Ultra Processed Foods and the Food Industry Under Fire.

Add your voice to the campaign.

The House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee’s report, Recipe for Health: A Plan to Fix Our Broken Food System, calls for a complete overhaul of the UK’s food system to address the country’s public health crisis around diet-related diseases and obesity. This report outlines a series of comprehensive measures aimed at promoting healthier diets, reducing the influence of unhealthy food marketing, and restructuring incentives within the food industry.

Key recommendations include:

  1. Reformulation Taxes: Introduce taxes on salt and sugar for food manufacturers, building on the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’s success. This tax would aim to make healthier food more affordable and support people facing food insecurity by offsetting the costs of healthier options​. We won’t get everything we want here, one of the results of the sugar tax is an increase in artificial sweetener in soft drinks.
  1. Mandatory Oversight: Give the Food Standards Agency independent oversight over nutrition and the food system to prevent conflicts of interest and enforce regulations more effectively​
  1. Restrictions on Advertising: Ban advertisements for unhealthy foods across all media by the end of this Parliament, which research shows is especially impactful on children’s food choices​
  1. Public Reporting Requirements: Require large food businesses to report on the healthiness of their sales, with restrictions on policy involvement for companies that derive most revenue from unhealthy products. This aims to encourage transparency and accountability within the industry​
  1. Support for Low-Income Families: Expand access to Healthy Start and free school meals through auto-enrolment and by reviewing the benefits of increased funding and eligibility, helping to address diet inequalities driven by socioeconomic factors​
  1. Research on Ultra-Processed Foods: Further investigate links between ultra-processed foods and health outcomes to ensure dietary guidelines accurately reflect emerging health risks​

The report emphasizes that these changes would reduce healthcare costs and productivity losses due to poor diet, which currently cost the UK up to 2% of GDP annually. This plan aims to shift the focus toward preventing diet-related health issues rather than solely treating them, a strategy intended to generate substantial public health benefits and economic savings in the long term​. This seems at odds with the current Health Secretary’s focus on medication once the health problem is established.

The report proposes systemic changes, such as clearer food labelling, limits on unhealthy food advertising, and taxes on high-sugar and high-salt foods to incentivize healthier products. It also encourages research into food’s health effects, particularly concerning ultra-processed foods, and recommends expanding programs like Healthy Start to make nutritious food accessible to low-income families. Overall, the approach is broad and regulatory, with a focus on improving the entire food environment to support better public health rather than specifying roles for nutrition professionals​

The report recommends that responsibility for delivering food and nutrition education should involve several bodies, with a significant emphasis on both the education sector and public health authorities. The report highlights the importance of ensuring that food education in schools is enhanced to cover a broad understanding of nutrition and healthy cooking skills. It also encourages a more integrated approach that includes community-based learning, where local governments and health organizations would collaborate to provide resources and support for parents and children to make healthier food choices at home.

The Committee proposes that the Department for Education work closely with health authorities to integrate this education into schools and wider community programs. This approach aims to foster a strong foundation of knowledge on nutrition and health from an early age, with the ultimate goal of reducing long-term diet-related health issues across society. The report also suggests that tailored resources be developed for low-income families, making healthy food and nutrition knowledge more accessible and actionable across different socioeconomic groups​.

The effectiveness of recommendations in Recipe for Health largely depends on how the UK government and food industry respond to them and whether the proposed measures are implemented comprehensively.

Potential Challenges and Limitations

While the report’s recommendations are ambitious and backed by research, they may face resistance from parts of the food industry, especially if reformulation taxes or marketing restrictions threaten profits. Additionally, the long-term impact will depend on consistent policy enforcement and potential public support for a healthier food environment. If the recommendations are implemented holistically and effectively, they could make a significant impact on reducing diet-related health issues, though the scope and timing of outcomes will likely vary across demographics​

The chances of the recommendations from the House of Lords’ Recipe for Health report being implemented are uncertain, though there are reasons both for optimism and scepticism.

