Support a British success story - Manifesto
It's time to stop taking food for granted
As the main trade association for the UK's food and drink manufacturers, we
believe the facts speak for themselves: FDF members play a vital role in
underpinning the economy through
our ongoing efforts to create jobs, add value and boost exports.
That's why we argue that Government must put our sector at the heart of future
economic thinking – particularly as policy makers look to rebalance the
country's
GDP away from an over-reliance on financial services. More than that, we need
national policy to reflect the key strategic role food and drink manufacturers
will play in ensuring the nation's future food security against the combined
effects of climate change, higher global demand and increasing pressure on
finite
resources.
We have seen Government take some encouraging first steps through its Food 2030
vision and are eager to work in genuine partnership with key Departments across
Whitehall to turn words into meaningful action.
It is only by articulating a clear strategy for the future success of the supply
chain that we can be confident farmers, food processors and manufacturers will
in future be able to keep supplying UK consumers with food that is safe,
nutritious and affordable – with the lowest possible environmental impacts.
Given our sector's relative size and economic importance, we clearly recognise
that the food and drink industry has a responsibility to help tackle many of
the
complex issues facing society.
We are already leading the way and our commitment has been undiminished by the
recession. For example: our members are working under FDF's Five-fold
Environmental Ambition to make a real difference to the environment by setting
themselves
stretching targets in areas such as carbon emissions, water efficiency and
waste
reduction.
We are also helping to improve the health of the nation through our
groundbreaking work to change the recipes of favourite British brands and
introduce clearer nutrition labelling on food packs. 
Our sector is clearly playing its part.
So what do we want to see from a future
Government? Delivering a clearer, more coherent and consistent approach to food
policy
right across Departments would be a good start. And we want an appropriate
regulatory environment here in the UK so that our industry can remain
competitive –
particularly against other European manufacturers.
We have also articulated 20 ways in which we think the next Government could
help to safeguard the future success of UK food and drink manufacturing – a
sector
that has an excellent track record of generating wealth for the nation,
providing jobs across the regions and responding responsibly to concerns about
diet,
health and the environment.
But we have a more basic demand: given our economic, strategic and social
importance, we believe it's high time that Government stopped taking our sector
for
granted.
Our positive contribution should be recognised by policy makers – and
we
want a public commitment that Government will in future support a successful
food manufacturing industry as a national priority in its own right.
Give us
the
prominence our sector deserves, and we will continue
to play a key role in underpinning the future success of the UK economy.
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