Why UK’s next Prime Minister must usher in a revolution in the way we produce food – Philip Lymbery
Factory farming was a product of its time, born from fears about scarcity and hunger, but now there is increasing acceptance that it’s time for a change
With all eyes on Sir Keir Starmer’s replacement, one thing the UK's next Prime Minister cannot afford to ignore is food and how we produce it. Yes, they will have their work cut out on defence, the economy, public health and the nation’s future prosperity.
But there’s one issue that increasingly touches all of these: factory farming. Indeed, a recent government national security assessment identified risks associated with our food system that can no longer be ignored.
On the face of it, factory farming may seem out of sight and out of mind. Yet the mass production of animals and crops – through confinement, cages, chemical inputs and practices that work against nature, rather than with it – is increasingly being linked to some of the greatest challenges of our age.
Climate breakdown, wildlife decline, polluted rivers, antibiotic resistance, diet-related illness, and food insecurity itself. The obvious question is: what do we do about it?
Feeding a growing population
First, it helps to understand how we got here. Factory farming did not emerge by accident. It was built deliberately in the aftermath of the Second World War, when governments faced the urgent challenge of feeding growing populations. Food security became synonymous with producing more food, more cheaply.
The approach succeeded on its own terms. Food became more abundant and generally more affordable. But it also set in motion a system that treated animals increasingly as units of production, rewarded volume above all else, and encouraged a growing separation between farming and nature.
For decades, the hidden costs remained largely invisible. Today they are much harder to ignore.
Factory farming contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and water pollution. It relies heavily on antibiotics, helping to fuel the rise of drug-resistant infections. And it confines billions of sentient animals in systems that would have been unimaginable to previous generations.
In short, what once looked like a solution increasingly looks like a source of new problems. And these are not distant threats. They affect the price and security of the food on our plates, the condition of our rivers and countryside, and the kind of world we leave to our children. Food is not a side issue. It sits at the heart of our future wellbeing.
Politics, business and finance
The encouraging news is that change is already underway. One of the most important developments of recent years has been growing public awareness of the connection between food, health, nature and animal welfare. Citizens are writing to their elected representatives, asking tougher questions about where food comes from, supporting higher welfare alternatives and making their voices heard.
These changes may appear modest in isolation. Yet together they are beginning to influence politics, business and finance.
Governments rarely move far ahead of public opinion. Companies increasingly recognise that consumers care about how food is produced. Investors are becoming more aware of the risks associated with environmentally damaging farming systems. Pressure is building from the ground up.
At the same time, the transformation of our food systems has become a growing priority at the highest international level. Under United Nations’ Secretary-General António Guterres, food has risen up the global agenda because of its links to climate change, biodiversity loss, public health and sustainable development.
Three ideas
What is emerging is a broad consensus around three simple ideas. First, we need to use what we grow more wisely. Today, enormous quantities of crops are fed to animals in intensive systems when they could help feed people directly.
Second, we must produce food within the limits of the natural world. Farming depends on healthy soils, a stable climate, clean water and thriving ecosystems. Undermine those foundations and we undermine farming itself.
Third, we need to recognise that the health of people, animals and the environment are inseparable. Increasingly, policymakers refer to this as a ‘One Health’ approach.
And signs of this thinking are now appearing closer to home. I recently represented animal welfare interests in the European Union's ‘Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture’, bringing together farmers, businesses, policymakers and civil society.
While opinions often differed, participants reached a striking conclusion: Europe's future food system must be economically viable, environmentally sustainable and socially responsible, with higher animal welfare standards. Among the agreed recommendations was a phase-out of cages.
Perhaps even more important was the recognition that piecemeal reforms will not be enough. Agricultural policy, health policy, environmental policy, trade and finance all need to pull in the same direction. The same is true in the UK.
Business as usual not an option
Governments need to reward farming systems that restore nature rather than degrade it. Businesses must support farmers making the transition to higher welfare production. Financial institutions should invest in resilient food systems rather than outdated ones. And all of us have a role to play through the choices we make and the voices we raise.
None of this means turning back the clock. Nor does it mean producing less food. The challenge is to produce food differently – and to use it more wisely.
Factory farming was a product of its time, born from understandable fears about scarcity and hunger. But today we know that business as usual is no longer an option. A system that drives climate breakdown, erodes our soils and unravels the natural world robs us of our future.
The question is no longer whether our food system will change. It is whether we will shape that change deliberately – and build a future that nourishes people, respects animals and works in partnership with nature rather than against it.
Philip Lymbery is chief executive of Compassion in World Farming, president of EuroGroup for Animals and a UN Food Systems Advisory Board member. His latest book is Sixty Harvests Left: How to Reach a Nature-Friendly Future. He is on X/Twitter @philip_ciwf
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