ANIMAL WELFARE campaigners Compassion in World Farming has told politicians that food can be cheaper and healthier – if overall meat and dairy consumption can be lowered.

Writing to the Prime Minister and to Defra Minister George Eustice MP, CIWF urged them to address the current food insecurity issues, then take 'far reaching' measures to help people move away from unhealthy junk food diets.

Chief policy advisor, Peter Stevenson OBE, said: “We have a food system that does the opposite of what it is meant to do – it makes us unhealthy. Poor diet is now a major cause of disease and mortality in the UK."

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CIWF stressed the need to increase the quality of public food available to consumers – for example in schools and hospitals – to help create a shift towards nutritious food which is produced to higher animal welfare and environmental standards.

Support was also needed for business models that link farmers much more directly to consumers, particularly those in the poorest areas, allowing consumers to buy fresh, local, humanely produced food at lower prices and farmers to receive a greater share of the income generated by their produce.

The campaigners highlighted that farmers were facing soaring prices for fertilisers and cereals used as animal feed, and noted that Defra figures suggested that 54% of UK cereals were used to feed farm animals.

"Lower meat and dairy consumption would reduce the volume of cereals needed as animal feed," claimed CIWF. "It would also free up large amounts of land currently used to grow cereals for feed; this would enable the UK to switch to regenerative forms of farming which use only minimal amounts of costly fertilisers. Reducing the use of cereals as feed and minimising fertiliser use is vital in light of the surging price of wheat, maize and fertilisers."