Eating Better

When the world went into lockdown in 2020, all eyes turned to wildlife markets. But what if the next pandemic doesn’t come from a faraway forest, but from a farm just down the road?

Following the government’s announcement on mandatory reporting at the weekend, alliances representing over 200 organisations, plus 25 individual organisations representing health, farming, environment and animal welfare, are asking the government to ensure mandatory reporting goes beyond healthy sales to incorporate key health and sustainability criteria.

Following our Retailer and Manufacturer messaging guides, Eating Better have been gearing up to develop our messaging guide focused on supporting better engagement with producers. As part of our Changing the Narrative project, we hosted an event, ‘Farming and dietary change: building common ground’, split over two days. These talks, farm tours and workshops were for the Eating Better alliance and beyond, helping to  bridge the gap between NGOs, funders, researchers, civil servants and farmers.

The UK is eating less meat—on average. Since 2000, national meat consumption has fallen by over 17%, and the typical Brit now eats around one kebab’s worth less meat each week than they did two decades ago. But dig a little deeper, and a different picture emerges. Young men aged 16–24 are bucking the trend.

Eating Better launches a comprehensive definition of industrial livestock production and makes the case for change across the UK food system.

We are delighted to welcome three new members to the Eating Better alliance. They bring experience from their work in nutrition and health, community and social justice and sustainability within the hospitality sector.

Tropical forests are crucial to life on Earth, helping to provide the conditions for life to thrive on our planet. These biodiverse ecosystems provide us with a range of benefits, or ecosystem services, that range from sequestering carbon and climate regulation to air and water purification, from disease prevention to the provision of shelter, food and medicine. Not to mention the benefits we receive in terms of culture, awe and inspiration.

2025 marks a critical year for forests, with global leaders preparing for COP30, the major climate summit set to take place in Belém, Brazil—deep in the heart of the Amazon. At the same time, businesses are in a final sprint to meet their commitments to eliminate deforestation and habitat conversion from their supply chains by the year’s end.

Change needs to happen. If we continue with our current status quo and food system, then we can say goodbye to healthy food, clean air and water, and the seasons as we know them. With the weight of this pressure resting on our shoulders, for good reason many of us working on changing the food system in whatever form, are worried about getting it wrong. Fear of failure is a huge barrier to change, and reframing our approach might be an effective way to get a rare school of thought adopted more broadly; that change is possible. As the late David Graeber said, “The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently”.

Roshni Shah from Sustain and Idman Abdurahaman from Eating Better reflect on the content and learnings from our second workshop, and share resources to support further research.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) just published its 7th Carbon Budget (known as CB7). This set out the legal limit for UK net emissions of greenhouse gases over the years 2038 to 2042. It also contained the different options available for the UK Government to choose and the different ‘pathways’ to get to net-zero, with advice for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to be published later in 2025. This is a vitally important milestone in fixing our food system. But what does it all mean for healthy and sustainable diets?

A recent Telegraph article claims that young people are turning away from plant-based diets and rejecting the push to eat less meat using findings from our Public Attitudes Survey 2024. But is that really what’s happening?

Last month Sustain and Eating Better held the first of three workshops on ‘How to be an anti-racist organisation’ with the support of Social Justice Collective. The aim of the first workshop was to focus on self reflection and understanding as we know that a lack of confidence around language and terms is a barrier for people to engage with anti-racist practice.

For our final case study, we spotlight Nourish Scotland and examine how embracing dignity and justice, through co-creation and amplifying marginalised voices in decision-making, can transform food systems.

For years, the Landworkers Alliance has been organising identity-based groups to embed inclusivity and intersectionality in farming and landwork. The case study below highlights the impact these groups have had on members and how they have shaped the organisation's broader efforts in diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.

In our commitment to fostering justice within the sustainable food sector, we’re turning to the inspiring work of our alliance members who are pioneering initiatives to create systemic change. Among these efforts, the REDI for Change Toolkit stands out as a groundbreaking resource, supporting organisations across the UK in dismantling oppression within food systems. In this blog, Ben Messer walks us through the purpose and transformative impact of integrating REDI for Change into the Sustainable Food Places programme, paving the way for a more inclusive and equitable food future.

A just, diverse, equitable and inclusive (JEDI) food system is something which all Eating Better members aspire to see. But until we put these principles into practice in our own organisations we will not see the food system change.

Eating Better is pleased to welcome three new organisations to the alliance to strengthen the movement and bring expertise in farming, animal welfare, health and the environment.

We are excited to release the updated Better by Half Roadmap, Eating Better’s guide for achieving nutritious, healthy and sustainable diets across the UK, with a focus on less and better meat and dairy. This revision builds on its creation in 2019. It is a reflection of our shared objectives as an alliance, formed through collaboration between our 68 member organisations.

Eating Better’s Better by Half roadmap calls for producers to maximise UK-based plant production in a sustainable way. Key to this is paying growers fairly and embedding accessibility across the business. We spoke to Sean Ruffell, Managing Director of Organic North in Manchester, about how they are supporting farmers and supplying organic produce to businesses across the UK.

New data from Eating Better shows that retailers, food service and government need to catch up with public attitudes towards meat, dairy and supporting farmers.

A new UK Government was elected earlier this month, with the widely expected result of Labour replacing the Conservatives as the governing party and Keir Starmer becoming our new Prime Minister. This presents an exciting opportunity for a change in direction on UK food policy.

Through an ever-changing political landscape, global pandemics and groundbreaking climate agreements, Eating Better has been bringing together civil society to work towards a healthier and more sustainable food system for all.

Eating Better is pleased to welcome the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC) to the Eating Better alliance.