Over the past 18 months, #TheFoodConversation has taken place across the length and breadth of the UK. It is the country’s largest-ever citizen deliberation on food systems involving hundreds of citizens across all four nations. We’ve asked what people really want from food, and they’ve told us again and again that they want a healthier, fairer, more resilient system. This week, we saw our clearest sign yet that the government is listening.

Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, held a briefing to update industry and civil society organisations on his plans to create a food strategy for England. We learned that DEFRA’s food strategy will focus on four outcomes:

• Health: Improving access to nutritious food to support child development and enhance public health.

• Food Security: Build resilience in supply chains to withstand climate and geopolitical challenges.

• Economy: Drive innovation and productivity in the food and drink sector to unlock its economic potential.

• Environment: Reduce farming's environmental impact, protect biodiversity, and advance decarbonisation in agriculture.

These outcomes closely reflect the areas citizens have told us they are most concerned about. Among many things, citizens told us that they want a rebalance of power between corporations, farmers and communities, including stronger protections for farmers and producers. They want all citizens to be able to eat affordable, nutritious food. They want governments to tackle issues like ill health and child hunger. And they want intensive, polluting food production phased out to protect animal welfare, biodiversity and soil. This wide range of asks will be brought together in the new year in a Citizen Manifesto which will be part of our final analysis of the evidence gathered through The Food Conversation.

Alongside the range of policy changes they would like to see, citizens are also calling for better governance around food. The Secretary of State’s focus on engagement with devolved governments and his commitment to joined-up thinking across Whitehall in Tuesday’s briefing is exactly the coherent approach citizens tell us that they want.

There is obviously much for England to gain from working with the other countries of the UK. Scotland’s Good Food Nation Act establishes a legal framework for a sustainable, fair food system, improving public health, supporting local producers, and promoting environmental sustainability through accountable policies. Wales has a more localised approach through its Community Food Strategy, enhancing supply chain resilience, boosting local economies, and addressing food poverty. And launched last month, Northern Ireland’s Food Strategy Framework adopts a whole-government approach to addressing interconnected issues across health, the environment, and the economy through food policy. We saw these different policy frameworks reflected in the responses from citizens in each country during The Food Conversation and will be exploring that further in our final report (due in spring 2025).

The Secretary of State also emphasised the cross-government nature of the strategy, including collaboration with the Departments of Health and Social Care, Education, and Business and Trade. Yesterday’s briefing outlined DEFRA’s plans to establish a delivery board to co-design policies with farmers, food producers and key thinkers. Clearly, the composition of the delivery board is critical.

The indications from Tuesday’s briefing are positive, but to build a food system that truly works for all, the government needs to hear a range of voices – including those of citizens most impacted by a food system that is far from fair, healthy or resilient. We’ve found through The Food Conversation that engagement with citizens gets you sharp, decisive calls for action, and a deep understanding of the systemic nature of the change that is needed. As David, a participant from Berkshire, said at the Citizens Food Summit last month: “What I would say is that there's a continuum between personal responsibility and government action... anyone who pushes that slider towards personal responsibility, saying it’s all the individual... they don't want things to change, because the individual cannot change the system.”

We look forward to supporting the Secretary of State’s plans in the new year. Our work on #TheFoodConversation continues, with individuals and communities now using our toolkit to run their own conversations. As well as publishing our final report, we look forward to further engagement and conversation to come in 2025. And for now, we celebrate the end of a year of deliberation with UK citizens, and the growing promise of a healthier, fairer, and more sustainable food system.