Moore, Henrietta L; Norman, Holly; (2025) Food in the UK: Addressing Food Insecurity in the 21st Century. (IGP Working Papers ). UCL Institute for Global Prosperity: London, UK.

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Abstract

The UK is facing multiple interconnected crises, including supply chain disruptions, insecure livelihoods, climate change, and biodiversity loss (Green et al., 2024:3). Extreme weather events linked to climate breakdown are driving low agricultural yields both domestically and internationally, leading to food shortages and rising prices (Horton et al., 2024). At the same time, food insecurity is escalating due to welfare reforms, inflation, and the broader cost-of-living crisis (Baumann and Arens, 2024:1). Many people are struggling to meet their basic nutritional needs (IDS, 2023:5; Jones et al., 2023:3; Butler, 2024b). In January 2024, The Food Foundation reported that 14.8% of UK households were experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity (The Food Foundation, 2023c, 2024c). Meanwhile, demand for food parcels has surged by 94% over the past five years (The Trussell Trust, 2024a; The Food Foundation, 2025:32). These alarming trends highlight a stark reality: access to nutritious, affordable food is slipping further out of reach for many, exacerbating health and social inequalities. Yet, in the UK alone, approximately 6.4 million tonnes of edible food is discarded annually across the food industry, which translates into more than 15 billion lost meals (Drey, 2021; WRAP, 2016). Healthier, more sustainable food options are often significantly more expensive and less accessible than ultra-processed, unhealthy alternatives, forcing low-income households to prioritise affordability over nutrition and environmental concern (Lee, 2012:1202; Yau et al., 2020:2612; Goudie, 2023:41; The Food Foundation, 2023a, 2023b, 2025; O’Connell et al., 2019). As a result, many families rely on cheap, calorie-dense foods that compromise both dietary quality and long-term health. This issue is further compounded by local food environments, which are overwhelmingly dominated by fast-food outlets offering inexpensive but nutritionally poor options, reinforcing cycles of food insecurity and diet-related health inequalities (The Food Foundation, 2025:21). Rather than fostering wellbeing, the industrialised food system- dominated by powerful corporations prioritises profit over public health, contributing to rising rates of diet-related illness and placing long-term burdens on healthcare systems (Jackson, 2024:3). Beyond its public health implications, modern food production- driven by economic efficiency and mass production- has led to widespread environmental degradation, excessive waste, and resource depletion (Jones et al., 2023:3; Hasnain et al., 2020:27; Craveiro et al., 2019:1). Industrial-scale agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, soil degradation, and water pollution (Clapp and Moseley, 2020:1401; Craveiro et al., 2019:1; Fisher and Goodwin, 2024). Globally, the food system accounts for over one third of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, consumes 70% of the world’s freshwater, and generates 80% of river and lake pollution (Crippa et al., 2021; Carrington, 2023; Lang, 2010; Poore and Nemecek, 2018). Transforming the UK’s food system is not just necessary- it is imperative for both human and planetary health. This requires a holistic, systems-based approach rooted in social solidarity and collective responsibility (Baumann and Arens, 2024:1). Since its inception, the Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP) has championed innovative strategies to enhance livelihood security, with Universal Basic Services (UBS) at the heart of this mission. UBS offers a forward-thinking social protection framework that moves beyond traditional redistributive policies, prioritising collective, preventative, and service-based solutions. This working paper examines how UBS, with food as a central pillar, can address the root causes of the broader livelihood crisis by fostering a citizen-led, rather than profit-driven, food system. It amplifies citizen voices and highlights community-led initiatives that are pioneering alternative pathways toward more resilient, sustainable, and just food systems (Feiteira and Pantzer, 2024; Neumann and Sharpe, 2023:3).

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