“Act now to make our food fairer, greener, and more resilient” urges MDX academic

MDX research calls for action to transform UK’s food systems

Professor Fergus Lyon, Director of Middlesex University’s Centre for Entreprise, Environment and Development Research, has contributed to a groundbreaking overview of evidence from the Transforming UK Food Systems (TUKFS) Programme, calling for a radical overhaul of UK food systems.

The research, published in a Royal Society journal, outlines a bold roadmap for transforming how food is grown, processed, traded, and consumed — with human and planetary health at its core.

The TUKFS Programme, funded by a £47.5 million UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund investment, engaged teams from different fields from communities, policymakers, and food system to identify twenty-seven actionable “levers” for change across production, processing, food environments, communities, and governance.

Commenting on the research, Professor Lyon, said:

“Food is at the heart of our health, our environment, and our economy. Right now, the UK food system is driving ill health and environmental damage — but it doesn’t have to be this way. Our research highlights twenty-seven practical action areas that can make food fairer, greener, and more resilient. This is not just about better food products; it is also about changing the way we behave.”

The research highlights that:

• The UK food system is a major driver of climate change, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and poor health outcomes.
• Transformation requires systemic approaches rather than piecemeal fixes.
• Social innovation is essential to embed and sustain changing behaviour and opening access to healthy and sustainable food for all.

Examples of proposed actions include supporting long-term regenerative farming trials, incentivising UK-grown pulses, legislating for redistribution of surplus food, subsidising healthier diets, embedding co-production in decision-making, and establishing a permanent cross-government food systems body.

If implemented, these measures could improve health, reduce emissions, rebuild ecosystems, and foster resilient communities and economies.

Middlesex Researchers led on complementary research published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society on social innovation which highlights how new institutional, cultural, and participatory practices are essential to embed and sustain systemic food transformations.

About the Projects & Authors:

The TUKFS Programme brings together researchers, local actors, and policy partners across the UK to co-design and evaluate food system innovations in place-based contexts. Research on “Exploring social innovation for transforming food systems” contributes conceptual and empirical insights into how institutional and social change processes can enable food transitions. It was authored by Fergus Lyon, (Middlesex University), Bob Doherty (York University), Katerina Psarikidou (University of Sussex), Ian Vickers (Middlesex University), and Alise Kirtley (University of Sussex).

Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash