Key action areas for transforming the UK food system: insights from the Transforming UK Food Systems (TUKFS) Programme project portfolio

Bridle, S., Parsons, K., Poppy, G., Duncombe, T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4746-4470, Dicks, L., Doherty, B., Johnstone, A., Reynolds, C., Wagstaff, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9400-8641, Lyon, F., Buckton, S., Dare, B., White, M., Yap, C., Shahrokni, R., Bhunnoo, R., Mitchell, H., Fazey, I., Moran, D., Turner, C., Beacham, J., Ingram, J., Jackson, P., Wells, R., Denby, K., MacMillan, T., Brunstrom, J. and Bryant, M. (2025) Key action areas for transforming the UK food system: insights from the Transforming UK Food Systems (TUKFS) Programme project portfolio. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 380 (1935). 20240166. ISSN 0962-8436 doi: 10.1098/rstb.2024.0166

Abstract/Summary

The UK food system is a driver of the public health crisis of non-communicable disease, is linked to the cost-of-living crisis, and contributes to climate change, biodiversity loss and soil degradation. The economy relies strongly on the health of its people and food businesses, while also impacting the livelihoods of food system actors. However, action towards more resilient, equitable and regenerative food systems remains too slow and unambitious to adequately address these challenges. The Transforming UK Food Systems Programme comprises a wide range of research projects which address these challenges in a novel place-based, co-produced and action-oriented way. We provide 27 suggested action areas for supporting food system transformation, grouped in five themes spanning production, manufacturing, supply chain and consumption. Among the suggestions, there is a strong emphasis on the importance of co-production with food system actors and affected citizens. We highlight the vital role of governance and policy in supporting these action areas in both a structural and financial way, noting that this needs both national policy and regional approaches to take into account geographically varying cultural circumstances and values, and to allow the high level of co-production necessary.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/123620
Identification Number/DOI	10.1098/rstb.2024.0166
Refereed	No
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences > Human Nutrition Research Group
Publisher	The Royal Society
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