Harmonising health in a Green Brexit Public health messages in responses to Health and harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit consultation
WHO REPLIED? Breakdown of type of organisation responding to the Health and harmony consultation 9 8 7 No of organisations 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Type of organisation DEFRA received 44000 responses. 71 organisations published a response by 29 May 2018. 4 responses were from public health organisations.
KEY FINDINGS 49% want trade policy to protect food standards. 39% want healthy diet at heart of policy. 32% want public health defined as a public good. 32% want food labels to show production method. 30% agree with “polluter pays” principle. 27% want antimicrobial resistance addressed. 15% want Agriculture Bill aligned with UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).
COMMONALITIES • Maintain EU-UK regulatory alignment. • Prevent regulatory divergence across UK. • Resist race to bottom on price in trade. • Future farming in UK needs to be sustainable. • Public money for public goods welcomed. • Natural capital is beneficial to health and well-being.
INDUSTRY CHALLENGES TO PUBLIC HEALTH • Public health issues lie beyond the farm gate. (Tenant Farmers’ Association) • Food cannot always be cheap if it is healthy & environmentally sustainable. (Campaign to Protect Rural England) • Labels becoming old-fashioned – brand information now given through social media. (National Pig Association) • Polluter is the ultimate consumer unwilling to pay price for purchasing decisions. (Tenant Farmers’ Association)
PUBLIC HEALTH OPPORTUNITIES • Agriculture could learn from public health crises and address the cause of issues. (Agricology) • Agricultural policies are not stand alone but must be integrated across government. (National Trust / Organic Farmers & Growers / Yorkshire Agricultural Society) • Generational opportunity for sustainable food production, restore eco-system, improve public health & wellbeing. (Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management) • Adequate food for sound nutrition is human right. (Green MEPs / The A Team)
LIMITATIONS • Small sample size (71 published responses of 44000 responses received by DEFRA) • Potential bias towards campaigning or lobby groups. • Focus on 7 key public health messages only – some richness may have been lost. • Difficult to extract messages from lengthy, technical consultation responses .
CONCLUSIONS • Definition of “public good” required. • Good degree of alignment on key public health messages. • Scope for collaboration across sectors. • Continue dialogue with DEFRA.
Report is available at : http://bit.ly/2nE1TVa Produced for the UK Public Health Network August 2018
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