The Library

Thinking about 'food security' : engaging with UK consumers

Tools

Dowler, Elizabeth, Kneafsey, Moya, Lambie, Hannah, Inman, Alex and Collier, Rosemary. (2011) Thinking about 'food security' : engaging with UK consumers. Critical Public Health, Vol.21 (No.4). pp. 403-416. ISSN 1469-3682

Preview

PDF
WRAP_Dowler_CPH_consumer_views_food_security_full_july11.pdf - Submitted Version - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
Download (500Kb)

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2011.620945

Abstract

'Food security' has recently gained policy salience in the UK and internationally. Definitions
vary, but the term is generally used by policy makers to imply sustained access by all
consumers to sufficient food that is affordable, safe, nutritious and appropriate for an active
and healthy life. Recent attention partly reflects anxiety over possible resource and
environmental instabilities within the food system and the effects of economic recession. Food prices are often used to signal potential food insecurity; prices have risen recently in
Britain as elsewhere, along with increased fuel costs and significant financial and job
insecurities. All of these factors are likely to have differential effects on food management in
households living in different social and economic circumstances. Recent research using a
mixed methods approach explored some of these complexities by engaging with UK
consumers to examine people's reactions to increasing food prices, and their views on
responsibility for 'food security'. Well aware of increased food costs, most could identify
key commodities, and many cited increased oil and input prices as causes; some made links
to the larger financial crisis. Few knew the term 'food security'; though most initially
interpreted it as food safety and quality, the idea that affordable, healthy food should be
available and accessible for all was widely recognised. Many saw this as increasingly
difficult for themselves and others in current circumstances and, while acknowledging
commercial realities, look to government primarily to secure nutrition and food security for
all.

Item Type:

Journal Article

Subjects:

H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare

Divisions:

Faculty of Science > Life Sciences (2010- )
Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):

Food security -- Great Britain, Food prices -- Great Britain

Journal or Publication Title:

Critical Public Health

Publisher:

Taylor & Francis

ISSN:

1469-3682

Official Date:

7 December 2011

Dates:

Date	Event
7 December 2011	Published

Volume:

Vol.21

Number:

No.4

Page Range:

pp. 403-416

Identification Number:

10.1080/09581596.2011.620945

Status:

Peer Reviewed

Publication Status:

Published

Access rights to Published version:

Restricted or Subscription Access

Funder:

Great Britain. Dept. for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Grant number:

FO04014 (DEFRA)

References:

Ambler-Edwards, S., Bailey, K., Kiff, A., Lang, T., Lee, R., Marsden, T., Simons, D. and
Tibbs, H., 2009. Food Futures: Rethinking UK Strategy. London: Chatham House.
Braunsberger, K., Wybenga, H. and Gates, R., 2007. A comparison of reliability between
telephone and web-based surveys, Journal of Business Research, 60, 758–764.
de Schutter, O., 2010. Food Commodities Speculation and Food Price Crises: regulation to
reduce the risks of price volatility. Briefing Note 02. Available from:
http://www.iaahp.net/uploads/media/20102309_briefing_note_02_en.pdf (Accessed 24th
Sept 2010).
Defra, 2006. Food Security and the UK: An Evidence and Analysis Paper. London: Defra
https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/reports/foodsecurity/foodsecurity.pdf (Accessed 3rd Sept
2009).
Defra, 2008. A framework for pro-environmental behaviours. Report January 2008.
Available from: http://www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/social/behaviour/documents/behavioursjan08-
report.pdf (Accessed 20th August 2009).
Defra, 2010. Food Statistics Pocketbook 2010. Available from:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/foodfarm/food/pocketstats/documents/foodpocke
tbook2010.pdf (Accessed 18th Feb 2011).
Department of Health, 2010. Change4Life one year on. London: Department of Health.
Available from:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuida
nce/DH_112529 (Accessed 20th Feb 2011).
Dowler, E., 2002. Food and Poverty in Britain: Rights and Responsibilities. Social Policy
and Administration, 36, 698-717.
Dowler. E., 2010. Income needed to achieve a minimum standard of living. British Medical
Journal, 341, 4070.
Dowler, E., Caraher, M., and Lincoln, P., 2007. Inequalities in food and nutrition:
challenging „lifestyles‟. In E. Dowler and N. Spencer, eds. Challenging Health Inequalities:
from Acheson to „Choosing Health‟. Bristol: Policy Press, 127-156.
Dowler, E., Kneafsey, M., Cox, R., and Holloway, L., 2010. „Doing food differently‟:
reconnecting biological and social relationships through care for food. In: N. Charles and R.
Carter, eds, Nature, Society and Environmental Crisis. Sociological Review Monograph,
Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Evans, A., 2008. Rising Food Prices: Drivers and Implications for Development. London:
Chatham House.
FAO, 1996. Rome Declaration on World Food Security and World Food Summit Plan of
Action. World Food Summit 13-17 November 1996. Rome: FAO.
FAO, 2009. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2009: Economic crises – impacts and
lessons learned. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization. Available from:
http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en/ (Accessed 24th Sept 2010)
Foresight, 2011. The Future of Food and Farming. Final Project Report. London: The
Government Office for Science. Available from:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/bispartners/foresight/docs/food-and-farming/11-546-future-offood-
and-farming-report.pdf (Accessed 18th Feb 2010).
Global Food Markets Group (across Whitehall), no date. The 2007/08 Agricultural Price
Spikes: Causes and Policy Implications. Available from:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/pdf/ag-price100105.pdf (Accessed 18th Feb 2011).
Godfray, H.C.J., Beddington, J.R., Crute, ,I., Haddad, L. Lawrence, D., Muir, J.F. Pretty, J.
Robinson, S., Thomas, S. M. & Toulmin, C., 2010. Food Security: The Challenge of Feeding
9 Billion People. Science, 327, 5967, 812-818.
House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, 2011. Behavioural Change. London:
House of Lords Scienc and Technology Committee Second Report. Available from:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201012/ldselect/ldsctech/179/17902.htm
(accessed 20th July 2011)
HLTF (High Level Task Force), 2008. High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis:
Comprehensive Framework for Action. Available from:
http://www.who.int/food_crisis/food_crises_july2008.pdf (Accessed 24th Sept 2010).
IAASTD, 2008. Agriculture at a Crossroads: Global Summary for Decision Makers,
Washington: Island Press for the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge,
Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). Available from:
http://www.islandpress.org/iaastd (Accessed 17th May 2009)
Killeen, D., 2000. Food security: a challenge for Scotland. in: J. McCormick. ed. Healthy
food policy: on Scotland‟s menu? Edinburgh: Scottish Council Foundation with the Joseph
Rowntree Foundation, 17-18.
Kjaernes, U., Harvey, M. and Warde, A., 2007. Trust in Food: a Comparative and
Institutional Analysis. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kneafsey, M., Venn, L, Holloway, L, Cox, R, Dowler, E and Tuomainen, H., 2008.
Reconnecting Consumers, Producers and Food: Exploring Alternatives. Oxford: Berg.
Kneafsey, M., Dowler, E., Lambie, H., Inman, A. and Collier, R. forthcoming. Consumer
perceptions of „food security‟ in the United Kingdom. Journal of Rural Studies Special Issue:
Food security: Emerging perspectives and responses.
Lang, T., Barling, D. and Caraher, M., 2009. Food Policy: integrating health, environment
and society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
MacMillan, T. and Dowler, E., 2011. Secure and sustainable? Examining the rhetoric and
potential realities of UK food and agriculture policy. Journal of Agricultural and
Environmental Ethics online preliminary publication
http://www.springerlink.com/content/0537k617113tk871/
Marteau, T.M., Ogilvie, D., Roland, M., Suhrcke, M. and Kelly, M.P., 2011. Judging
nudging: can nudging improve population health? British Medical Journal, 342:d228.
Maxwell, S. 1996. Food Security: a post-modern perspective. Food Policy, 21, 2, 155-170.
Maxwell, S. 2001. The Evolution of Thinking about Food Security. In: S. Devereux and S.
Maxwell, eds. Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa. London: ITDG Publishing, 13-27.
Maye, D., Holloway, L. and Kneafsey, M., eds, 2007. Alternative Food Geographies:
Representation and Place. London: Elsevier.
Morgan, K., Marsden, T. and Murdoch, J., 2006. Worlds of Food: Place, Power and
Provenance in the Food Chain. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nord, M., Coleman-Jensen, A., Andrews, M. and Carlson, S., 2010. Household Food Security
in the United States, 2009. Washington DC: USDA.
ONS, 2010. Family Spending: A report on the 2009 Living Costs and Food Survey. London:
Office for National Statistics.
Patel, R., 2007. Stuffed and Starved: Markets, Power and the Hidden Battle for the World
Food System. London: Portobello Books.
Patel, R., 2009. What does food sovereignty look like? Journal of Peasant Studies, 36, 3,
663–673.
Rayner, M. 2011. Nudge public health: the new laissez-faire? Food Ethics, 6, 4, 7-8.
http://www.foodethicscouncil.org/node/622 (Accessed 13th March 2011)
Roberts, P., 2008. The End of Food: the coming crisis in the world food industry. London:
Bloomsbury.
Robertson, A. et al., 2004. Food and Health in Europe: A New Basis for Action. WHO
Regional Publications, European Series No. 96. Copenhagen: World Health Organisation
Regional Office for Europe.
Shaw, D. J., 2007. World Food Security: A History since 1945. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Tarasuk, V.S., 2001. Household food insecurity with hunger is associated with women‟s food
intakes, health and household circumstances. Journal of Nutrition, 131, 2670-2676
The Strategy Unit, 2008. Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century. London:
Cabinet Office.
von Braun, J., 2008. Food and Financial Crises: implications for agriculture and the poor,
Washington: IFPRI. Available from: http://www.ifpri.org/publication/food-and-financialcrises
(Accessed 18th Feb 2011)