15 October 2025

AFN’s report, Roadmap for Resilience: A UK Food Plan for 2050, is published today. It brings together three years of work, with contributions from 150+ people in the Network.

So what does it say? As ever, here are the key points digested so you don’t have to. Over the next few days I’ll be sending out further Digests, digging deeper into the three core transformations (agriculture, land, diet) that the report says are necessary.

There’s a lot more in the report itself, including many figures about the current state of things, so please take some time to read it. Below I’ve focused more on what AFN thinks needs to happen.

Roadmap for Resilience: A UK Food Plan for 2050 

KEY MESSAGES 

🌍  Change is coming – let’s shape it, not be shaped by it: The way we produce and consume food in the UK is under mounting pressure – from climate change, global instability and health problems. But with these threats comes a pivotal opportunity: if we act now to shape the future, we can build a fairer, healthier, more secure food system that works better for everyone.

🚜  We need stronger, more resilient farming and food production. Farmers are on the front line of climate change and economic shocks. We must back them with a clear plan, with long-term financial confidence, transition support and skills development, that enables their businesses to flourish as diets shift – so we can grow more fruit, vegetables and pulses, reduce business over-reliance on livestock, and develop mixed farming systems that bring animals and cropping together. We must help farmers boost productivity and resilience so they are better able to feed us in difficult times, because food security is national security.

🌱  Smarter land use will benefit the nation. Land is a limited resource, and those who manage it are in a unique position of responsibility to meet the national interests of food production, habitat management, climate change mitigation and producing multiple other public goods. Working with farmers and land managers to collectively plan land use creates a major opportunity to better meet these needs for the nation, while giving farmers the clarity they need for their businesses. This requires government leadership, balancing trade-offs, and fair incentives for farmers and communities.

🥕  Healthier diets must become the easier option. Eating well shouldn’t be a struggle. We need to make healthy food the easiest option for people. That means changing how food is marketed, sold and priced. As we eat differently, new opportunities will arise for UK farming to grow more of what we need for better health. Healthier diets will also reduce our dependence on imported animal products. A healthier population will mean a less burdened health system, a stronger economy and a fairer society.

🤝🏻  A better future will take joined-up action. These transformations connect emissions, nature, health and the economy. The changes we propose can bring real everyday benefits: healthier families, resilient farms, secure food supplies and a vibrant countryside. But we need to plan ahead – not muddle through from crisis to crisis. With effective leadership, we can build a food system that’s fairer, fitter and future-ready.

THE 3 CORE TRANSFORMATIONS THAT MUST HAPPEN

Transforming the UK food system by 2050 requires systemic changes rather than incremental. Our analysis indicates that regardless of how the broader context evolves, three core transformations are needed to ensure a sustainable and resilient future.

These transformations are interconnected and must have to be pursued together. Focusing on any one single dimension in isolation would create new problems elsewhere in the system, or simply fail to deliver the scale of change required. Taken together, they create a virtuous cycle that can meet climate goals, health imperatives and nature recovery needs, underpinned by strengthened food security and economic resilience. Critical to their success is that benefits and costs are fairly distributed.

1️⃣  Stronger, more resilient farming

Climate pressures and global instability mean farming will need to change whether we like it or not. But if we act now, we can adapt in a way that supports farmers and rural economies, and builds national resilience. Look out for a Digest on Friday 17th – we’ll dig deeper into what this transformation means.

2️⃣  Smarter, more integrated land use

Our modelling shows that the UK needs between 1.3 million and 5.1 million hectares of new woodland, space for energy crops and restored peatland. And all this needs to be achieved without undermining food security, while tailoring support for those whose livelihoods depend on the land. Look out for a Digest on Monday 20th – we’ll dig deeper into what this transformation means.

3️⃣  Healthier diets, made easier

Poor diets cost the UK dearly – through pressures on the NHS, lost productivity and poor quality of life. Shifting towards healthy diets is a win-win that cuts emissions, saves public money,and helps improve people’s quality of life and workforce productivity. Look out for a Digest on Wednesday 22nd – we’ll dig deeper into what this transformation means. 

10 PRIORITY ACTIONS

👩🏻‍🌾  1. Reform agricultural subsidies to prioritise sustainable production, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity – while establishing transition funds to support farm diversification, new supply chains and infrastructure – for a just transition better aligned with climate adaptation, emissions reduction and improved national food security.

