Agriculture has been recognised as the largest driver of land use change and habitat destruction, accounting for 70% of global biodiversity loss. In addition, 30% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributed to the food system. Meanwhile, the UK is facing a national health crisis, with over a fifth of children in the UK obese by the time they leave primary school.
Public food procurement represents a policy instrument with transformative potential for improving environmental and socio-economic outcomes of food consumption and production. To guide this dietary transition, WWF-UK modelled a ‘Livewell’ diet that aims to: meet UK nutritional recommendations and dietary guidelines; minimise GHG emissions and broader environmental impacts; and be socially acceptable.
As part of the response to the climate and nature crises, Size of Wales and WWF-Cymru are advocating for Wales to become a Deforestation Free Nation, through reducing consumption of commodities linked to tropical deforestation and replacing them with lower risk alternatives.
Our briefing paper identified five forest-risk commodities commonly found in school dishes (beef, soy-fed chicken, dairy, palm oil, and cacao) and assessed each against potential replacement ingredients based on their: carbon impact; nutritional value; cost; wider social and environmental impacts; and impact on tropical deforestation.
We identified key changes to the procurement of school food that could be adopted now, while acknowledging that the best options may evolve as new evidence emerges, and food production practices improve.
Our research is supporting Size of Wales in making the case for adapting school menus and other public food procurement programmes in Wales, for the better of people and planet. Size of Wales is already starting to incorporate elements of the research into their work by updating their Deforestation Free Procurement Toolkit, and aim to present it to a cross-party group on school food in the near future.
Adapting school menus could have wide-ranging and long-lasting benefits, such as: supporting nature recovery and preventing biodiversity loss in forested areas; increasing demand for local farming and building a more resilient food system; contributing to Net Zero; and improving public health and educational attainment.
Download the report on Size of Wales website here.