DEFRA secretary of state Hilary Benn today warned that the UK will need a “radical rethink” about the way that food is produced and processed in order to maintain a sustainable and affordable offer.

He launched the first UK Food Security Assessment this morning at pioneering glasshouse development Thanet Earth, in Kent.

The study found that the UK is making progress on the way to a secure and sustainable food system, with a diverse food supply and greater self-sufficiency than in the 1930s and 1950s, as well as a strong distribution system.

However, the challenges will be to ensure the sustainability of the UK’s food supply, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a changing climate, as well as focus on the availability and effective use of water to produce food.

The report is part of a food-related package published today, which includes Food 2030, an online discussion seeking views on the future of the food system, as well as Food Matters: One Year On, to provide an update on the progress of the 2008 Cabinet Office report.

Benn said: “While we know the price of our food, the full environmental costs and the costs to our health are significant and hidden.

“We need a radical rethink of how we produce and consume our food.”

He identified the three main challenges as how to meet the economic and environmental challenges of increased productivity in the food chain, how to help people eat more healthily and how to make sure that the way food is produced does not damage the natural resources on which future production depends.

Benn added: “Our food strategy will need to cover all aspects of our food - production, processing, distribution, retail, consumption and disposal. And that includes the impact on our health, on the environment and future productivity, on how we deal with food waste.”

The Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) affirmed that the industry will play a leading role in the UK’s food security, following a recent round table discussion on ways to increase the production and consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as work with the government’s Council of Food Policy Advisors, which is tasked to look at the barriers facing production in the UK. The trade body will be participating in DEFRA’s Food 2030 discussion on behalf of the industry.

FPC chief executive Nigel Jenney said: “We believe that DEFRA should help provide a focus for the industry to evaluate the potential for increasing [indigenous] crops and ensure that the sector has the necessary tools to maximise this potential.”

National Farmers’ Union president Peter Kendall insisted that the farming community should be “integral” to food policy. He said: “This is an important step in delivering a joined-up policy from the variety of government departments that have an involvement with food. The secretary of state’s firm commitment to domestic farming earlier this year is evident throughout this package, but DEFRA now needs to see farmers and growers as integral to the development and delivery of food policy towards 2030.”

Agricultural Biotechnology Council chairman Dr Julian Little added that GM could be “a significant part of the solution, through the development of higher and more reliable crop yields and mitigation of major threats to crop production, such as damaging effects of pests, diseases and drought”.

However, British Retail Consortium food policy director Andrew Opie claimed that retailers were “already at the forefront of this agenda”. He said: “We do need a sustainable supply chain, but retailers don’t need government statements - they are already taking action.”

The food strategy will be published later in the year, following the end of the latest round of consultations on October 16.