Ruth Amaeze is a trainee solicitor living and working in Kent. She’s also a member of the Citizen Advisory Council, who have been working with DEFRA to make sure the government’s new food strategy – the Good Food Cycle – reflects the realities of people and places around the UK. 

Her interest in shaping food policy began after taking part in FFCC’s Food Conversation a few years ago – a series of deliberative citizen assemblies across the UK designed to find out what people really want from food. 

"I’m quite into fitness and health, so know how essential food is to that,” she explains. But like most people, her understanding of food was broad rather than detailed. “I had an idea,” she reflects, “but not a very extensive knowledge.”  

Since then, Ruth has deepened her understanding of the food system and become an advocate for citizen-led food policy. She’s spoken at government roundtables, joined an inquiry into the Cornish food system, and helped produce reports that feed into government decision-making. 

For Ruth, one of the most powerful things about these experiences has been hearing perspectives from people she might not come across in everyday life – like farmers. “I don’t think I would have ever really understood the farmer perspective otherwise. Their position is often very overlooked.” 

During the What Works Here Inquiry in Cornwall last year, Ruth was struck by the challenges farmers face. “We need farmers just as much as we did 100 years ago, but they’re getting less support and as a result it’s becoming harder for them to do things sustainably and profitably.”  

Ruth and her fellow CAC members Siddhi and Maria talking to a food producer in Cornwall.

“Farming must be a viable way of making a living. There needs to be more investment in local infrastructure and government needs to make sure that retailers and manufacturers pay farmers properly for their produce. There are some great businesses down in Cornwall who are already doing this – collaborating with others in the area to help scale the supply chains – but they can only go so far.” 

For Ruth, it was the sense of community that was particularly distinctive in Cornwall. “I think it goes back to the collaboration. It’s a strong community – maybe as a result of not having as much money as other parts of the country. And it’s caused people to pull their resources together and I think that’s the real strength of the place.” 

But while communities across the UK are getting on with the job of creating a healthy, fair, sustainable food system in their area, they are working against the odds – operating in a system that prioritises profit over everything else. 

Fast food marketing, in particular, concerns her. “It can be quite psychological,” she says. “It can influence us without us knowing.” 

Ruth pauses before choosing her words carefully – the budding young solicitor in her no doubt.  “I feel like that vitiates people’s choice,” she says. “And if you don’t have an informed choice, then it’s not a choice at all.” 

Fast food is often presented as the cheap and convenient option in a fast-paced society. But Ruth questions that narrative. “It’s labelled as the cheaper, easier option,” she says. “But it’s full of ultra-processed ingredients.” And when people feel squeezed for time, the illusion of convenience can drown out better options. 

“It’s stopping us from being able to relate to food in a good, healthy way,” she adds. 

Ruth, Maria and Siddhi at an oyster processing plant in Cornwall.

Looking ahead, Ruth thinks part of the solution lies in rebuilding local food infrastructure and community connections. “Before, society used to be very localised,” she says. “You’d have your local butcher, your local baker, your local grocer.” While those businesses still exist, they are often overshadowed by big supermarkets – and Ruth wants the government to do more to support local supply producers and retailers. 

She also thinks the government needs to take a more regional approach to food – and that the new food strategy is a real opportunity to do this. 

“Hearing from the people we met in Cornwall, you can just implement a blanket policy for the whole country. What works in Cornwall will not necessarily work in London, will not necessarily work in Kent or Canterbury where I’m from. And I'm seeing that from the differences here. The government should be focused in a way that suits the people of that area.” 

So, what does a good food future look like to Ruth? 

"For me, it’s more of a community-based food system, where everyone can eat good, healthy food, where farmers are paid properly to produce food sustainably and their work is appreciated, where young people grow up understanding more about where food comes from and how to prepare it, and where people are free to make informed choices about what they eat.” 

With a new Prime Minister at the helm – and a focus on devolving power to regions and communities at the top of his agenda – is Ruth’s ambition of a more community-based food system within reach?