Agriculture - as the collective effort to feed humanity - is the largest contributor to biodiversity loss globally and locally [State of Nature 2023]. Wildlife is suffering, and it's essential that we recover healthy ecosystems in our changing world to prevent the worst effects of climate change and biodiversity collapse (and increase agricultural resilience, too).

At the same time, we all need to eat and we are each consumers in the global food system. 

Our food system is broadly based on production for the lowest price; to make as much food as possible for as many people as possible as cheaply as possible - all made doable with the ready availability of fossil fuels, artificial fertilisers, and agricultural chemicals. Global agriculture and food production is also buoyed by the cheap supply of labour in the ‘global south’.

This system has driven gains in productivity, providing cheap food by increasing intensification of farming – but leading to catastrophic declines in biodiversity.

As a local, national and global society, we must all take responsibility for the system of agriculture we have. We have collectively, although perhaps not knowingly, driven its development. Food security and equal access to food is part of the conversation, but there are plenty of examples of alternative approaches to the trend for increasing intensification.

A different appproach

The 'Ten Years for Agroecology in Europe' study by French thinktank IDDRI demonstrated that we can feed a growing population a healthy diet, helping to tackle chronic disease, and phase out the use of fossil fuels and pesticides to help the environment. Meanwhile, farmer and social scientist Chris Smaje wrote in his book - A Small Farm Future - how organising society around small-scale farming offers the best chance of a climate resilient future for people and nature.

Locally, the Suffolk Food Partnership is starting to unpick some of these complex challenges. We at Suffolk Wildlife Trust are part of this initiative, and work directly with farmers of all scales across the county to find a more sustainable approach. 

We need change for two interconnected reasons: first, it matters to nature, and second, nature matters to farming. We all rely on farming. It matters to you and your health. Our food isn’t serving us and the direct costs of diet-related ill health in the UK have been estimated at £92billion.

Making nature-friendly choices

The more we can encourage a shift towards agroecological production - which encompasses a broad range of approaches that work with natural processes, rather than controlling or eliminating them - the better, and each of us can do that by changing what we demand of our food systems.

Literally, we can eat our way there. We must share the landscapes of Suffolk, making space for nature that serves farming, and integrating practices that support nature.

If you have the resources and time, the best way to help is to support local producers, farmers markets, and local food shops. We are a foodie county and there are great options across Suffolk. Whilst this may not be a viable option for most of us, I would encourage you to think about the food you buy, cook, and eat.

Next time you are shopping for food, ask yourself: How much of my food can I get from local farms? How and where is my food grown? Where did the profit go?

Nature - as well as the environment and local economy - will thank us for shifting our collective choices towards local, seasonal food.