🐂  2. Set targets for dietary change and animal numbers, so that progress in reducing consumption of highest emitting foods can be monitored and more actively managed. Public procurement can be used to build new opportunities for suppliers, with one goal to make healthy and sustainable options more straightforward and affordable. Targets could be legislated for through a Good Food Nation Act to establish a statutory obligation on government and public bodies to give effect to food system transformation.

🛒  3. Require major food businesses to publish food system transition plans with measurable targets aligned with national climate and health objectives. The NHS Fit for the Future plan contains welcome steps but financial incentives for healthier food need to be extended far beyond soft drinks.

🏛️  4. Create a National Food System Transformation Committee with cross-departmental authority to coordinate food, farming and climate policy. The Committee should oversee the three core transformations we set out to 2050, reporting through the Cabinet Office to the Prime Minister.

📊  5. Develop more effective food systems data to track progress, promote transparency and accountability, and inform evidence-based decision-making. Monitoring and reporting requirements for food businesses need to be used to drive innovation along supply chains and inform public sector food procurement.

🚢  6. Introduce measures to protect and strengthen food security and ensure trade policies align with domestic transformation goals. Place food security on a par with energy security, as equally essential to national security. Trade deals require adequate scrutiny so as not to compromise the UK’s food security and domestic production capacity.

🌳  7. Take advantage of emerging opportunities to offset emissions and inset within supply chains. Ensure carbon markets work to deliver incentives for change in land management, including adequate systems of monitoring, reporting and verification for buyers’ and sellers’ confidence. Establish a British quality standard for carbon calculator tools for estimating agricultural emissions.

🚜  8. Develop integrated ‘Food and Land Strategies’ at national and regional levels that balance production, environmental and social needs. Integrate current and new land use frameworks with large-scale changes in food production. Drive land use change at the sub-national and sub-regional levels, rather than leave it to the market.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦  9. Use citizens’ assemblies and other deliberative tools to engage and build public understanding and consent for system-wide change, protecting it from culture war politics. Use new tools of dialogue and decision-making to gain common understandings among citizens and farmers, build consensus and handle complex trade-offs.

🤓  10. Expand interdisciplinary research on socioeconomic aspects of food transitions, focusing on behaviour change, implementation and distributional effects. Make interdisciplinary research the norm for agriculture and food systems research.

HOW WE GET THERE – FROM NOW TO 2050 

Businesses, farmers and communities will need time to adapt. Recognising this, the path from today’s food system to 2050’s transformed landscape follows three distinct phases to build momentum, while being realistic about the pace of change. For more detail, see the main report, Chapter 4, page 48.

👷🏻‍♀️ PHASE 1: Build foundations (2025–2030)

The first phase represents a critical window for establishing the foundations of food system transformation. This phase focuses on winning hearts and minds, co-designing solutions with affected communities, and creating the conditions for accelerated progress. It includes; forging political consensus beyond party lines; establishing institutional architecture such as a National Food System Transformation Committee reporting to the Prime Minister; developing financing mechanisms such as farmer transition funds, functioning carbon markets, and agricultural subsidies aligned with transformation goals; and launching demonstration projects.

🇬🇧 PHASE 2: Scale solutions (2030–2040)

With foundations established, the second phase marks the decade of most intensive change. Success requires moving from pilots to mainstream adoption, and from incremental adjustments to structural change. It includes; rolling out successful pilots nationwide; supporting communities through structural change including retraining programmes, diversification support and regional development funds; transforming food environments at scale with comprehensive reform of retail environments and public procurement; Building resilient supply chains including processing facilities and distribution networks for expanding UK horticulture and emerging alternative protein sectors, and accelerate natural capital investment for tree planting and peatland restoration.

🌍 PHASE 3: Consolidate progress (2040–2050)

The final phase shifts focus from driving change to embedding and optimising new systems. By 2040, the food system will look fundamentally different. It includes; sustainable practices become standard for a new generation of farmers while consumers expect healthy, sustainable food as default; fine-tune relationships between food production, land use and consumption, as they mature; addressing remaining high-emission sectors through next-generation technologies and practices; stress-testing and managing the transformed food system against extreme weather, shifting growing conditions and global supply disruptions as climate impacts intensify; exporting lessons learned globally and supporting other nations in their transitions, making UK expertise in low-carbon farming practices, just transitions and integrated governance a valuable export.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Look out for further Digests of the three core transformations (farming, land, diet) over the coming days.