A new programme aims to change the food Bristol eats in a bid to cut obesity levels and tackle climate change. Recent shortages of fruit and vegetables have sparked concern about how to ensure a more reliable source of locally grown and produced food to feed Bristol.
Changes could include more markets selling fresh fruit and vegetables, more vegetarian food served by universities and Bristol City Council, and extra support for local farmers. Pupils could also be taught increasingly more about how to cook and grow their own food.
City Hall and local health bosses will discuss the plans set out in the Bristol Good Food 2030 report, at a health and wellbeing board meeting on Thursday, May 25. According to this report, put forward by the Bristol Food Network, half of the food eaten in the UK is now imported from abroad, compared to just a fifth three decades ago.
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Half of the vegetables eaten in the UK are also imported, as well as more than 80 per cent of fruit. Meanwhile, obesity levels are rising in Bristol with 46 per cent of Bristolians overweight or obese. Although this is less than the national average, people living in poorer parts of the city are more likely to be overweight or obese.
The report said: “The way that food is produced, bought and sold, cooked and eaten, and disposed of, is a major contributor to the climate and ecological emergencies, and is deeply affected by their impacts. Food systems resilience means being better able to withstand the global shocks that affect our food security, such as conflict, disease and climate events.
“Resilience also means generating more jobs and income locally, and taking action to make good nutritious food accessible to everyone.
“In the past 30 years, the UK’s food self-sufficiency is estimated to have dropped from 78 per cent to around 50 per cent, with under 20 per cent of our fruit produced nationally and around 50 per cent of vegetables. Supermarkets have driven imports seeking to offer produce year-round at low prices, and have put an end to local, seasonal ways of eating.
“This shift has ignited a crisis in UK farming, further fuelled lately by falling yields due to climate change and more recently the mass exodus of European farm workers. Since 2022, the cost of living crisis has placed more farming livelihoods at risk, along with many hospitality and independent food retail businesses.”
Cutting meat and dairy consumption is another aim of the strategy, due to the link with greenhouse gas emissions. Beef in particular emits far more emissions than any other type of food. And the number of Bristolians who have eaten less meat and dairy due to climate concerns is already rising, increasing from 35 per cent in 2018 to 48 per cent in 2021.
Plans include extra education in schools on food, support for new local markets across Bristol, and an increase in schools, hospitals and universities buying food from local producers. As well as supporting local businesses, this move would reduce emissions related to importing food from the other side of the world, such as flying asparagus from Peru. Another key aspect is feeding vulnerable people through potential disasters, such as future pandemics or mass floods.
The report said: “Covid-19 highlighted how fragile our food supply is to shocks and disruption. Thousands of hours of unpaid work by hundreds of volunteers, as well as support from Bristol City Council and Defra, meant that vulnerable people in Bristol were fed throughout the pandemic. Bristol hopes to create a plan which enables everyone to be fed from day one in a future disaster.”
