Who feeds Bristol? Towards a resilient food plan Production • Processing • Distribution • Communities • Retail • Catering • Waste Research report written by Joy Carey A baseline study of the food system that serves Bristol and the Bristol city region March 2011 Foreword For over a thousand years, the supply and trade of food has been integral to the economic, social and cultural life of Bristol. During my career in public health I have always been aware not just of the paramount importance of food, but also of the contrasts and paradoxes it brings; from desperate shortage in refugee camps and conflict zones, to the plenty and variety in wealthy capital cities, the intense visibility of food in parts of the world like Africa and India, and of course its curious invisibility in the UK now that highly mechanised production, distribution, processing and retail operate beyond our everyday view. Bristol is regaining its awareness of food – for the health of our local economy, for the health of our people, and for the health of the ecosystems upon which our future food production will depend. We read dire predictions of potential global food shortages, and conflicting reports as to whether these problems are real or imagined, and whether the solution lies with more biotechnology or with less. Yet we cannot begin to assess whether our own food system is healthy and robust unless we know more about it. The task of tracking down and making sense of what information is available has not been easy. We are indebted to Joy Carey, who in a short time and with a very modest amount of funding, has pulled together information from numerous sources and pieced it all together into this important research report. At the same time, work has been progressing behind the scenes to establish Bristol’s new Food Policy Council. This will be a small group of committed individuals with expertise and local experience relating to food production, preparation, distribution and retail. Under the chairmanship of Professor Kevin Morgan from Cardiff University, the Food Policy Council will drive forward the changes needed to make Bristol a city where eating and celebrating good food becomes something that everyone is proud to be part of. We already know this is what people in Bristol want. In a survey conducted in late 2010, our own Citizen’s Panel tells us that the majority of ordinary people in Bristol care about the quality and the ingredients in the food they eat, and a very significant proportion are concerned about production methods, local farming, and animal welfare. Over a third of respondents said they are involved in food growing in gardens or allotments, and half had switched to healthier ways of eating in the previous year. The Bristol city region has not yet lost its diversity of independent local producers, wholesalers, processors, caterers and shopkeepers. With the right mechanisms and with the growing public interest in the future of food, we can start to rebuild a food culture for Bristol that has the health of people and planet at its heart. Dr Hugh Annett Bristol Director of Public Health i Bristol City Council and NHS Bristol Contents Foreword i Executive summary 1 –5 1. Introduction 6 2. Context 7 – 11 3. Research approach 12 – 13 4. The food businesses: 14 – 18 Who feeds Bristol and the city region? 5. Retail: 19 – 31 Where do residents in Bristol and the city region buy food? 6. Wholesale & distribution: 32 – 41 Who supplies food to the businesses which sell to us? 7. Production: 42 – 50 Which staple foods are produced in the South West region? 8. Local food supply: 51 – 67 How much food comes from within a 50 mile radius? 9. Catering: 68 – 77 Which companies prepare and cook our food for us? 10. Processing: 78 – 83 Which companies prepare and cook the food we buy from shops or when we eat out? 11. Waste: 84 – 89 What happens to food waste in Bristol? 12. Community food-related activity: 90 – 102 Does bristol have the skills to cook and to grow food? 13. How can we assess the resilience of Bristol’s current food system?103 – 108 14. What are the city’s positive food planning powers? 109 – 115 15. What are the specific strengths and vulnerabilities in Bristol? 116 – 123 16. Suggestions for action 124 – 127 Glossary 128 - 134 Contributors 135 - 136 Appendices and full case studies (see separate ‘Who Feeds Bristol?: appendices and case studies’ at www.bristol.gov.uk/whofeedsbristol) The full report and appendices are available at www.bristol.gov.uk/whofeedsbristol We are happy for the information in this report to be shared provided that appropriate acknowledgements are made. Please contact the author Joy Carey to discuss permissions [email protected] ii Executive summary How did the report come about and what is its scope? The need to look at the food system for Bristol was identified as a priority by Bristol’s ‘Green Capital Momentum Group’ in late 2009 following the production of Bristol’s Peak Oil Report(1) . The ‘Who Feeds Bristol?’ research was designed to take the issues raised in the Peak Oil report and to explore the characteristics of the current food system in more depth. The work of researching and preparing the ‘Who Feeds Bristol?’ report was commissioned and Executive summaryExecutive funded by NHS Bristol, and designed and conducted by Joy Carey. A multidisciplinary Advisory Group provided advice and guidance, and met on seven occasions. The report is primarily a descriptive analysis of the food system serving Bristol. In addition, the report gives some global context, and in later chapters there is a discussion of resilience in relation to inputs, outputs and threats. It includes an analysis of the positive powers that Cities have in shaping their food system, and it makes suggestions for action. Much of the information used in this report came from national, regional and local data designed for purposes other than for understanding food supplies. It included marketing information, regulatory information on food standards and food businesses, and data held by Defra. Some information was from surveys and interviews conducted exclusively for this report. The lack of specific information about food supplies inevitably means that some conclusions were derived as best estimates drawing on data from a number of different sources. Explanations of sources, the basis of essential assumptions, and of the limitations of the data are contained throughout the report, and in the appendices. Bristol’s food system is inextricably linked, now and in the future, with that of the wider region and the rest of the nation. This report looks at the national picture, the South West region and in detail at the area known as the West of England, comprising the four Local Authorities of Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire. In food planning terms this can be described as a ‘city bioregion’. The report confined its analysis to staple food items namely meat, dairy, eggs, fruit, vegetables, cereals, grains and bread. The report did not look at luxury items (confectionary and chocolate), or alcohol, and nor did it look at fish. What are the main findings in relation to the food system serving Bristol? Production The UK imports 40% of its annual food requirements. The percentage of imports varies widely between food types, with 90% of fruit, and 60% of vegetables being imported. Alongside the fruit and vegetables we import poultry, beef, cereals, and animal feed. The South West of England is a major producer of livestock, accounting for 23% of England’s cattle and sheep, with 90% being sold to the supermarket trade. The suitability of the land for pasture combined with Source: 1. Osborn S. Building a Positive Future for Bristol after Peak Oil. Bristol Partnership. October 2009 1 http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Environment-Planning/sustainability/file-storage-items/peak-oil-report.en Accessed 26 May 2010 the presence of numerous large and small abattoirs, means that it is still possible for smaller-scale summaryExecutive livestock farmers to survive economically despite the increasing market difficulties associated with the major consolidation that has occurred in the food business sector. Lack of infrastructure for local distribution is a barrier to increasing direct sales to independent local retailers, to households, and to local restaurants and caterers. There are some 5,500 dairy farms in the South West that produce 37% of England’s milk, channelled through three large national dairy processors – Milk Link, Dairy Crest, and Wisemans. The region is home to Yeo Valley, which is the national retail market leader for organic yoghurt. The South West has the greatest concentration of organic producers of anywhere in the UK, and contains 38% of England’s organic producers. In the UK as a whole 17.5 million hectares is farmed organically equivalent to 4.2% of UK farmland. Over 10% of this land (1.9 million hectares) is in the South West. Vegetable production in the South West makes up around 6% of Great Britain’s production. The main crops produced in the region are potatoes, cauliflower, swedes, brassicas, carrots, parsnips and celeriac. There is some production of cider apples and soft fruit, but less than there was fifty years ago. Cereal production in the South West is mainly used for livestock feed because the climate is too damp and cool for producing wheat of the quality required for bread flour. The area of land needed to supply the City of Bristol with food extends well across the sub region and into Wales. Variations in topography and climate mean some areas are better for pasture, others for arable, so it is essential to look at national as well as regional patterns of production.