Incorporating Food into Manchester’s Climate Change Response: SCI Researchers publish new report on sustainable food provision in Greater Manchester

Dr Jo Mylan and Dr Filippo Oncini of the Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI) have co-published a new report ‘Transforming Food Provision through Sustainable Innovation’, with Usman Aziz (Manchester Climate Change Agency), Dr Adrian Morley (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Carol Morris (University of Nottingham). The report has been published through the Manchester Climate Change Agency as part of the evidence base for the inclusion of food systems in Manchester’s sustainability policymaking.

The University’s Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI) researches how reconfiguring consumption and production systems can contribute to less resource-intensive ways of life. The Manchester Climate Change Agency and Partnership are responsible for overseeing and championing climate change action in the city. Manchester Climate Change Agency was established in September 2015 by the Manchester: A Certain Future Steering Group, Manchester City Council and architecture and engineering firm BDP.

The research team are undertaking work to addresses the inclusion of food systems in Manchester’s sustainability policymaking through two parts.

Part One, outlines why food system innovation towards more sustainable food provision in Manchester should be a key part of the Green and Just Recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic Plan, paving the way for suggestions of how this can be achieved in Part Two. Both reports can be found below.

Food is a foundational aspect of our daily lives, and the food provisioning systems which deliver our meals from farm to fork have profound social, economic and environmental impacts. Through its efforts to feed the nation, the UK’s food system generates revenues of about £121 billion per year, and constitutes the UK’s largest manufacturing sector. Although Manchester produces relatively little food, the central importance of food retail and processing for the City’s economy has been highlighted in the Our Manchester Industrial Strategy. Yet the contribution of the food sector to the national and local economy comes at a significant cost to the climate. Despite the relatively low levels of food production in Manchester, the consumption of food and drink has been estimated to account for 16% of the City’s carbon footprint.

In addition to its climate impacts, the current food system sustains food poverty in the form of unequal access to healthy, affordable, convenient, and appropriate meals for all. In particular, Manchester and Greater Manchester have been recognised nationally as high risk areas for food poverty. These findings indicate that a transition to more sustainable systems of food production, distribution and consumption should be central to the City’s Green and Just Recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the challenge is significant, driving a shift to a more sustainable food system will produce multiple benefits for our citizens, support our commitment to becoming a zero-carbon city by 2038, and contribute toward the UK’s fulfilment of Paris Agreement obligations.

  • Report Part One: Why Manchester Needs a Sustainable Food Mission to Support a Green and Just Recovery From Covid-19
  • Report Part Two: Transforming Food Provision through Sustainable Innovation