A major new report from the UK-based RSA Food, Farming & Countryside Commission calls for the “unleashing of a fourth agriculture revolution driven by public values”.
Discussing the Our Future in the Land report on the BBC’s Today show, the Commission’s chair, Sir Ian Cheshire, said that the UK “must have a radical 10-year plan” for food and farming to address the joint threats of “climate emergency and the public health crisis”.
He said that plan had to result in a wholesale shift to agroecological farming by 2030 and there was “once in 50-year opportunity to change the system”.
While Sir Ian did not specifically mention organic in his radio interview, the report itself does so extensively. In fact, many of the references to existing good practice – particularly in countries like Denmark – relate to organic systems. This will be welcomed by the UK organic community which has been frustrated by the lack of specific support for organic in other recent reports, for example Defra’s 2018 Health and Harmony document, in which organic was not mentioned once.
Sir Ian said: “Fundamentally we have to do three things. First we have to put health at the centre of the food system. We already recognise the connection between soil health, animal health and human health – that is really clear – but we are not rewarding that. Second, when we talk about sustainable farming, we need to think of this being equivalent to decarbonising the electricity suppliers – so it will be challenging and not straightforward, so it needs a transition of ten years. Third, we need to show real ambition, because otherwise we won’t change the system.”