Factors Favouring Implementation:

Public Health Crisis Awareness:

  • The UK faces high levels of obesity and diet-related diseases, with the fourth-highest obesity rate in Europe and substantial health costs associated with poor diet. This backdrop creates pressure for stronger measures, making it more likely the government will seriously consider some of the report’s proposals​.

Proven Policy Models:

  • The report suggests expanding the sugar tax, which has shown measurable success with the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. This provides a tested policy model that could make it easier for the government to adopt similar taxes on salt and other unhealthy ingredients​

Broad-Based Support:

  • Numerous public health and nutrition organizations, like the Obesity Health Alliance and the Food Foundation, have voiced strong support for the report. Backing from these influential groups, along with evidence that public opinion generally supports interventions to promote healthier food options, could increase political momentum for implementation​

Challenges to Implementation:

Food Industry Opposition:

  • The food and beverage industry has a powerful lobbying presence and often resists regulations that impact profitability, such as reformulation taxes or advertising restrictions. Industry pressure could push the government to either delay or dilute the proposed measures​

Political Will and Economic Constraints:

  • Implementing these changes requires significant government commitment and resources, especially in areas like expanding nutrition education and increasing access to free school meals. With current economic pressures, the government may prioritize other issues, limiting the feasibility of comprehensive reform​

Regulatory Complexity:

  • Enforcing stricter advertising restrictions, especially on digital platforms, is complex. It would require careful design and possibly new legislation, which could slow down the adoption of these recommendations​

Likely Outcome:

The government may adopt a few recommendations selectively, especially those with proven benefits like the sugar tax expansion. However, more comprehensive reforms, like advertising bans or mandatory reformulations, may face delays or be implemented in scaled-back forms unless there is strong, sustained advocacy and clear public demand. This is why it is so important to add your voice, supporting this report. Email your MP to say that you back its findings and to ask what your MP plans to do about it.

Food Farming and Countryside Commission

Tim Jackson’s “The False Economy of Big Food” critiques the current global food system dominated by industrial-scale agribusiness, exploring its economic, social, and environmental flaws. Jackson argues for a shift towards a new food economy based on sustainability, resilience, and equity. Here are the key points:

1. The “False Economy” of Industrial Food Systems

  • Short-term profits over long-term well-being: Big Food prioritizes financial returns at the expense of health, community livelihoods, and ecological balance.
  • Hidden costs: Industrial farming causes significant issues:  environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, and public health crises (e.g., obesity and diet-related diseases).
  • Market monopolisation: Large corporations dominate the food supply chain, creating inefficiencies, price manipulation, and exploitation of small-scale producers.

2. Environmental Impacts

  • Climate change: Industrial agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and soil erosion.
  • Resource depletion: Unsustainable practices, such as excessive water use and reliance on synthetic fertilizers, threaten long-term agricultural viability.

3. Social and Economic Inequality

  • Exploitation of labour: Workers in industrial food systems are often underpaid and subject to poor working conditions.
  • Displacement of small farmers: 

4. Public Health Concerns

  • Nutrition crisis: Big Food promotes cheap, calorie-dense, but nutrient-poor processed foods, exacerbating malnutrition and obesity worldwide.
  • Food safety risks: The concentration of production increases vulnerability to contamination and disease outbreaks.

5. The Case for a New Food Economy

  • Localism and resilience: Decentralizing food systems fosters local economies, supports small farmers, and builds resilience against global disruptions.
  • Sustainability: Transitioning to regenerative agriculture minimizes environmental impacts and promotes long-term ecological health.
  • Food justice: Ensuring equitable access to nutritious food and fair treatment of workers and producers is essential for a just economy.
  • Redefining value: Moving beyond profit-centric models to value health, community well-being, and environmental integrity.

6. Policy and Structural Changes

  • Regulation of Big Food: Governments must hold corporations accountable for their environmental and social impacts.
  • Incentives for sustainable practices: Subsidizing regenerative agriculture and taxing harmful practices can drive change.
  • Investing in food education: Raising awareness about the benefits of sustainable diets can empower consumers to demand systemic reform.

Jackson advocates strongly for a food economy that balances ecological health, social equity, and economic resilience, challenging the unsustainable dominance of industrial agriculture.