The Rural Policy Group exists to further the dialogue between policy influencers, academics and business to achieve better outcomes for the food and farming industry and all participants in the food system, including consumers and the environment.
Part of this role is championing British growers and producers, advocating on their behalf and raising awareness of challenges to the UK’s food security, such as financial pressures on food businesses, supply chain fragilities and risks associated with climate change. RPG’s role also encompasses calling for change when needed and support to embrace the opportunities presenting themselves to the food industry.
This dialogue and the causes we champion are amplified via the media to a wider audience thanks to the committment of Advisory Council member Teresa Horscroft, Founder and MD of Eureka Communications.
Bloomberg – 25/09/2023
RPG Founder Mark Lumsdon-Taylor talks to Bloomberg about the impact of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pivot on net zero targets, and calls for more support for businesses to continue with their environmental, social and good governance (ESG) transitions.
Farmers Guardian – 21/09/2022
Chief Reporter Abi Kay follows up on the RED Talk on The Value of Food in which we discussed the need for a food value reset, and the role of technology in achieving a financially and environmentally more sustainable future for British farmers to achieve that end.
BBC Farming Today – 16/09/2022
Vice Chair Sarah Calcutt speaks to Anna Hill about the September 2022 RED Talk, The Value of Food. They discuss the rising cost of food production, the retail price of food, the health value of food and whether consumers have a full understanding of the true cost of food.
Time stamp for the RPG interview: 7.39
South East Farmer – 27/06/2022
Malcolm Tucker reports on RPG’s national conference and annual report in which we called for greater ambition in Britain’s self-sufficienty targers and a fairer distribution of value through the food supply chain. Malcolm also spoke to RPG Founder Mark Lumsdon-Taylor and others about their views on the Government’s National Food Strategy.
Food Navigator – 14/06/2022
Katy Askew’s generous coverage of the annual confernce on food and farming.
“A food system that is resilient to shocks and can help bring solutions to the climate crisis requires should be diversified, localised and deliver a ‘fairer’ distribution of value across the food chain, speakers at the Rural Policy Group annual conference in London suggest”.
Agronomist and Arable Farmber – 14/06/2022
John Swire reports on the RPG annual conference and report.
“At its annual conference this month, the Rural Policy Group, a think tank campaigning for better representation of farming and agriculture in British politics, outlined a broken food supply system with unfair distribution of value in the supply chain that leaves farmers at risk of failure and the country in a position of food insecurity. This in turn presents a barrier to the country’s Net Zero goals, while unhealthy imports puts the health of the population at risk, adding long-term cost to the NHS, it claimed in its manifesto on Shaping the Future of the Rural Economy…”
The Grocer – 03/08/2021
Mark Lumsdon-Taylor writes on the business implications of taxing ‘unhealthy’ foods as proposed by Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy.
