You could be forgiven for thinking that the introductory statement for the UK’s Oxford Farming Conference this year was written by Compassion in World Farming:
“Agriculture faces a huge challenge which affects every race and country; how to feed a global population of 9 billion by 2050 with less land, less water, less oil and greater climatic extremes whilst minimising the impact on the environment.”
This year’s conference provides the backdrop for a political debate on the future of food and farming. According to the BBC, UK Environment Minister, Hilary Benn MP plans to unveil the Government’s agriculture strategy to 2030, which includes better information for consumers, tackling waste and carbon emissions. The shadow environment spokesman, Nick Herbert, will reportedly use his conference slot to call for a “new age of agriculture” to include a new supermarket ombudsman to protect the interests of farmers.
The BBC Today programme featured a report looking back at the policies that have shaped farming since the middle of last century. It outlines the folly of a singular focus on producing more food quickly; a focus that we can plainly see has had a huge impact on the environment, food quality and animal welfare.
In our view, any ‘new age’ for agriculture needs to avoid making the mistakes of the past. We need an urgent move away from factory farming, with its reliance on artificial fertilisers, pesticides and intensive animal production. Instead, a humane and sustainable food and farming system is needed, which delivers healthy food for a growing population in ways that minimise environmental damage and animal suffering.
Our recent report, commissioned with Friends of the Earth, shows that this aspiration is both possible and practical. It shows that we do not need factory farming to feed a hungry world in 2050. Indeed, the sustainability of our food system requires us to move to farming methods that are kinder to the environment and the animals.
The report, Eating the planet?, produced by the Institute of Social Ecology in Austria and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, concludes that free range farming can feed the world without swallowing up huge areas of wild lands. It outlines the ultimate win-win scenario: feeding the world’s 2050 population without intensive agriculture is not only good for animal welfare but also “provides environmental benefits such as promoting biodiversity and reducing environmental pollution”.
Please help us spread the word. Please help us ensure that future national and international farming policy helps bring an end to factory farming. Why not download our report and send it to your local MP?
Together we can create a humane and sustainable farming future for the world. Thank you.
