Steve Reed, the UK Government Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, gave a speech today (9th January) at the Oxford Farming Conference.
Barnaby Coupe, Senior Land Use Manager at The Wildlife Trusts, reacted:
“Sustainable food production in the UK depends on a thriving natural world – it doesn’t have to be a trade-off between the two. It needs healthy soils, clean and plentiful water, and thriving insect populations because they are the foundation of farming.
"The nature and climate crisis in the UK means farmers will find it increasingly difficult to produce food without urgent and ambitious action to restore nature, at scale.
“Just this week, flooding across the country is leaving many fields underwater because of wetter and more extreme weather which is only set to continue into the future.
"The UK Government must not lose sight of the fact that supporting farmers to bring back nature goes hand in hand with growing food.
“Its own Food Security Report published just a few weeks ago found that ’long term decline in the UK’s natural capital is a pressing risk to UK food production’. This means that the restoration of nature – including natural habitats, ecosystems, rivers, uplands, peatlands soils and much, much more – is critical to feed ourselves in the future.”
More information: