Talking as a shadow minister usually gives politicians the somewhat underused gift of saying what they actually believe – and Defra shadow minister Kerry McCarthy is no exception.
Liz Truss’ Labour counterpart has a few bones to pick regarding the current government’s strategy for food and farming, not least regarding the insistent focus on marketing and exports.
“Her [Truss’] current approach is just to say British food and farming are marvellous – let’s sell more abroad. It’s like a PR thing,” says McCarthy, who was appointed to the role last September. “There are some really good things happening, but I don’t think it’s the role of the environment secretary to just say everything’s wonderful. There are all these issues, and I just don’t think it gets us very far just to say let’s sell things to China.”
So what is McCarthy’s impression of the fresh produce industry so far? It’s being neglected, she says, as the current government perceives it as “something that is there but doesn’t need to be promoted”. All well and good, except that McCarthy hasn’t been out to visit a fresh produce firm herself – although she is just a couple of months into the role when we speak and says this is firmly on the agenda for the coming year.
But what she lacks in on-the-ground knowledge about farmgate issues, she makes up for with an awareness of the supermarket price war and the pressure on producer margins. “It’s difficult when you talk about pricing – it’s the case across many sectors that people can’t get a decent price. Nobody has really come up with an answer about how that relationship can be fixed,” she says.
“The farmers who seem to be able to get round it are the ones who have found niche markets where they can charge a premium, or they do something with their produce that is different – such as using some fruit for smoothies. Something where they can charge a lot more than the basic produce. But not everyone can be niche, by definition. At the other end, people are saying you should cut overheads and do everything as cheap as possible, so that we can sell at the same price as before but make more money. But I don’t think that’s a long-term solution.”
Giving more power to the Groceries Code Adjudicator, as well as making consumers aware they should be prepared to pay more for food, would also help alleviate market pressures, McCarthy says.
There has been a discernible trend, although arguably a faint one, within Defra from the climate-sceptic days of Owen Paterson, through to Liz Truss’ acceptance of global warming as man-made – and McCarthy would seemingly take this further. Speaking about the climate talks held in Paris before Christmas, she says: “The government can’t sign up to a global climate deal, and then take the steps that they’re taking, the solar cuts, blocking offshore wind – what are they actually doing to meet these targets? We’ve asked the questions, they haven’t really come up with the answers.
“The government’s line is that solar had started to get to the point where it didn’t need subsidies, but it’s clear that it’s still a fledgling industry. People need certainty if they’re going to invest in something and suddenly cutting the feed-in tariffs has really hit them. There’s no logic or common sense in why they’ve done it this way. When farmers are struggling to make a living, there were some that were going down the solar production route, and that would have been a boost to their income.”
As a former chair of the agro-ecology committee in parliament, it’s perhaps not surprising that McCarthy has strong green principles, but she is clear about how this fits into her vision for the wider food and farming sector. “I think we can look at how to reward farmers who are growing in a sustainable way, and I actually think this makes sense from an economic view as well. I just don’t think that this drive towards intensification is the answer to low prices – it’s got to be about quality, provenance and finding markets. It’s about being the best, rather than just churning out quantity.
“I think Liz Truss has got a very narrow view of her brief. With farming and food, it’s not just about the end product that you then go round trying to sell – it’s so connected with the natural environment and people’s wellbeing and she doesn’t seem very interested in any of that.”
What message would McCarthy like to give to fresh produce suppliers and producers? “Partly just the recognition that they exist and that they play a key role in public health,” she says. “I’m very keen to make that link between food and health. It should be a no-brainer. From the sustainability point of view, they tick every box I can think of for what I want the food system to look like, which is one that is environmentally sustainable, good for public health and locally produced.”
McCarthy on food waste
McCarthy has been instrumental in pushing for a new bill on food waste. She says: “The food waste bill is about treating food as something important and precious, in terms of health, and the time and resources that have gone into producing it. It’s about valuing food more. You might find that by going down that path, then some of the economic issues solve themselves, in that if you value food then you can start commanding a better price. But there’s a lot to be fixed within the market, and it’s not necessarily within government’s power to do that.”
McCarthy onGM
“I’m open minded on GM, and I’m prepared to be led by the science. If it is speeding up something that can be achieved naturally, then I think that’s okay. That’s the part that I’m fairly open to, and then further down the spectrum you hear quite worrying things about creating crops that are resistant and having to use stronger pesticides. It looks like England wants to be open to it within the UK.”
McCarthy on Jeremy Corbyn
“The thing about Jeremy is that he is very open to people exploring new ideas and trying to push things in a bit more of a radical direction. There’s not as much caution as there was previously, and I think sometimes in politics you’ve got to accept that someone is going to be upset otherwise you’re not making progress on things. There’s never going to be a consensus. Obviously he’s quite committed on the environmental front, and he’s very keen on his allotment, which he talks about all the time. Apparently he’s had a good maize, or sweetcorn, crop this year so I think you’d say he’s a supporter of fresh produce!”
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