FORCE-FED Does the food system constrict healthy choices for typical British families? Contents Acronyms .......................................................................... 03 Chapter 2: Environmental costs .......................................................... 39 Acknowledgements .......................................................... 03 The food our families eat, and throw away ...................... 22 A yoghurt ........................................................................... 40 Funding ............................................................................. 03 Where typical family food comes from Cost of ingredients ............................................................ 40 Executive Summary ........................................................... 04 and how much it costs ...................................................... 23 Efficiencies of scale ............................................................ 40 Introduction ...................................................................... 07 What typical families actually buy and eat ....................... 24 Advertising ......................................................................... 40 What is a ‘typical’ family? ................................................. 09 Retail purchases ................................................................ 24 Potatoes ............................................................................. 40 Report overview ................................................................ 09 Eating out .......................................................................... 25 The journey ........................................................................ 40 Key statistics at a glance.................................................... 11-12 School meal ....................................................................... 25 The cost ............................................................................. 41 Chapter 1: Throwing away food .......................................................... 27 Key findings ....................................................................... 44 Typical families, their diets and the consequences .......... 14 Key findings ........................................................................ 27 Policy conclusions and recommendations ........................ 44 How good is their diet? ..................................................... 14 Policy conclusions and recommendations ........................ 27 Conclusions and Recommendations:............................... 46 Too much: sugar, salt, saturated fat, Data gaps ........................................................................... 27 Appendix ........................................................................... 48 and red and processed meat ............................................ 14 Chapter 3: Bibliography ...................................................................... 54 Too little: fibre, fruit and vegetables, oily fish .................. 15 The food environment: drivers of food choice ................. 28 Other nutrients ................................................................. 15 Convenience ...................................................................... 29 Preschool children: big data gaps ..................................... 15 Advertising ......................................................................... 30 People on low incomes..................................................... 15 Price ................................................................................... 30 Dietary overview ............................................................... 16 Promotions ........................................................................ 32 How does their diet impact their health Labelling ............................................................................ 32 and environment? ............................................................. 17 Formulations ..................................................................... 34 Health impacts .................................................................. 17 Key findings ....................................................................... 35 Environmental impacts ..................................................... 17 Policy conclusions and recommendations ........................ 35 Improving diets delivers health improvements Chapter 4: and a reduction in GHGE and water footprints ................ 18 The food system: drivers of food price ............................. 36 Government commitments .............................................. 19 Whole chicken and minced beef ....................................... 37 Climate change commitments .......................................... 21 The journey ....................................................................... 37 Key findings ....................................................................... 21 The cost of production and processing ............................. 38 Policy conclusions and recommendations ....................... 21 Efficiencies of scale ............................................................ 39 Data gaps ........................................................................... 21 02 Acronyms Acknowledgements The following people contributed to the report: Jenny Sutherland (quantitative analysis); Fiona Watson (policy analysis and food AHDB Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board tracing); Alex Ward (writing); Robin Hinks (food tracing, desk research and writing); Sofia Lemma, Francesca Harris (labelling CAP Common Agricultural Policy snapshot); and Anna Taylor (research design and writing). We sincerely thank our trustees and expert advisers for their comments and guidance on the research and drafting. We are extremely grateful to the following for advice and help in accessing information: DECC Department of Energy and Climate Change Royal Borough of Greenwich, GS Plus, the leadership team at Charlton Manor School, Horizons, Kantar Worldpanel (particularly Richard Longbottom), McDonald`s UK, Tesco, Asda, MySupermarket.com, Nick Jones (Cambridge University), Rosemary Green DEFRA Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (LSHTM), Nikolai Pushkarev (European Public Health Alliance), Two Sisters/PD Hook, AHDB, Branston, Her Majesty’s Treasury EFRA Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (VAT Division), DEFRA (Business Income Survey section) Sue Dibb and farmers in Kent, Hertfordshire and Lincolnshire. FOP Front of Pack (labelling) Funding Generous grants from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and The Nuffield Foundation supported this research. Our sincere thanks go to FSA Food Standards Agency Benenden who designed and printed this report. The Food Foundation would like to express our gratitude for all the contributions GHGE Greenhouse Gas Emissions that enabled us to complete this report. HFSS High Fat or Salt or Sugar Foods LCFS Living Costs and Food Survey Esmée Fairbairn Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for people and communities throughout the UK both now and in the future. They do this by funding the charitable work LFA Less Favoured Area of organisations with ideas and ability to achieve positive change. NDNS National Diet and Nutrition Survey QSR Quick-service Restaurant The Nuffield Foundation is an endowed charitable trust that aims to improve social wellbeing in the widest sense. The Nuffield Foundation has funded this project, but the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation. Benenden provides a leading service which gives its members access to discretionary healthcare that complements the NHS, helping them get the highest standards of healthcare at an affordable price. As a not-for-profit mutual organisation, Benenden’s powerful ethos and big hearted support makes them the UK’s leading health and wellbeing mutual community. Based on its heritage of providing affordable treatment for postal workers suffering from Tuberculosis, Benenden also exists to help policy makers, the public and other organisations bring health and wellbeing to the forefront of public affairs, which it has being doing so for over 110 years; meaning Benenden pre-dates the NHS by over 40 years. Benenden are also the proud sponsors of the Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards and the new headline sponsor of the ‘Spectator Health’ magazine, edited by Max Pemberton. 03 Executive Summary • There is an abundance of food conveniently available to relatively expensive. Meat is affordable to typical families but our family members. The number of places to eat out has carries a large environmental footprint. We look at the range of This report looks at what typical British families eat, and what increased by more than 50% in the last 10 years and the single factors that are contributing to this price picture by tracing back, is influencing their choice of food and drink. We examine how biggest category is quick service restaurants (QSRs) which through the food system, three items that are popular to typical easy it is for them to choose a healthy diet and review whether typically sell less-healthy meals. families: fresh meat, a yoghurt and potatoes, and show how government policy could do more to make healthy choices easier. government policies contribute to this situation. • Promotions cause us to buy one fifth more than we otherwise Our typical British families have four members; two adults, and would. Supermarket and eating out