Key facts
- Campaigners warn the UK government's poultry sector growth plan poses a national security risk.
- The plan is criticized for being resource-intensive, polluting, and inefficient.
- A significant portion of animal feed is imported, creating vulnerability to supply chain shocks.
- Campaigners advocate for increased production of homegrown proteins like pulses and legumes.
- Government assessments highlight risks to food security from climate change and geopolitical instability.
Campaigners have raised concerns that the UK government's strategy to boost the poultry sector could jeopardize national security. Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds has indicated a desire to increase domestic food production, identifying planning constraints as a key obstacle for the poultry industry. However, groups like Sustain and Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF) argue that intensive poultry farming is inherently unsustainable and polluting.
These organizations contend that the sector's heavy reliance on imported animal feed, such as soy from South America, makes the UK vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and ecosystem collapse, posing a direct national security threat. They are urging the government to abandon its poultry growth plan and instead prioritize homegrown protein sources like pulses, legumes, nuts, and beans.
The government's own assessments acknowledge the fragility of food security, citing geopolitical instability, climate change, and environmental degradation as significant risks that could lead to price shocks and reduced food availability. A recent national security report also highlighted the severe threat posed by the climate crisis and ecosystem collapse.
While welcoming planning reforms that support sustainable farming practices, such as investment in reservoirs and renewable energy, Riverford's regenerative farming lead, Harriet Bell, stressed that such reforms should not compromise water systems, biodiversity, or animal welfare. She emphasized that long-term food production depends on healthy soils, water, and biodiversity, and that an organic action plan could help realize these ambitions.
Professor Tim Benton noted that food security is set to become the central principle of agricultural policy in an increasingly volatile world, suggesting a need to recognize the constant nature of global events rather than focusing on isolated risks.