25 June 2008 - Caroline Lucas MEP calls for end to ‘great food swap’ and urges food sovereignty at London conference

The ‘great food swap’ between nations should be urgently replaced with a localised, sustainable and healthier alternative, said the South East’s Green MEP yesterday at a conference in London hosted by the Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

In a talk entitled Safety and Food Miles, the Green campaigner and Euro-MP called for an end to the inefficient, oil-dependent system of intensive global food production which stifles local economies, threatens human and animal health, and harms the environment.

Dr Lucas MEP said:

“As little as 18 months ago, when I carried out research on food security in an era of Peak Oil, the subject was regarded as a marginal issue. Yet today, food security is at the top of the political agenda, driven by high oil prices, poor harvests, the impacts of biofuel cultivation, and higher demand from countries like China and India.

“Many countries are vulnerable to food shortages because of a dependence on imports. The UK, for example, currently relies on imports to provide almost one third of food consumed, giving us one of the lowest self-sufficiency rates in the EU.

“Our global food system is staggeringly inefficient and heavily dependent upon oil, at a time when the production of energy from fossil fuels is on the decline. So not only is the dependence on imports damaging for national food security and harmful to the environment, it is simply unsustainable.”

Dr Lucas also warned that intensive, industrialised agriculture could be playing a role in spreading disease. Recent avian flu outbreaks, for example, have shown the extent to which the export-oriented corporate model of poultry production may be responsible for the spreading of strains such as H5N1.

She concluded: “A re-localisation of our food systems would allow us take back control of our food from industrialists and financiers, and to feed a growing population in a way that is equitable and sustainable, while safeguarding human health, as well as the welfare of animals and the environment.

“The Green vision is one of healthier citizens, where everyone has access to a good diet, of thriving local farmers, reinvigorated rural economies and communities, and a cleaner, safer environment."

ENDS