Former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy has warned the government’s new food strategy is fighting on too many fronts and urged ministers to prioritise the threat to food security.
Leahy, now an advisor to CD&R, the private equity firm which owns Morrisons, said whilst he “admired” many of the figures on the new Food Strategy Advisory Board (FSAB), they had been given too many “cross-cutting” objectives to tackle.
He accused previous governments of “paying lip service” to the idea of food security, despite a series of major threats posed by the likes of Brexit, the pandemic and war in Ukraine.
But whilst welcoming the intentions behind the food strategy launched by the government in November, the legendary supermarket boss said it should think again and make food security a core part of its industrial strategy.
“A food security strategy, which safeguards the supply of the most basic needs, has always been important,” Leahy told The Times. “Brexit made it imperative. More recent developments have made it urgent.
“Although food was excluded from the industrial strategy, the government has recently announced a new advisory board to take forward a standalone national food strategy.
“I know and admire many of the business leaders, specialists, academics and officials who will serve on the board.
“My worry, however, is that the board will have too many cross-cutting priorities to do justice to all of them.”
Ministers have said the strategy will tackle the food industry’s biggest challenges including “soaring” obesity levels, fairness in the supply chain and UK food resilience.
Leahy said: “Increasing access to affordable food, tackling obesity, improving biodiversity and ensuring the food and farming sector punches its weight on climate change are all huge challenges where there are no easy answers.
“They also all require genuine step-changes to reverse alarming long-term trends.
“I doubt that one body and one initiative can adequately tackle them all.”
He said recent events in the US and Ukraine had demonstrated just how quickly events could pose a threat to food security in the UK and warned it must be prioritised.
“The challenge of food security is growing and urgent. It should be part of the government’s strategy and actions to protect Britain’s national interest and economic security.
“In just a few weeks, the global outlook has shifted profoundly. That is why I am calling on the government to look again and add food security to its core industrial strategy.”
Last week The Grocer revealed the government was also launching a major public consultation to gauge support for measures under the strategy.
It said it wanted to “give the public a voice” in the direction of the strategy, with a series of “large, multi-stakeholder events” set to run over the next two months.
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