Oxford Farming Conference

Promote health benefits or risk political sidelining

By Laurence Gibbons

- Last updated on GMT

The food industry must promote about its health benefits or risk being sidelined in the lead-up to the General Election in May, according to the chairman of the Oxford Farming Conference.

The political debate was likely to focus on public health over the coming months, Richard Whitlock told FoodManufacture.co.uk in an exclusive video filmed at the event last week.

“It all seems to be about the national health, so it​ [the food industry] might be down the list,” ​he warned.

“Food is actually one of the contributors to part of the national health debate, because if we can have healthy consumers they might not be such a burden on the national health.

‘Health credentials’

“So we’ve got to shout about our health credentials – make them transparent, well understood and make people better and more fit for purpose.”

Watch this video to find out what Whitlock said the other key messages were from the conference.

Meanwhile, don’t miss our video interviews with shadow food and farming minister Huw Irranca-Davies on Labour’s policy​; UKIP’s agriculture spokesman Stuart Agnew on migrant workers​ and cross-party views on the Groceries Code Adjudicator.

Related topics Policy Reformulation

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