Case Study: UK's Food Security
Changes over time
- Overall food consumption has fallen since the 1940s
- 1940s - average daily calorie intake was around 2350 kcal
- 1960s - increased to around 2600 kcal
- 2000s - decreased to around 1750 kcal
- This data does not include calories from sweets, drinks or takeaways
- Include these sources then the average daily calorie intake is 2,173 Kcal
- In the UK, food availability is high, and the majority of people have enough to eat
- In 2022, the UK produced 58% of its food, 23% came from the EU and the remaining 19% from the rest of the world
- The UK relied on 33 countries for 90% of its imported supplies
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Certain products, such as bananas, come from just one or two countries, which reduces the security of this supply
- Factors such as location and climate affect food security - crop failure due to drought limits the availably of food, which will increase the price at the till because imports become expensive
- Food availability has increased over time:
- Availability of food, globally, during WW2 was less, and imports to the UK were disrupted by German attacks on ships
- The UK government introduced food rationing on foods such as:
- Meat
- Eggs
- Cheese
- Buter
- Sugar
- This allowed people a fair share of food
- A Common Agricultural Policy was introduced in the 1950s to increase production of certain crops (such as wheat) through intensive farming
- Since the 1990s, food production has become more sustainable, and yields are fairly stable
- However, there is a growing demand for seasonal produce (e.g. strawberries) and high-value foods (e.g. exotic fruits), to be available all year round
- Making imports of these foods into the UK necessary
Success at a local scale - food banks
- Food banks are community organisations that help people in crisis, with an emergency 3-day supply of food and essentials
- Schools, churches, businesses, supermarkets, and individuals donate non-perishable, in-date food and essential supplies (loo roll etc.) to a food bank
- It is sorted, checked, and stored by volunteers in a warehouse ready to be handed out
- A range of care professionals (doctors, social workers, and police etc.) issue vouchers to people they identify as needing help
- New mothers are provided with 'baby basics' and extra items at Christmas
Trussell Trust
- Initially set up to help Bulgarian children sleeping rough at Bulgaria's Central Railway Station in 1997
- In 2000, after a call from a mother in Salisbury, who was struggling to feed her children, the Salisbury Foodbank was set up in a garden shed and garage to supply 3 days of emergency food to local people
- This model spread throughout church networks and the Trussell Trust was set up in 2004
- Now the trust supports over 1200 food bank centres across the UK
- They also provide additional advice and support to help people with the longer-term problem
- In 2008/09, 26,000 people accessed the service, however by 2022/23, the trust provided approx. 2.9 million 3-day emergency food supplies; of which, approx. 38% was for children
Between April 2022 and March 2023, the number of people who used a food bank for the first time was 760,000. December 2022 was the busiest month on record for food banks in the Trussell Trust network, with a food parcel being distributed every 8 seconds.
Source: End of Year Stats Trussell Trust
Discussion
Advantages and Disadvantages of Food Banks
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Improves family food security through the reduction of hunger | Does not solve the underlying problem of low wages and benefit cuts |
|
Improves general diets, which in turn improves health |
Difficult for food banks to store fresh food. Any food given out is usually processed (e.g. biscuits, tinned soup) |
| Reduces food waste through shops and bakeries donating unsold items | Raises the issue of the initial cost of the food - profit by retailers |
| Provide lessons in cooking and budgeting | Short-term solution |
National scale - past attempt
- After the end of WWII, there was a need to increase food production across the UK and Europe
- This was attempted through the intensification of farming in the UK from the 1940s-1980s
Advantages and Disadvantages of Intensive Farming in the UK
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Higher-yielding crops and animals were used through breeding individuals that initially gave higher yields | Monoculture reduces biodiversity, over-reliance on one type of crop, increases food insecurity |
| Use of monoculture (growing just one crop over a large area) | Monoculture crops could be wiped out by a single pest, drought, or disease e.g. production of cereal crops dropped by about 500,000 tonnes because of a drought in 1976 |
| Improved irrigation technology (e.g. groundwater pumping, electric sprinklers) | Intensive methods caused damage to the environment |
| Increased use of chemicals such as fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides | Chemicals used in fertilisers etc cause water and soil pollution, and disrupt ecosystems by destroying pollinators such as bees and butterflies |
| Increased use of machinery (mechanisation) to sow, harvest, weed and spray crops | Over-exploiting the land has also led to reduced soil fertility and increased soil erosion |
| Intensification of farming increased food production - 1940s UK imports of cereal crops were 70% 1980s imports had reduced to 20% |
Small farms are taken over by super-farms, losing biodiversity through the loss of hedgerows and native breeds |
National scale - present attempt
- A more sustainable way of intensive farming, without the need for large areas of land, is hydroponics
- Plants are grown in a nutrient solution, allowing the growing season to be extended but also, reducing the need for a specific location in the UK
- This increases food production and security and reduces damage to the environment
- Thanet Earth in Kent produces over 10% of the UK’s supply of peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers through hydroponic growing
Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydroponics in the UK
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Increased food security as crops can be grown all year round in the UK, reducing the reliance on food imports | Expensive to set up and run |
| Less impact on the UK by global shortages or increases in price | The cost of product is more expensive, making it unaffordable for some |
| Using hydroponics allows space that would not otherwise be used to be productive (e.g. underground tunnels) | Some facilities are set up in rural areas, destroying natural habitats in their construction |
| Decreased use of chemicals such as fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides through the use of natural predators | Hydroponic facilities require large amounts of energy to power the greenhouses |
| Recycling of water reduces pressure on supplies | Packaging and transport costs are higher due to the smaller amounts of produce that are produced at present |
| Job creation - Thanet Earth employs over 500 people | Too expensive for small farms to diversify into |
