By Tanya Haffner, CEO and Founder MyNutriWeb, Dietitian. LinkedIn
Part 1 of the governments new food strategy The Good Food Cycle was launched in 2025 with fine promise of a healthier more sustainable food system and what hails to be the right ingredients aimed at driving a generational change in the nation’s relationship with food. I love seeing a good recipe come together!
My antenna was certainly piqued by the yet still rare acknowledgement by government of the inter connectness of our health, our environment and our economy. Finally! Are we there? Well, the devil is in the detail as with all good recipes and it’s all yet to come – it depends on what’s in the highly anticipated action plan, due out soon and crucially the supporting policy and targets.
A national plan for a plant rich food system?
This surely must take centre stage? Come on. It is no longer controversial. Hailed by Henry Dimbleby in his food strategy, repeated in multiple Climate Change Committee budgets and central to the recent update of EAT Lancet 2.0 last October in Stockholm, we must surely be there now? And if a national emergency meeting doesn’t tell government and all stakeholders to act now, I don’t know what will. For those who missed it a national emergency briefing on the climate and nature crisis at Westminster Hall was held last November, by 10 of the UKs leading experts. It set out the implications of climate and nature breakdown for health, food systems, national security and the economy, doing so on the public record. Its purpose was to demonstrate what a clear, evidence-led national emergency briefing could look like and why it is needed. I was heartened to hear the experts highlight why a plant-rich food system is a major part of the solution. And we are in luck; we only have to look to Denmark’s plant-rich food strategy for practical inspiration – a pioneering national action plan that is shifting consumption and production towards plant-based foods to reduce carbon emissions, enhance health and boost economic growth.
In terms of what we are currently eating, the writing is also on the wall in the results of our National Diet and Nutrition Surveys which paints an appalling picture. Fewer than one in ten of our children eat the minimum 5 a day fruit and vegetable target and less than 2 out of 10 adults. Most children and most adults do not eat enough fibre. With the rising preventable ill health, environmental pressures and food insecurity, as a direct result of a de-prioritised unsustainable food system, we are all being left living in an environment where unhealthy food is hard to avoid. Sadly the most vulnerable amongst us suffer the most. Economic growth is fostered directly through increased productivity in horticulture and plant proteins, and indirectly through improvements in public health, which lead to enhanced productivity and economic participation, as well as reduced expenditure on health, social care and ill health- associated benefits. In the words of my good friend Professor Kevin Morgan – “… what’s not to like about a national plan for a plant-rich food system when it will delivers on the triple dividend of health, environment and the economy”. It’s been pleasing to see that the need for a transition to a plant-rich food system has also been a feature of almost all policy prescriptions from civil society, including the Food Strategy Alliances. Need I really go on?
As the government is developing its food action plan and policies just now, I urge you, our 28K strong community, to support The Ten Point Plan for a Plant Rich Food System which will play a key role in focussing on this issue specifically.
If we want a more sustainable and healthy food system, encouraging people to eat a healthy, plant-rich diet and supporting the farmers and businesses who supply them is essential. We have joined more than 50 organisations who have endorsed The Ten Point Plan for a Plant Rich Food System, which outlines the positive steps the government can take. Find out more and take action here.
And if for a moment we think that citizens don’t want this a recent survation polling* commissioned by the Vegan Society conducted in 2025 found that;
- 69% of people said they would like to eat more fruit, vegetables and other plant-based food than they currently do.
- 69% said that the government should do more to help people eat fruit, vegetables and other plant-based foods.
- 70% said the government should support animal farmers to transition to more sustainable practices, such as rewilding or plant-based crop production.
- 65% said that the government should take steps to make healthy plant-based foods more affordable for everyone.
- 62% said public sector bodies such as schools and hospitals should provide more food based on healthy plant sources.
- 73% said health campaigns should provide more information about how to access, prepare and cook healthy foods easily and cheaply.
This data backs up other similar survey results. We are ready for the great food transformation. We just need the political will to build this into the Good Food Cycle where the best recipe possible must support a plant-rich food system for all our sakes.
HOW TO TAKE ACTION
READ THE FULL PAPER HERE
SHARE WITH YOUR MP
ASK YOUR MP to contact Secretary of State for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Emma Reynolds in support of the plan. Here is how.
* Survation survey of 1,091 UK adults, conducted 29-30 May 2025. Data were weighted to the profile of all adults in the UK aged 18+. Results available on request.
