UEA expert welcomes measures to prepare for disruption to essential services
By: Communications
A food systems expert at the University of East Anglia has welcomed suggestions by Secretary of State for Defence Wes Streeting that members of the public and businesses should consider how they would cope if there were disruptions to essential services.
Mr Streeting warned this week that the UK needs to be ready for emergencies and hostile acts - from natural disasters to cyber attacks - affecting infrastructure and supply chains, with the Government recommending measures such as stockpiling food and keeping cash at home.
Prof Neil Ward, from UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences, said: “My research over recent years on the UK food system has highlighted mounting chronic pressures such as the impacts of climate change and geopolitical instabilities. There are also acute risks around cyber security and other sudden shocks to the system.
“Planning for household and business resilience in the face of such threats is common practice in many other countries, including Scandinavian countries who have faced military threats.
“It is sensible for households to consider what small stockpiles might be required to overcome problems if there was a breakdown in infrastructure affecting supply chains.”
Last week Prof Ward, Professor of Rural and Regional Development, appeared before the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee to give evidence to its inquiry into the resilience of the UK food system to disruption.
He is also a director of Root and Reason, The Food Resilience Collective, and led the development of The Roadmap for Resilience: A UK Food Plan for 2050, a major national study published last year involving more than 150 scientists and practitioners and over 3,000 stakeholders from across the food system.
The report concluded that the UK's food system faces mounting pressures and requires fundamental transformation to remain resilient in the decades ahead.
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