On 10 July, Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge and Minister of State for Defra, stressed the pivotal role of food for the UK in a private roundtable dinner hosted by Michael Aubrey and Katrina Anderson of Mills & Reeve’s food and agribusiness sector. The event brought together UK farming and food businesses, alongside representatives from food and farming assurance schemes, private farming and charitable interests.
Held under Chatham House Rules, the dinner explored a wide range of issues including UK food security, investment and growth, the priorities of gene editing, regulated products and animal welfare. Discussions also focused on how the high standards applied in UK farming and food may best be supported by Defra. Other topics included government approaches to promoting a healthy diet, HFSS (high fat, salt, or sugar) foods, sustainability projects and the use of data.
Challenges around achieving planning were highlighted, alongside the need for consistency in the application of legislation for imported food in achieving investment and food security. Daniel Zeichner stressed the priority in supporting growth, particularly in innovation, gene-editing and regulated products. It was also noted that there would be opportunities for the food sector within dynamic alignment with the EU.
The importance of societal shifts towards making better food choices was also discussed, with a particular focus on the out of home sector in order to avoid fragmentation. This will need to be reinforced through the effective use of data and a move to ensure consistency, including the availability of data for agriculture.
The discussion also raised the need for controls and targets at government level on achieving objectives and managing projects, including those for the environment, in a pragmatic, cost-efficient and achievable way.
The dinner provided an intimate opportunity for frank debate and has placed Mills & Reeve within a pivotal role of facilitating discussions between government and industry.
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