Food systems, security & food policy comms

The global food system is not in a happy place, and the picture isn’t much better at national levels. Rising rates of obesity, malnutrition, significant food waste, the creation of numerous environmental externalities… the list goes on.

Funders are responding in turn, with significant inflows of capital into the sector in order to achieve policy change on everything from framing how we think about the food system, to specific interventions on ultra-processed food, reformulation and livestock sustainability.

We work with organisations at every level of the food system to shape narratives around the future of food and unlock policy change. Our food system and food policy communications consultancy has included:

1. Launching a report to adapt the economic model of the global food system
2. Campaigning for smallholder farmer climate adaptation support
3. Framing school lunch programmes

Challenges in food policy

Food policy is typically focused on ensuring a safe and adequate food supply, promoting public health and nutrition, supporting sustainable agriculture, increasing food security, and protecting farmers and those that work in the industry. These goals sound straightforward, but in practice there are several macro challenges to be dealt with.

Global warming, food security, and the need for international food policy

As the effects of climate change are felt, the global food system (including water supply) will increasingly come under pressure, meaning increased need for effective policy – and leadership – at both national and international levels to deal with climate adaptation challenges. Those policy recommendations will need to be framed and communicated in the right manner as they will likely involve painful trade-offs. 

The food system’s role in carbon emissions

The energy sector has dominated the focus of climate campaigners for obvious reasons. We haven’t weaned ourselves off fossil fuels yet, but progress is being made. As this progress continues, public pressure will increasingly look to other sectors where emissions are high. Food production is one of them, and COP30 in Brazil is going to place this in the limelight. Again, this will necessitate policy change, and it will require careful framing and communicating of the trade-offs we need to make.

The health impacts of industrialisation

The industrialisation of food production in the post-WW2 era, the rise of oligopolistic market forces, and the associated reduction in quality of food has created a number of problems. Rising obesity rates and other health impacts of industrialised food will create incentives for policy change in this space as poor health starts to affect the economy. Again, this will require significant trade-offs in the short-term, and long-term solution-focused framing will be vital.

Food policy communications consultancy

We’ve worked for various clients in the food policy space, both domestically in the UK and internationally, and are actively seeking consultancy engagements to shape the future of food. This has included:

1. Running several campaigns for the International Livestock Research Institute based in Nairobi, Kenya, broadly focused on ensuring that Global North narratives are not inadvertently used to frame policy development in the Global South. Case study
2. Consulting on the most effective way to frame a contested school-food policy proposal among British parliamentarians. Case study
3. Devising and launching a campaign around the economic cost of food systems to provoke policymaker engagement across a range of influential markets – EU, China, India, Brazil etc. Case study
4. Developing a three-year institutional communications strategy for the Centre for Food Policy at City University, London.
5. Social media channel strategy, content development, paid media strategy to launch blue food policy reports for a university research centre on the US West Coast.
6. Developing a sustainable aquaculture roadmap together with the World Economic Forum’s Friend’s of Ocean Action, and sustaining the momentum by producing case studies and a good practices report, showcasing industry leaders’ sustainable strategies and Ghana’s aquaculture growth through the Blue Food Partnership Ghana Initiative.
7. Primary research with parliamentarians to devise framing and a campaign strategy to change the narrative on obesity in the UK.