Eating Better

If you were to read recent headlines at face value, you could come away believing that moving away from caged hens is worse for the planet, and that it would require more chickens being produced in order to meet demand. However, this does not give a full picture of the evidence, nor of the system of egg production in the UK.

Charity and not-for-profit leaders in the UK food and farming sector publish a joint statement on racist and xenophobic violence and divisive politics. We have contributed to the development of this joint statement, which has been led by our partners at Sustain. Today we are sharing this message with our members and friends, encouraging you to both support and share it. Note: This article was originally published on Sustain’s website.

A new briefing by Eating Better finds that while all four nations have taken positive steps in recent years, no nation has yet put in place a sufficiently ambitious and joined-up approach to healthy and sustainable diets – leaving plenty of opportunity for the new Prime Minister and his Cabinet to act.

2026 has already brought record-breaking heatwaves and looking after the health of our water is more pressing than ever. This National Marine Week, Eating Better alliance member The Wildlife Trusts is focusing on the theme of ‘Incredible Journeys’, looking at migration patterns, tides and the ebb and flow of the natural world. We’re taking a more metaphorical approach, looking at the journey of water through our food systems and the threat of water scarcity.

Large industrial poultry production facilities are popping up all over the UK countryside, with campaigners and communities fighting planning permissions wherever plans are proposed. Within the egg industry, male chicks are culled at just one day old. But recent movements from Government suggest progress may be on the horizon, while pasture-based farmers are challenging the norm regardless.

Last week, Eating Better’s Myrto Williams attended a panel hosted by Alistair Carmichael MP with FOUR PAWS UK, Nature Friendly Farming Network, Soil Association and Waitrose to introduce the FOUR PAWS UK ‘What’s behind the label?’ report. Let’s talk about what needs to happen to make its recommendations a reality.

A win for nature friendly farming, but a blind spot on dietary change? On Wednesday 24th June, Defra published the much anticipated Farming Roadmap 2050: Growing England's Future. The document, which applies to farming in England, is designed to set the direction of travel for the farming sector over the next 25 years. It sets out the UK Government’s approach to supporting a profitable, productive, resilient and sustainable farming sector.

Adverts promoting industrially produced meat and dairy have long been ubiquitous in our high streets and public spaces in the UK. While progress has been made in recent years to somewhat restrict advertising and promotions of less healthy food and drinks, there is still more to do to create happier, healthier cities free from the pressures of harmful corporate adverts. We are therefore delighted to welcome Adfree Cities, an organisation at the forefront of leading this change, to the Eating Better alliance.

On June 10, we joined our member, Better Food Traders for their annual gathering for members and partners to come together to learn, share, network and look to the future. This year’s annual gathering was held at Penarth Pavilion in Wales and included a spotlight on Wales across policy, trade, entrepreneurship and campaigning. This event illustrated the importance of stepping outside the London bubble and exploring what food system transformation looks like across all four nations.

Leading food, climate and nature organisations call on UK retailers to commit to more plant protein on shelves; for farmers, for health and climate, and for long-term food security.

Sandwiches are ubiquitous - they are often the go-to lunch option in the UK. We spoke to Eating Better alliance member Action on Salt and Sugar about their new sandwich report and how retailers need to prioritise health and sustainability in their lunch offerings.

Food plays a massive role in the state of our health, and Eating Better partner Plant-Based Health Professionals UK (PBHP) are showing how health professionals can lead in the transition to sustainable diets by committing to prioritise healthy, sustainable food. We spoke to PBHP about their work and why it is important for health professionals and the NHS to get on board.

‘Full of Beans’ campaign was run in partnership by the Glasgow Food Policy Partnership (GFPP) and Glasgow Community Food Network’s Food and Climate Action team in 2024. We spoke to GFPP about the process and impact of the campaign on Glasgow's bean journey.

Wen (Women’s Environmental Network) are a UK environmental charity working collaboratively to create a fairer, healthier and sustainable world for everyone, supporting women and communities to take climate action, amplify racialised and marginalised women’s voices, and advocate for change. In this blog, they reflect on 5 years of their flagship programme, Just FACT.

Shanaghan Hill is an 80-acre livestock farm in Katesbridge, nestled among the undulating hills and valleys of County Down. The farm's landscape is varied, ranging from high, hilly, stony ground at one end to the sandy soils along the banks of the River Bann, which flows through the property. Louise Skelly, with the help of her son-in-law Timothy and daughter Esther, leads efforts to make the farm more nature-friendly.

In recent decades soy has become the backbone of the industrial livestock industry, with 90% of imports going directly to animal feed. Around 75% come from just three countries: Brazil, United States and Argentina. Last year, Brazil’s antitrust regulator, CADE, decided to suspend the Amazon soy moratorium from 1st January 2026. Since then major Brazilian grain traders have quit the pact, originally made in 2006. This dismantles one of the nation’s most important private sector pacts credited with slowing deforestation of the tropical rainforest for soy plantations. More information about the moratorium can be found here.

In February, Eating Better and Sustain launched the first-ever JEDI Leadership Programme, funded by Farming the Future, to redefine justice centred leadership in the food and farming sector.

At Glanllyn Farm in Denbighshire, Sam Kenyon is proving that farming and nature can thrive together. By restoring soil health, managing flooding, and boosting biodiversity, she’s creating a resilient, nature-friendly farm - while keeping it financially sustainable.

We are thrilled to announce that our long-term collaborator, Food Sense Wales, has joined the Eating Better alliance. This partnership comes at an important time for food policy across the UK and just months before the upcoming Senedd elections

Nestled in the rolling hills of one of Scotland’s key farming counties, The Lint Mill is more than just a place for nature-friendly food production: it embodies its owners’ deep commitment to sustainable living in harmony with the planet.

On the edge of Exmoor, NFFN England steering group member Holly Purdey is guiding a National Trust farm through a nature-friendly transformation, striving to remain financially viable while managing the land for livestock and biodiversity.

Over 30 people from across the sustainable food and farming sector recently gathered in London for an honest conversation about what solidarity actually means in practice.

Kicking off 2026 at the Oxford Real Farming Conference is always a jump-start for the year ahead. Eating Better ran two sessions; a workshop exploring the actions we can take against industrial livestock production and a lively panel discussion on power in the food system and its relationship to dietary change.

The market for “better” meat and dairy needs to be built. To do that, we need clarity about what “better” actually looks like, and importantly, how to get there. That’s where Sourcing Better 2.0 comes in.