Here’s how UK can produce good, healthy food for generations to come

Britain’s food industry should be a powerhouse of economic growth, innovation and job creation. From farmers and suppliers to supermarkets and manufacturers, it’s the backbone of communities up and down the UK. Yet for too long, its importance has been undervalued and often misunderstood.

Our food system is under significant pressure. Geopolitical instability, climate change and economic uncertainty are shaking its foundations, impacting farming livelihoods and shaping the future of the food we will eat. Healthy choices aren’t always easy and the gap between those who have access to the nutritious food they need and those who don’t, is widening.

It’s therefore encouraging to see the government’s ambition for a new food strategy to change this. The Good Food Cycle announced on Tuesday sets out a bold and compelling opportunity to make food in the UK consistently healthier, more sustainable and more accessible to all. That’s a vision I share, and one I believe our whole industry can get behind.

Food is essential to how we live and how we thrive. At Sainsbury’s, we see every day how affordability, quality, health and convenience can work together and how supermarkets can help make better choices easier, more accessible and more appealing. As grocery retailers, we must champion the “super” in supermarket, using our scale, influence and resources to drive real change across the food system with our partners. Only with this commitment can we ensure that everyone, no matter their background or their budget, can access good quality, nutritious food every single day.

But ambition alone isn’t enough. To achieve the resilient food system required to deliver good food for generations to come, we need bold, practical action. This includes growing more of what we eat as a nation here at home. Increasing domestic production is critical not just for food security but for creating jobs, revitalising rural economies and reducing our dependency on increasingly fragile global supply chains.

We must attract private investment into food infrastructure to drive economic growth, strengthen supply chain resilience and boost innovation. To do so, planning reform is essential and, together, we must move faster to unlock the capacity needed for more homegrown production, while we also need a comprehensive workforce plan which can build, nurture and develop the talent required across our food system.

As an industry, a clear commitment to mandatory nutritional reporting and, over time, targets for heathier food will help improve diets and positively impact public health. This is a complex area, but it’s vital reporting targets are ambitious enough to drive the change we all want to see, while also recognising the important nuances across our food system. The nutrient profile model, for example, is a tool used to assess the healthiness of food and drink products. It needs refining to provide a clear, consistent view of “healthiness”. Without this, we risk demonising inherently healthy foods and creating patchy reporting that confuses consumers.

• Ultra-processed foods make Britain the ‘sick man of Europe’

This entire mission must be operated on a level playing field and enforced properly. Changes must apply across all large food companies — retail, manufacturing, out of home, hospitality and foodservice — for them to have real and lasting impact. Without this, we risk missing the enormous opportunity in front of us. Sainsbury’s is ready to play its part and we look forward to working with government and our peers across the food industry on the development and implementation of these policies.

The UK’s food system is already remarkable. More than 4.4 million people help it to thrive, with incredible food pulled from every corner of the country on a daily basis. We can forget just how dynamic and resourceful this system is, but it has the potential to be so much more. With commitment, co-operation and clear ambition, we can build something resilient, fair and future-ready. Working with pace and passion across government and our industry, we can unlock growth and make good food happen for everyone.

Simon Roberts is chief executive of Sainsbury’s