The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), the first agreements of which were launched with fanfare by Defra last month, lacks the punch to improve food security or farming sustainability. Announcing the new guidance, the government recognised that “food security is national security”, claiming to deliver on its commitment of providing stability for farmers. But the farming sector is far from stable or secure. The greatest threat to farming and food security is the climate catastrophe, and climate bodies have called for a global shift to eating fibre-rich, nutritious, and sustainable plant-based foods to mitigate its worst effects. This requires an urgent policy shift, as at the same time, many horticultural farmers are in financial crisis.
Meanwhile, the continued heavy subsidisation of animal agriculture means more greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and pollution; less wildlife; and greater animal suffering on an immense scale. Even traditionally heavy meat-consuming countries like Denmark are strengthening the plant-based agricultural sector and plan to tax greenhouse gas emissions from animal farms. The EU is debating reforms to the Common Agriculture Policy to help farmers move out of animal agriculture. Here in the UK, government advisors – the Climate Change Committee, Natural England, and the National Food Strategy – have recommended meat reduction and a shift away from raising animals for food. Yet Defra has no plans to help animal farmers transition to ethical and sustainable arable, horticulture, or novel agricultural alternatives.
The system is broken, but there is strong support for change: 60% of the public are willing to reduce their meat consumption to help animals and the planet. And a 2022 survey showed that 80% of Scottish farmers were receptive to moving away from farming animals – but they can’t take this step without financial support. After PETA launched its campaign urging agriculture ministers to support more farmers in the transition to plant-based agriculture, it was backed by over 13,000 supporters in the first week.
More than 1 billion land animals are raised and slaughtered for food every year in the UK, and the number of intensive megafarms and zero-grazing operations is on the rise. Animals farmed for their flesh, eggs, and milk live in cramped, filthy conditions, and none goes to their death willingly. It’s a grim existence, and most chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, and pigs in the UK only get their first glimpse of daylight while being transported to a slaughterhouse. Recent exposés of RSPCA Assured farms showed large-scale neglect and the horrific suffering of animals even on farms misleadingly marketed as “higher welfare”.
As well as always being fatal for the animals confined within them, animal farms put humans at risk, too. Barely a week goes by without news of zoonotic disease outbreaks and air and river pollution caused by farming. Planning applications for gigantic chicken and pig farms in Norfolk have generated over 5,000 objections and 43,000 petition signatories, as local residents stand up against the pollution, respiratory problems, and large-scale killing the proposals would bring to their doorstep if they were to move forward.
Why is the government so slow to act to help farmers move away from the violence and heartbreak of environmentally destructive and dangerous animal agriculture? It’s crucial that Defra – and the governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales – take urgent steps to redirect subsidies towards planet- and animal-friendly farming that protects us all.
Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.
