Government Food Strategy published

 The strategy sets out plans to:

• Consult on an ambition for 50% of public sector expenditure on food procurement to be on food either produced locally or to higher standards
• Incentivise the sector to use surplus heat and CO2 from industrial processes, and renewable sources of energy to increase domestic horticultural production
• Review the planning permission process to support new developments of glasshouses
• Launch an independent review to tackle labour shortages in the food supply chain, to look at the roles of automation, domestic labour and migration to ensure UK businesses can access the labour they require
• Consult on how to improve on and expand animal welfare labelling, to help consumers identify when products meet or exceed our high UK animal welfare standards

• Extend the Seasonal Workers visa route to poultry, following a successful pilot last year
• Publish a framework for land use in England next year
• Consult on food waste reporting for larger businesses over a certain size
• Publish a statement setting out requirements for those wishing to access the UK market to objectively demonstrate they deliver an equivalent level of health protection to our high domestic standards
• Explore how to make the most of innovative feed additives that can reduce methane emissions from livestock, to support sustainable farming
• Launch a new partnership between the public and private sector to provide consumers with more information about the food they eat while incentivising industry to produce healthier, more ethical and sustainable goods