Growing a new future for UK agriculture

Our food system is a significant contributor to climate change, ecological degradation, and ill health. It is also rapidly changing – volatility is the new norm, regulations are evolving, the impacts of climate change are increasingly being felt on the ground. This situation can be linked directly to the production-oriented goals set by many countries after the Second World War, leading to massive increases in food production. For many, this has kept the basics affordable, while increasing their access to previous luxuries, such as animal protein. For a long time, local and global hunger levels were falling. However, this production-oriented food system externalises environmental impacts, prioritises scale, intensification, and calories (over nutrition), all while further entrenching unequal power structures and social inequities. This produces paradoxical results where 17% of children in the UK for example grow up in food insecurity, while 26% of adults are obese.   

An opportunity to reimagine the food system 

While challenges compound, there is also an opportunity to create a more holistic food and agriculture landscape in the UK that provides for both people and planet: 

The need for sustainable, affordable nutrition for all is increasing, while calls to support our traditional and culturally significant farming sectors are growing. Meeting both these demands while also achieving carbon and biodiversity targets means taking a considered, and collaborative strategic approach.  

Why regenerative agriculture is the solution 

Regenerative agriculture, having grown in recognition over the last few years, may be a key solution in efforts to fix the food and agriculture landscape of the UK. Proponents believe it offers the potential to slash UK agricultural emissions, revitalise soils and ecosystems, uplift farmer livelihoods, and improve public health.  

At Forum, we recognise that there is no single definition of what is, or is not, included within the term ‘regenerative agriculture’. It has been defined as “a system of principles and practices that generates agricultural products, sequesters carbon, and enhances biodiversity at the farm scale”. This contrasts it against more conventional agriculture practices that produce food, but at the cost of degraded soil carbon and biodiversity. However, regenerative agriculture has the potential to do much more than just produce the environmental outcomes that many definitions focus on. 

We believe it’s essential to also consider financial and social outcomes, which is why Forum uses a broader definition of regenerative agriculture incorporating these alongside the core environmental aims on soil and biodiversity.  

A successful agricultural transition cannot just focus on farm level change. Our vision of a more just and regenerative food system is one that maximises nutrition, restores ecosystems, and creates shared prosperity. It respects planetary boundaries, while creating respectable livelihoods for farmers of all sizes.   Regenerative outcomes at farm level sit within that broader food system and are shaped by the flows of food and money along the supply chain, the regulations enforcing environmental protections and sourcing fairness, the economic realities of businesses of all sizes, and much more.  

^{Figure 1: Goals of a regenerative food system, developed by the participants in the Growing our Future UK programme} 

Accelerating towards a more regenerative future 

Forum’s Growing our Future UK programme is a multi-year, collaborative and multi-stakeholder initiative, working to accelerate the transition to a just and regenerative food system in the UK. It offers a unique space for diverse leaders and initiatives to solve the complexities, interconnections and nuances of the transition.