More than 100 organisations, including the country’s largest retailers and food manufacturers, are urging the government to introduce a Good Food Bill.
The campaign, led by The Food Foundation, Sustain and Green Alliance, argues that food should be treated as a strategic national priority alongside energy and defence.
Under the proposals, a Good Food Bill would introduce legally binding targets covering childhood obesity, household food insecurity and fruit and vegetable consumption. It would also seek to increase the proportion of food grown in Britain.
Ministers would be required to consider food when making decisions across health, education, farming, planning, trade and environmental policy. The government would publish a Reference Diet and produce five-year Good Food Action Plans explaining how its targets would be achieved.
Local leaders would be given a greater role in shaping food policy, while an independent body would report annually on progress.
The coalition points to a 16% decline in UK fruit and vegetable production since 2015, while Britain now imports 78% of its fruit and vegetable supply. It says food insecurity also affects 15% of households with children.