Recent analysis commissioned by the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FCCC) has found that the costs of the country’s unhealthy food system amount to just under £270 billion annually. This is equivalent to the total annual UK healthcare spend.
The report authored by Professor Tim Jackson outlines the first comprehensive estimate of the food related costs of chronic disease caused by the current food system. The analysis combines both direct costs and indirect costs (including productivity losses and human costs).
The analysis concludes that £268 billon is the food related cost of chronic disease in the UK made up of healthcare (£67.5bn), social care (£14.3bn), welfare (£10.1bn), productivity (£116.4bn) and human cost (£60bn).
The publication makes the case for a new food economy, based on three key principles:
- the right of every citizen – irrespective of class, income, gender, geography, race or age – to sufficient, affordable, healthy food;
- a regulatory environment which curtails the power of Big Food, promotes dietary health and halts the rise of chronic disease;
- a financial architecture that redirects money away from perverse subsidies and post-hoc damage limitation, towards preventive healthcare and the production of sustainable, nutritious food.
The FFCC is urging the government to introduce policies to make healthy eating accessible, including vouchers for low-income households to buy British-grown fruits and vegetables and increased support for sustainable farming practices.
For further information visit Publications – Food, Farming and Countryside Commission