With the general election announced this week for May 6, the Food Ethics Council has already analysed what a Conservative, Labour or hung parliament outcome would mean for growers and farmers in the UK.
The council warns that a Conservative victory would mean promises about cutting red tape and freeing trade put into action, but this might put a strain on the party’s environmental commitments.
The council’s analyst Dr Tom MacMillan said: “Food is as political as ever. The parties are divided over the future for farming and environmental protection… whoever wins the election will be given a mandate to serve up a diet that fundamentally affects the lives of 61 million Britons.”
Should Labour be re-elected, the UK can expect a continuation of the status quo and delivery of the Food 2030 strategy, unveiled earlier this year, which has increased food production and sustainable practices at its heart.
Meanwhile, in a hung parliament, the Liberal Democrats would have considerable influence in shaping the future of horticulture and agriculture. However, apart from cutting red tape as the Conservatives promise, one of the Lib Dems' main aims is on how farming and growing can protect the environment, rather than on boosting profit in the sector.
According to MacMillan’s analysis, a Conservative approach is likely to mean a cut in DEFRA’s budget and a reduction in its executive agencies such as the Rural Payments Agency and the Food & Environment Research Agency. But there would probably be a supermarket ombudsman and labelling schemes to highlight produce origin, allowing the Tories to claim they would give more support to UK growers and farmers.
Environmental protection measures also appear to take a definite second place behind farm profits, and MacMillan’s analysis identifies no mention of organics.