Health and thriving communities in Devon and Cornwall.

Farming, food, vibrant landscapes, rich biodiversity and wildlife, and thriving rural communities all interact with and are interdependent upon—people. People are at the heart of Devon’s agricultural system, managing the land to produce food which we then consume, not just on a local but regional, national and global scale.

The focus of the working group that produced this report weaved together three strands around the concept of the health and wellbeing of the people who produce the food, who do we want to be aware of where it comes from and how it gets to their plates, and how that process of getting it to different people can be made more sustainable:

1. Farmers’ and their families’ health, which dissects the massive problems around farmer stress and suicide within the UK.
2. Youth education and how through outdoor learning, long-term sustainable lifestyles and behaviour change towards healthier diets and active appreciation of nature and the environment may result.
3. The complex web of food procurement, which involves from where, from whom, and how local public institutions such as schools and hospitals source the food they serve to their students, patients, staff and the public.
   

This report is one of a four-part collection.

Note: this report was originally published on the RSA website (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), which hosted the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission between November 2017-April 2020.