6 May 2025

The Food Conversation has published ‘A Citizen Mandate for Change‘, a public mandate for action to change the way that food is eaten, grown and produced in the UK.

The findings are the result of conversations in 12 places across the UK involving hundreds of people. The participants heard directly from experts, explored complex problems and trade-offs, and weighed potential solutions. In addition to these conversations, the FFCC developed a toolkit for any community to use. 70 community conversations have happened so far.

As well as consensus on the kinds of changes citizens want to see – there are a consistent set of values transcending regional and demographic difference.

These core values include:

• Fairness – citizens want government to tackle power imbalances for a fairer system

• Care – citizens prioritise policies that protect the vulnerable, including children

• Responsibility – citizens want government and industry to be accountable in their actions and to protect people and planet
• Localism – people recognise that healthy and sustainable food and farming is crucial to resilient and flourishing communities