My Lords, I have put my name to Amendments 35 and 70, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, Amendment 36, from the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, Amendment 71 from the noble Earl, Lord Devon, and Amendment 75 from the noble Baroness, Lady Boycott, all of whom have spoken passionately. Health and sustainability are important to all families. Protecting food security so that citizens have access to good quality food will ensure healthier outcomes. The extremely large number of speakers on this group indicates the strength of feeling and concern about this subject. The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, gave the statistic showing that children being admitted to hospital with malnutrition had risen by 25%. This statistic is scandalous in a country as rich as ours. My noble friend Lord Campbell of Pittenweem referred to children living in poverty.
In recent weeks, there have been a number of Oral Questions about the quality of food eaten in our families and whether it is healthy. Most people want to eat a healthy diet but some do not completely understand what constitutes one. For many it is sufficient that it fills them up. We must move away from this and promote healthy eating at all levels. This is not just an issue for agriculture. As has been said, diabetes is on the increase. In the three years to 2018, 170 limb amputations took place each week on those suffering from the severer effects of diabetes. While we may all know these figures, and understand the horror caused by them, many of those eating unhealthy diets have no idea what may lie in store for them.
Exercise is of course key to remaining healthy but for those on low incomes, there are implications of healthy eating. It is estimated that eating more fruit and vegetables could cost some families as much as £15 extra per week. This is simply not affordable for them. Many families managed before the Covid epidemic but after its outbreak were forced to use food banks to survive. Food banks saw the number of people applying to them rise dramatically during the first stage of the crisis. It is vital that people are fed—but fed with nutritious food. The noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, made a vital contribution on this issue.
Amendments 35 and 63, in the names of my noble friend Lord Greaves and the noble Earl, Lord Dundee, respectively, promote the growth of food production in urban areas. I note the cautious comments of the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, on this. Growing food in urban areas has somewhat fallen out of fashion. As a child, I was brought up in Bristol when it was not uncommon for homes to have a pigsty in the garden, as well as a plentiful supply of home-grown vegetables. There was also a large section of allotments in the city. The keeping of pigs at home fell out of favour with the first outbreak of foot and mouth, but it is still possible for vegetables and fruit to be grown in and around urban areas. Councils should set aside more land for allotments, especially for those living in blocks of flats. My noble friend Lord Greaves spoke at length on the importance of allotments. The Happold Foundation says that:
“Cities the size of London will never be able to grow enough food to feed the population … However, it still seems desirable to get food production closer to the consumer to make it more sustainable, and to reduce the food miles of what we consume and we release less CO2 into the atmosphere.”
Perhaps the vertical indoor growing method, raised by the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, will help with this.
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The growing food poverty and food insecurity in this country should not be accepted by society. We must measure and understand the causes of food insecurity and in doing so devise ways in which food supply chains in this country could help to provide a solution. As the British Poultry Council says:
“It is essential that the Agriculture Bill maintains a strong link between food production and the ability of people to eat.”
If we lose control of the food that enters our markets, we run the risk of creating a two-tier food system, where only the well-off can afford to eat British food that meets British standards from farm to fork. We would be wise to bear that in mind.
Sustainable food production is essential. To achieve the systemic shift towards more sustainable farming methods, we need to unlock the barriers to change, since the current business model means that some farmers have no option but to employ agricultural practices that do not serve the public interest as regards their impacts on the environment and public health. The Bill is an opportunity to put that right.
The Nature Friendly Farming Association says:
“Government should demonstrate leadership and make real commitments to support sustainable, nature friendly and climate-friendly UK agriculture. All government departments should ensure that their procurement processes prioritise buying local food direct from UK farmers where possible, giving preference to those with high standards of environmental sustainability and animal welfare.”
My noble friend Lord Bruce of Bennachie spoke passionately about the reasons why food security is disrupted and the possible disruption to the supply of food coming from Europe. I look forward to the Minister’s response. I also welcome the support of the noble Lord, Lord Naseby, for green energy.
It seems that the noble Lord, Lord Dobbs, does not understand what the purpose of the Committee stage of a Bill is. It is for noble Lords from all sides of the House to put forward amendments on elements that they feel will improve the Bill. I felt that his attack on the amendment in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, was somewhat poor. Of course there will be differences in the viewpoints of members of the Green Party and the Conservatives, but each is valid and deserves to be listened to.
Many noble Lords who have taken part in this group of amendments have made the case extremely eloquently. I hope that the Government are listening and look forward to the Minister’s response.