Food Security

I beg to move,"That this House notes with concern current food shortages which are believed to have pushed 100 million people into hunger worldwide; recognises that rising food prices are putting household budgets under increasing strain; believes that with rising global demand and pressure on supply it is both a practical and moral imperative that Great Britain retains the capacity to produce a significant proportion of its own food; notes that UK self-sufficiency in food has declined considerably over the last decade; regrets the Government's failure to accept that domestic production is a necessary condition for food security; and urges the Government to relieve pressure on world markets and ensure the security of domestic food supply by enabling British farmers to optimise food production while preserving the natural environment." At the outset, may I remind the House of my entry in the Register of Members' Interests? A few weeks ago in the Chamber, I challenged the Secretary of State on the subject of food security. In his answer, he asked for a discussion on the right things to do in response to the changing circumstances. I hope that he will use this debate to make a contribution to those discussions. Three years ago, the most significant reform of the common agricultural policy since its inception took effect. The so-called mid-term review began the process of cutting the link between how much a farmer produced and how much public money he or she received. In England, the Government quite rightly decoupled totally. Many other countries did so only partially. It is ironic, however, that the price of the two basic commodities at the heart of the present rise in food prices—grain and milk—has risen because of global markets. So, far from having cheaper food as a result of ending production subsidies, the market has conspired to raise prices. The two aspect are not linked; it is a coincidence, but it demonstrates that we should not make rash assumptions about something as unique as food production. Farming cannot be switched on and off like a car plant. That is why this debate is so important. Why are we concerned? First, we are concerned because of the considerable rise in global food prices, to which I shall return. The second reason is the impact of those price increases on consumers, both here and in the developing world. The price of wheat has risen by up to 150 per cent., but that does not explain the rise in retail prices. For example, in the past two years the price of an average 800g loaf of bread has risen by almost 30p, but the rise in the price of wheat accounts for less than 10p of that rise. We recognise that the rise in fuel prices has hit everyone, but we have to ask how that total price rise is justified. I suggest that if the price rise had been less than 10p, there would have been much less fuss. The same applies to milk: in the past 12 months, the retail price of a 4-pint bottle has risen by about 11p a litre, but the farm-gate price has risen by just 7p a litre. So in his quite proper concern about inflation, the Chancellor must look at the whole picture. We all know the basic reasons for the rise in commodity prices. They include the drought in Australia, which has reduced the harvest by 60 per cent., and the increasing demands of China and India, both for grain itself and for animal protein partly raised on grain. In China, for example, meat consumption has risen by 150 per cent. in 30 years. They also include biofuels. Views differ about the scale of the impact of biofuel production. The United States Government claim that about 3 per cent. of the price rise is due to biofuels; the International Monetary Fund puts it at nearer 30 per cent. The fact remains, however, that the United States is pouring money into ethanol production, which is due to rise from 5 billion gallons in 2005 to 10 billion in 2009. That production is using corn that would previously have been sold on the world markets. Of course, some of these factors could change. Australia could go back to full production, but I have to say that the picture is not encouraging. If we take a medium to long-term look at supply and demand, we see the world population rising by about 1 billion in the next 10 years, and by perhaps 3 billion by 2050. We must also consider climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that a 1 m rise in sea level would swamp a third of the world's crop land. That is possible before the end of this century. It is perfectly true to say that there is unused land in the world. For example, some 20 million hectares in Russia and Ukraine have been taken out of production since the end of the Soviet Union. However, it is estimated that some 10 million hectares of farmland around the world are lost each year to urbanisation, deforestation and desertification. The background is not encouraging. World cereal stocks have gone down consistently by 17 per cent. over the past five years. I put it to the House that we should take our future food supply—including the share of it produced in this country—seriously. The question is: do the Government do so? In December 2005, a joint policy document produced by the Treasury and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs called ““A Vision for the Common Agricultural Policy”” made the astonishing statement that"““domestic production is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for food security””." Let me be clear: no one is suggesting that it is sufficient—we have not been self-sufficient for many centuries—but surely we cannot suggest that it is not necessary. Are the Government really suggesting that it does not matter whether there is any domestic production at all? In the past six weeks, I have challenged the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister in the House to disown that document. Neither of them has done so. It is true that both have made noises about the importance of British farming, but, as I shall show, they have done nothing of significance.