Ensuring enough food for us all
Peers including the author of the Curry report on the future of farming and food and a former Chair of the Royal Agricultural Society of England will debate current Government policies on food security on Thursday 24 May.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat), who tabled the debate and will speak first, said:
“We must use the next few years to dramatically improve our food security individually, nationally and globally. Degrading soils, less predictable weather, mutating viruses and commodity prices that see wild increases are amongst the tremors that should warn us we must invest in creating a truly resilient agriculture before the "perfect storm" hits us.”
Other Members scheduled to speak include:
- Lord Curry of Kirkharle (Crossbench), former Chair of the Commission on the Future of Farming and Food and author of the Government Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food;
- Lord Taverne (Liberal Democrat), Chair of Sense about Science;
- Earl of Selborne (Conservative), former Chair of the Royal Agricultural Society of England and current Chair of the Foundation for Science and Technology;
- Earl of Caithness (Conservative) and Lord Giddens (Labour), Members of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment EU Sub-committee;
Lord Stern of Brentford (Crossbench), Lord Judd (Labour), Baroness Parminter (Liberal Democrat), the Bishop of Derby and the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich are also expected to take part in the debate.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Conservative) will respond on behalf of the government.
The debate is open to media and the public. Please allow time for security screening.
The debate will also be broadcast live on Parliament TV.
