Eating Better

Last year Unchecked UK carried out a  series of teleforums with swing voters in five “Red Wall’ constituencies that changed hands from Labour to Conservative in the December 2019 election. They explored how the constituents felt about regulation and standards in general, and specifically in relation to both food and climate change.

A new study interviews senior retail representatives to explore their perceptions of sustainable diets, the strategies they’re adopting to provide and promote ‘less and better’, and the challenges they face in doing so, providing insight as to the progress that’s been made on this agenda.

Alliance member, Alliance to Save our Antibiotics, recently published a new report that shows that organic livestock farms certified by the Soil Association use far fewer antibiotics than the UK average. The survey, covering over 200 farms, found that the organic farms used less than a quarter of the amount of antibiotics used on non-organic farms.

Food lovers across the UK have had a long time to contemplate their passion this last year. In one of the precious few positives to emerge from the pandemic, survey after survey shows our relationship with food has changed – for the better.

Rivers and streams are the blue arteries of our landscape. The freshwater that flows through them is the lifeblood that sustains our food and farming system, pumping the soils in our fields with nutrients to grow crops and feed grazing cattle.

The UN COP26 climate talks held in the city later this year ‘must tackle food systems’ to get the world eating better and on track for net-zero.

Agriculture is the main threat to 86% of the 28,000 species known to be at risk of extinction, according to the new report from Chatham House,  supported by UNEP and Compassion in World Farming.

The Good Food Institute Europe is a welcome addition to the Eating Better alliance at this critical juncture, bringing its interest in alternatives such as plant-based protein and cell based meat. 

Anaerobic digestion plants promise to digest the huge volumes of manure and slurries produced by UK livestock farms, and produce biomethane for the gas grid as well as fertiliser for crops. However, they may actually drive more and worse meat production, says Martin Bowman of Feedback.

BDA works with Aldi to help customers understand more about healthy, sustainable and affordable shopping habits.

We are working to explore a common set a common vision of 'better' meat and dairy and a set of measures that can be used with food businesses.

New FCRN report 'Where do NGOs and researchers want to see more research on livestock and protein?'

Vicki is Head of Sustainable Farming at Eating Better alliance organisation – Sustain.

Eating Better Alliance organisations welcome National Food Strategy report but caution against the potential of a dual tariff system.

The analysis suggests that national guidelines could be both healthier and more sustainable.

COVID19 has put a spotlight on many areas of life from our healthcare system to how we are governed. It has also provided us with an insight into the intricacies of our food systems in a way that wasn’t possible before this crisis. These are five things that stand out for us.

Following the launch of ‘We need to talk about chicken,’ we asked ffinlo Constain to explain how broiler chicken production could be dramatically improved, and why now is the right time to do it.

In this article we share some of the action being taken by alliance organisations, farmers, restaurants and many others to step up to the challenges presented by COVID19.

The Humane League UK has joined over 60 organisations that make up the Eating Better Alliance. In this article Senior Campaigner – Cordelia Britton tells us more about the organisation and particularly their work on the Better Chicken Commitment which is central to the organisation’s corporate campaigns.

Major public sector catering associations have announced that they will work towards a 20% reduction in meat served.

In this article Four Paws share how they are working with local authorities through their Make Food Kinder campaign to help people to eat better in public settings.

Three British supermarkets are still allowing their suppliers to use antibiotics routinely in animal feed and drinking water, according to a new report by the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics.

How do you increase the knowledge and skills of chefs to equip them to create tasty, nutritious dishes with less and better meat and dairy?

Latest report by the Committee on Climate Change provides in-depth advice to Government on UK agricultural and land use policies.