Our second phase of research for Grow Green was a commissioned report, written by the New Economics Foundation and a collection of in-house case studies to evidence how some farmers are already successfully growing crops for human consumption without any animal inputs.Following on from the first phase of the campaign, the second report declares that the UK’s food system is fundamentally broken, environmentally unsustainable and unhealthy. It calls on the Government to radically rethink the food we eat and crops we grow, and advises a shake-up in the UK agricultural system as it prepares to leave the European Union. Key recommendations include implementation of a farmed animal tax and a Protein Aid Scheme for those who grow plant protein crops such as peas, beans and lentils.
On publication of the second report, Louise Davies, our Head of Campaigns, Policy& Research said: “'We are working in various ways to bring about vegan friendly policy making.
“Those who farm animals are victims of the system and many want a way out of the industry. The solutions that New Economics Foundation present could help farmers to transition to more compassionate and environmentally friendly farming methods.
“Encouraging more plant protein agriculture, and a move away from animal agriculture, would be a step towards the vegan future that the animals and our planet so desperately need.”
The report underlines that a shake-up would give the UK Government a chance to act as a role model in plant protein agriculture for other countries to follow. It also warns that delivering a large amount of food to consumers at low prices comes at the expense of almost every other objective that we might reasonably expect from a food system.
An addition to the commissioned report, our Campaigns, Policy & Research team conducted in-house research to produce a series of case studies to evidence how there are an increasing number of farmers successfully moving to growing crops for the human consumption market. These case studies serve as evidence for the Grow Green campaign and are also a source of helpful information for other farmers interested in making this move.
To read the second Grow Green research report please click here to download the Executive Summary and here for the full report.
Click here to read the Grow Green case studies.
