FDF at the Party Conferences

FDF was involved in a number of fringe events at the main Political Party Conferences this autumn and would like to thank all interested parties who joined in the debates.

Live tweets from Party Conferences

During the Party conferences we were 'tweeting' about the latest from our fringe events - you can still catch up with us by following @ajcross, @JulianHunt and @Foodanddrinkfed . If you want to catch up on our tweets, then simply search Twitter by for the hash tag #fdffringe.

FDF at the 2009 Party Conferences

We supported an event at the Liberal Democrats Conference organised by the National Farmers' Union.

FDF also co-organised events with the British Retail Consortium and the National Farmers' Union at the Labour and Conservative Party Conferences in Brighton and Manchester respectively.

All the events focused on the topical issue of food security.

Conservative Party Conference Fringe Event - 6 October 2009

We are back from the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester where we held a fringe event on food security with the National Farmers' Union and the British Retail Consortium. The event proved to be extremely popular despite the early start and the direct competition with many other interesting discussions.

John Gummer MP chaired the panel - Jim Paice MP, Shadow Defra Minister, Melanie Leech, Director General at FDF, Peter Kendall, President of the NFU and Andrew Opie, Director of Food Policy at the BRC – and took questions from a large audience, including other MPs and PPCs.

The discussion covered a wide range of issues including the role of the government in supporting food production and manufacturing in the UK, the FDF lead in environmental issues, consumer demand for affordable food, local sourcing and the role of education to prevent unnecessary food waste.

Melanie Leech, FDF said that she wanted to see a clear Government strategy that 'allowed industry to deliver affordable, safe and nutritious food to the table'.

View the details of the fringe event: Food for thought: Can the UK continue to feed itself?

Labour Party Conference Fringe Event - 29 September 2009

FDF organised a fringe event at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton with the National Farmers' Union and the British Retail Consortium. The event was a great success.

Labour fringe event photo Paddy Tipping MP chaired the panel - Jim Fitzpatrick MP, Defra Minister of State, Julian Hunt, Director of Communications at FDF, Peter Kendall, President of the NFU and Andrew Opie, Director of Food Policy at the BRC – and took questions from a very engaged audience, including David Taylor MP.

The discussion covered a wide range of issues including the role of the government in fostering better co-operation along the food chain, current obstacles to local sourcing, volatility of food prices, GM, how public procurement can support British produce and the importance of recognising the role of food manufacturing in the UK economy.

Julian Hunt, FDF said: "Government should set out a clear vision of food production and make it a strategic priority, telling people how important the sector is to encourage more people into food and drink manufacturing. Having Ministers simply spread this message could be a powerful tool that would cost the taxpayer nothing."

View the details of the fringe event: Food for thought: Can the UK continue to feed itself?