Food supply chain needs radical review
Solutions to help safeguard UK food and drink supply amid rising international demand are being worked on by independent research body Chatham House.
The Chatham House Food Supply project is focusing on the effects of global trends including restrictions on energy, water and land on the UK’s supply of wheat and dairy products.
The project has issued its first report UK Food Supply: Storm Clouds on the Horizon? identifying underlying fundamental issues. The paper consolidates feedback from 22 participants around the wheat and supply networks, plus a range of other experts.
A different food supply dynamic is in prospect, according to 85% of interviewees. And a medium-term switch to a sellers’/producers’ market was anticipated by half of those canvassed.
A total of 45% believed imbalance between supply and demand would lead to an eventual acceptance by the EU of supply-boosting genetically modified commodities.
Major trends identified include increasing population growth and demand, particularly from underdeveloped countries, outstripping supply and demand for biofuel for energy limiting land available for food crops.
The report also questioned the ability of supply to keep pace with growing demand for oil and even water for food production.
The project will go on to examine issues such as the role of science and technology; the role of government, industry and consumers and global responses to challenges including rising demand from nations such as China.
Project sponsors include Cadbury Schweppes, Nestlé, GlaxoSmithKline, the grocery think tank IGD and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
