British food producers feeding the UK
YESI Research Theme leader Bob Doherty and his team have been working with Morrisons plc to support the company in their move towards UK sourcing.
The decision to switch towards UK food producers and processors is a reaction to the pressures posed by Brexit, as well as a move towards more sustainable practices across the food production sector in response to climate change impacts.
Prof Bob Doherty, Dr Fernando Fastoso and Dr Hector Gonzalez Jimenez, all of the York Management School, collaborated with researchers at Leeds, Oxford, City University London, Aberdeen and Reading, to put together the report entitled ‘British Food: What role should UK producers have in feeding the UK?’. The report, requested by Morrisons Supermarket and presented to investors on Friday has already been having impacts, cited in media such as the Independent and the BBC.
The report concludes that although the UK can never (and shouldn’t aim to) be self-sufficient with its food production, building a more resilient system through increased local production and increased diversification will help protect the UK’s farming economy and environment. Retailers such as Morrisons need to lead the way on creating a nationwide conversation on what we as a society want from our UK food system and our countryside.