A new report by leading market analyst Network Research has revealed that consumers in the UK are becoming more informed and concerned about the global factors impacting on food prices and the security of food supply in the future.
The survey, which was commissioned by the UK Crop Protection Association (CPA), showed that more than half of UK shoppers are worried about a range of issues such as climate change, population growth, water and energy supplies.
Over 1,000 UK consumers were asked about their food purchasing habits and attitudes to food production, with most shoppers agreeing that the era of cheap food had ended, with calls for the country to become more self-sufficient in food production. Three-quarters of respondents agreed that the UK government should be doing more to prevent further increases in the cost of food.
'This is a wake-up call to policy-makers and regulators across Europe that the global food security crisis is urgent and immediate, and that consumers want government action to control food price inflation,' said Friedhelm Schmider, director general of the European Crop Protection Association. 'Continued advances in plant science and crop protection will be critical to meeting our future food needs, but they must be matched by a science-based EU regulatory environment which supports rather than stifles research investment and innovation in agricultural science.
According to the Network Research survey, the majority of consumers also agreed that science should be applied to help boost food output, and most believed that the government should take a lead in the use of science in food production.
'Perhaps the most striking feature of this research is the strong connection consumers make between domestic food prices and the impact of global factors such as population growth, climate change, rising oil prices and the increased frequency of natural disasters,' said CPA chief executive Dominic Dyer. 'There is an overwhelming view among respondents that the government should be doing more to keep food prices down, and a clear recognition that the use of science and technology has an important role to play in producing more food using fewer resources and with reduced impact on the environment.
'Despite the perceived need to regulate and control the use of technologies such as genetic modification and pesticides, there is an increasing recognition among consumers of the role such technologies can play in providing a safe, secure and affordable food supply, for example by increasing crop yields and preventing harvest losses to pests and diseases,' he noted.
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