17th Jan 2025 - 06:00
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Abstract
The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published the UK Food Security Report 2024.
The report sets out an analysis of statistical data relating to food security. This report examines past, current, and future trends relevant to food security, to present the best available understanding of food security at the time of publication.
The five key themes include:
- Global Food Availability: Continued stable growth in the production of food, despite geopolitical and climate shocks. The global trading system in food has also been stable.
- UK Food Supply Sources: The UK’s overall balance of trade and production is broadly stable. Extreme weather events continue to have a significant effect on domestic production.
- Food Supply Chain Resilience: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a spike in input costs such as energy and fertiliser. Agri-food sector labour shortages continue.
- Household Food Security: Most people do not meet Government dietary recommendations, with those from lower-income groups less likely to meet recommendations than those from the highest-income groups.
- Consumer Confidence and Food Safety: The results of UK consumer surveys indicate that the levels of trust in Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have remained relatively high.