop treating British food production as someone else’s problem.