DEFRA Appoints Council of Food Policy Advisors

The UK government announced the names of appointees to the new Council for Food Policy before Christmas, signalling the direction that food policy might take in the coming year. The Council of Food Policy Advisors represents the latest development in the evolution of a (hopefully) more joined-up approach to food policy in the UK, and follows an investigation of food policy by the Government’s Strategy Unit last year. This investigation culminated in the Food Matters report released in July 2008 (see commentary here).

On October 6, Secretary of State for the Environment Hilary Benn announced the establishment of a “new team of advisors on food policy, from the farm to the fork”. The team is intended to represent all aspects of the UK food system, “from production to retail, and from regulation and distribution to consumption”. Whether or not it is successful in fully representing UK food interests, you can judge for yourself below… The teams key aims are to advise the Government on these three issues, ahead of a new piece of legislation addressing food security and supply due later this year:

• food affordability
• security of food supplies
• the environmental impact of food production

Benn’s announcement was made in a speech at Chatham House, entitled Food Security in the 21st Century.

Who made the team?

First, we have the Council Chair: Dame Suzi Leather, current Chair of the Charity Commission, who also has experience with the Food Standards Agency, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, and the School Food Trust. She also has an extensive academic background and interests in promoting public health agendas. On accepting the appointment, Dame Suzi said:

“I am pleased to accept this role on the new Food Policy Council. Advising Government on the core task – making our food system fit for the planet and for our own health – is profoundly important.” (Press Release)

A month later, the following list of Council members was announced. I have listed them below, with their current business or institutional affiliations, and you can read slightly longer biographies on the DEFRA press release here.

• Sir Don Curry – Chair of the Policy Commission on the ‘Future of Farming and Food’ which produced the ‘Curry Report’ in 2002. Currently chair of a Delivery Group responsible for driving forward the Government’s ‘Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy’.  Chairman of the NFU Mutual Insurance Company and a former Crown Estate Commissioner.  Chair of the Meat and Livestock Commission from 1993-2001.  Farms 440 acres in Northumberland comprising arable and lowland grass.
• Sue Davies, MBE – Chief Policy Adviser for the consumer advice magazine Which? Trustee of the Caroline Walker Trust.
• Professor Elizabeth Dowler – Professor of Food and Social Policy in the Department of Sociology at the University of Warwick.  Research focuses on relationship between health inequalities and poverty and food and nutrition, and in evaluating food policy and attempts to ‘reconnect’ producers and consumers. Member of the Food Ethics Council and the UK  National Heart Forum.
• Professor Gareth Edwards-Jones – Professor of Agriculture and Land Use at Bangor University.  Research addresses carbon accounting, agricultural policy and the environment, the economics of nature conservation, the psychology of farming decision-making and agricultural development in Wales.  On the scientific advisory committee of Natural England and the Sustainable Agriculture Panel of BBSRC (Biological and Biotechnology Research Council).
• Iain Ferguson, CBE – Chief Executive of Tate & Lyle PLC. President of the Food & Drink Federation, ex-President of the Institute of Grocery Distribution.  Honorary Vice President of the British Nutrition Foundation.
• Paul Kelly – 20 years experience of working in different parts of the food industry. Director of Food and Drink Industry Ireland. Chairs Business in the Community’s Plough to Plate project. Board member of the School Food Trust. Corporate Affairs Director for ASDA Stores.  Chair of the ASDA Foundation, Director of the British Retail Consortium, member of the Yorkshire & Humber Business Leaders Environment Group. Prior to joining Asda, was Group Corporate Affairs Director for Compass Group PLC.
• Professor Tim Lang – Professor of Food Policy at City University’s Centre for Food Policy in London. Natural Resources and Land Use Commissioner on the UK Government’s Sustainable Development Commission. Regular adviser/consultant to the World Health Organisation, special advisor to House of Commons Select Committee inquiries.  Chaired the Scottish NHS Executive’s Scottish Diet Action Plan Review in 2005-06, and worked with the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) ‘Food Supply in the 21st Century’ programme, 2005-08. Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health.
• Guy McCracken – recently retired as Chief Executive of Food Retail for the Co-operative Group. Former Chairman of Duchy Originals.
• Claire Pritchard – Strategic Project Manager for food and health at the Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency (GCDA). Member of the London Food Board, Sustain’s London Food Link Steering Group.
• Dame Fiona Reynolds – Director General of the National Trust for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Geetie Singh – Managing Director and founder of Sloeberry Trading Ltd, operator of the Duke of Cambridge organic pub.  Chair of the ‘Catering Certification Standards Committee’ with The Soil Association, member of the London Food Board, advisory board member of ‘Good Catch‘, board member of People Tree Foundation.
• Tim Smith – Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency. Former Chief Executive of Arla Foods UK plc. Also worked for Northern Foods, Sara Lee Corporation, and Express Dairies plc.
• Stefan Tangermann – recently retired from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) where he was Director for Trade and Agriculture. Former Professor of Economics and Agricultural Economics. Academic work focused on need for agricultural policy reform.

According to the DEFRA website, more appointments will be announced shortly.