British farmers could grow more herbs, spices and chickpeas to make the most of the changing climate, a new government-backed report has found.
Defra today unveiled an initial report from its Green Food Project, set up to study how the UK can increase food production in ways that improve the environment.
It studied how production and consumption would change in the wheat, dairy, bread and curry industries and across geographical sectors.
On bread, experts suggested that Brits could save significant amounts of energy if more energy-efficient toasters were invented.
Farming minister Jim Paice said a culture change was needed across the entire food chain and hailed the Defra report as the first step in that process.
“We’re not talking about setting Soviet-style targets but an overall approach in which the whole food chain pulls together,” he said. A steering group would meet regularly to “bring about change,” Defra added.
The Soil Association praised several of the priorities identified in the report, such as finding better ways to feed livestock using legumes. However, it said the findings failed to adequately address health.
“This report is weak when it comes to the key challenge of making it easy to eat a diet that doesn’t seriously damage our own health and that of the planet,” said the body’s director of innovation, Tom Macmillan.
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