Report overview
The Sustainable Food Trust’s answer to the question ‘what should I eat to be healthy and sustainable?’, is that we should eat the foods that our country’s landscapes can produce when farmed in harmony with nature. But what would that mean in terms of individual diets? In this report, we assess the dietary implications of a nationwide transition to sustainable and regenerative farming in the UK.
The report covers the following:
- Farming in harmony with nature: guiding principles
- A nationwide switch to regenerative farming in the UK: what would our landscapes look like?
- Regenerative farming in the UK: how much food and of which types could be produced sustainably?
- Healthy and sustainable diets: what does it mean to align our diets to what the UK can produce?
- Recommendations for the future of farming in the UK
Videos 1 item
In this short film series, featuring a range of regenerative farms from across the UK, we explore the key findings of our report.
Videos 2 items
In this short film series, featuring a range of regenerative farms from across the UK, we explore the key findings of our report.
Videos 3 items
In this short film series, featuring a range of regenerative farms from across the UK, we explore the key findings of our report.
Key Stats
If there were a nationwide transition to regenerative agriculture in the UK there would be major changes to our landscape, the foods that we can grow, and our diets.
How would the UK’s land be farmed?
Changes in land use: current vs modelled
Taking into account climate, soils and topography, as well as the need to produce a diverse range of healthy and nutritious foods, we re-imagined what the UK’s farmed landscape might look like if it were farmed sustainably.
What would happen to land use?
Waking into account climate, soils and topography, as well as the need to produce a diverse range of healthy and nutritious foods, we re-imagined what the UK’s farmed landscape might look like if it were farmed sustainably.
Impacts on food production
What would a nationwide switch to regenerative farming mean in terms of food production?
The UK wide introduction of regenerative farming systems would have significant impacts on land use and therefore food production. In summary, vegetable and fruit volumes would increase, grain output would fall dramatically, as would production of poultry and pork. Conversely, beef, lamb and dairy production would remain at levels similar to today, but the production systems would be much less intensive and the animals would be mainly fed on grass instead of grain.
What we found
The UK wide introduction of regenerative farming systems would have significant impacts on land use and therefore food production. In summary, vegetable and fruit volumes would increase, grain output would fall dramatically, as would production of poultry and pork. Conversely, beef, lamb and dairy production would remain at levels similar to today, but the production systems would be much less intensive and the animals would be mainly fed on grass instead of grain.
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