Consumers turn to 'real food', claims festival organiser

Consumers are starting to turn away from cheap, plentiful, unsustainable food, as world supplies continue to dwindle, according to Philip Lowery, founder and director of the Real Food Festival, which was held in London last month.

People were starting to learn more about food and supply chains, he said, accusing large global businesses of "creating a food system that is solely designed to serve their shareholders ... to deliver shareholder value and large profits.

"They spend billions of pounds developing new 'value-added' products that are composed of the cheapest possible ingredients with questionable nutritional value."

As a result, consumers would eventually start to turn away from cheaper mass-produced products, as the issue of food security was pushed into the public arena. Consumers would start to understand the "reality of factory farms, the environmental degradation of soils and the wasting of our once bio-diverse wildlife", added Lowery.

"What's more, the health benefits of eating properly produced food are becoming more and more compelling as science unfolds. Research now tells us that cattle fed on clover-rich pasture - rather than factory farmed on a diet composed mostly of grain and antibiotics - will produce milk and beef richer in health beneficial omega-3 acids and other fatty acids."