Is our food system broken?

This might seem an odd question to ask given that you can go to any supermarket and get a vast choice of foods at very competitive prices. However, when you look at some of the facts about our food system the reality is quite alarming.

Obesity and diet-related diseases like diabetes are a major problem in the UK. We have very high rates of obesity, with two-thirds of adults either overweight or obese. One in five children start primary school overweight or obese, and the figure rises to nearly a third of children by the time they leave. Poor diets are estimated to cost the economy about £270 billion annually from increased health and welfare costs and the significant impact on productivity.

The affordability of food is a major factor in addressing this problem. Lower income families currently spend around 20% of their income on food and that could rise to well over 50% if healthy diet recommendations were followed.

Recent shocks like the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have brought into focus the issue of food security. About 60% of UK food supply in terms of value is from domestic production (a lot of it in food manufacturing) but for foods like fruits and vegetables the figure is only 16%.

Even though roughly 70% of land in the UK is used for farming, UK agriculture represents about only about 0.6% of GDP. This fact alone indicates how little of what we spend is actually going to the part of the food chain growing our food. 

UK farming currently faces significant financial instability, with falling incomes, policy uncertainty, and environmental challenges. A recent "Farm Profitability Review" presented to the government in late 2025 calls for urgent action to boost farmer income, noting that half of farms earn below the median household income.

On top of this we have the impact of climate change. Three of the five worst harvests on record have now occurred since 2020.

The industrialisation of farming since the Second World War has had catastrophic impacts on biodiversity. The abundance of monitored species has declined by nearly 20% since 1970. There are new grant schemes to try and address this but it’s not clear how the balance between environmental protection and food production is being assessed nationally.

The food industry is dominated by the large food retailers (over 90% of food retailing is controlled by 6 companies) and the large food and drinks manufacturers. They would argue that they are just responding to consumer demand.  It’s hard however not to be concerned about the general deteriorating health of the population and the long-term viability of farming which is core to healthier diets and our food security.