FMC Proposals to the Cornwall Food and Farming Group

Food Security Conference 2025

What we need to do.

We need to accept the fact that we have a problem, we need to tell the whole world about it at the top of our voices and declare a farming crisis and a food security emergency!

We need to halt the current destructive direction of travel by use of protective legislation and get local authorities to sign a food security restoration policy, this will place a pro food production policy within the decision making framework of any organisation that adopts it. This can provide a counterbalance to the climate emergency declarations that are being used to bolster anti food security planning applications such as solar farms and it will establish the concept of ‘strategic planning for local food system resilience’.

We need to vote for a political party who will end net zero policy and transition from the current super costly climate prevention model to a more sensible and far less expensive one based around adaptation to an ever changing climate. (There is no climate crisis, it is a deliberately manufactured taxation and control operation launched by the unelected ‘international think tank’ The Club of Rome in their 1972 document entitled ‘Limits to Growth’. In summary it is a depopulation agenda produced by the ruling financial oligarchy at the time backed up with alarmist ‘scientific computer modelling’. Al Gore was given the task of being the global advocate, the (again) unelected WEF took on the role of policy distribution to national government level, our politicians dutifully took care of its enforcement upon us through net zero).

We need to adopt more of a decentralisation mindset within agriculture and the policy which regulates it; a single point of failure is inherently more fragile than a distributed network, we need to think more about independence from monopoly and about food system resilience and give that equal importance (if not more importance) than we currently give to consumer food pricing. To their credit large scale producers and the supermarkets do keep the financial cost of food down through mechanised production at large economies of scale, but this recognition cannot come at the expense of smaller scale production which must not be overlooked. Smaller scale production has a vital role to play in terms of our food security and therefore it’s important for everyone to support it despite the higher commodity prices usually associated with it. To make an analogy, local food production could be viewed like a backup power generator, when the just in time national supply chain fails it’s the thing that will keep the lights on if only for just a few essential hours every day. Therefore from a strategic planning perspective local area food production cannot be ignored, it’s an essential contributor to the resilience of our food system and it must be supported. The fundamental concept (and importance) of two supply chains running simultaneously alongside each other must be established within strategic planning policy.
 

Dealing with kickback from the big 6.

The ‘strategic planning for local food system resilience’ angle is how local authorities can justify funding and policy support for small local producers. If the supermarkets complain about discriminatory bias against them due to local authority marketing campaigns aimed at changing consumer spending habits (through promotion of independent farm stores/farmers markets) then the strategic angle can be used to push back against any influence from them.

Re claims against support for local producers: Supermarkets would not have a valid claim against any funding/policy aimed at support for any subsection within the agricultural primary production sector (such as small producers). Supermarkets are post production supply chain operators, in other words it’s nothing to do with them, producers are at liberty to sell their produce however  and to whoever they like, the free market and consumer trends dictate their decision making process in this regard.

How can Local authorities help?

Demand local food system resilience is included in all strategic planning made at county level by Cornwall Council………ask them to adopt the FMC food security restoration policy.

Following adoption of a food security restoration policy ensure Cornwall Council create a funded program to address the food security issue. The main task of council would be to support primary production and to educate and change consumer spending habits in order to build local food system resilience. Financial support for farm shops should be given in the form of tax breaks and other easements however there is a limit to how much council can support one business over another. For example, setting up funded permanent indoor markets will negatively impact existing greengrocers/retailers in the area so things can soon get complicated; therefore council must target their support towards the three key areas of pro food security policy, primary production and education to change consumer spending habits.

1. Cornwall Council must adopt a food security restoration policy.

2. Cornwall Council should launch a ‘Primary Producer Incentive Scheme’ to offer support for small scale farmers and growers who use regenerative and organic production practices.

i) Expand the county farms estate to include small acreage market garden plots in peri urban areas surrounding all towns and villages.

ii) Offer subsidised rents/business rates easements for these market gardens/small farms.

iii) Offer set up grant schemes to fund tools/polytunnels/irrigation infrastructure etc.

iv) Fund a small 200 acre regenerative mixed farming pilot project in conjuction with Duchy college.

3. Cornwall Council should launch the ‘Let’s Grow Local’ campaign to change consumer perceptions and move away from the cheap food policy narrative to a secure food policy. Fund a proactive education program to explain how much more expensive local produce (especially organic/regenerative/hand harvested produce) is when compared to mass produced supermarket produce but explain what the wider benefits are (see appendix 1). Promote the establishment and use of farm shops/buying local produce, offer funding support/ business support/marketing support/business rate tax breaks etc. Explain the 4 pillars of resilience that you are funding when you buy locally grown and made produce:

i) you are supporting the jobs, the prosperity and the social wellbeing of your own community

ii) you are promoting healthier food (reduced post harvest storage time, grown in local soils not glasshouse hydroponics)

iii) you are promoting more sustainable production (organic/regenerative practices/less plastic packaging)

iv) you are supporting your local food system resilience

Isn’t that all worth buying, even if it makes your fresh produce a little more expensive?

In Conclusion

In the wider context we need to get rid of high spending political parties who are captured by external influence and who are intent on supporting the super costly net zero project and who continue to fund foreign wars and give our money away left right and centre in foreign aid etc, let’s get our own house in order first, let’s have a return back to common sense and self reliance. With a sensible government in control spending would come down, taxation would come down, energy prices and the cost of living would come down and even the poorest in society would have the extra money required every week to buy local produce from small scale producers.

This is a chance for local politicians and councillors to really make a difference and to prove that they are willing to fight for positive change. A rebalanced vision of farming and the supply chain is needed by all stakeholders involved, the 97% national supermarket to 3% local economy consumer spending ratio must be changed, regenerative mixed farming practices and the direct to consumer sales model must be promoted within agriculture and local administrators must play their part by recognising the food security crisis and legislating to address it.

The best should always cost you more, would you expect to pay the same price to a carpenter who made you a bespoke kitchen cupboard out of the best materials as you would pay to purchase a flat pack cheap pine self assembly model?

Food production is no different to any other industry and it too is governed by the doctrine of false economy. The cheap food policy adopted by the globalist establishment in this country has indeed been false economy for us and the wider world. Food is more expensive from a secure, sustainable food system but that is the price we need to pay. The cheaper the food, the higher the cost to human health, society, animal welfare and the environment.

Time for a moral driven refocus of priority.

The age when money rules all must end. Safety, security, common sense and doing what’s right for a healthy and happy society must once again be crowned our King.

Peter Lawrence
Farmers Movement Cornwall

Appendix 1 Comparison of supermarket and local production prices:

Cost of mass produced 400g organic bunched carrot by large supermarket grower £1.80

Cost of hand harvested 400g organic no dig (regenerative) bunched carrot by small local grower £2.50 (38.8% more than the supermarket).

The average spend of a 4 person UK family on fruit and veg is between £25 to £30 a week. A 38.8% increase due to buying local regenerative hand harvested produce would cost an extra £9.70 to £11.64 per family per week. Could your family afford to do this, even if it meant cutting back on spending elsewhere?