Sustainable diets will remain a minefield until we change the way we approach food

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But with profit-making still at the top of the food industry agenda – and the environmental costs of many food products hidden by complex supply chains – we need more than consumer power alone to achieve a truly sustainable food system. Food supply chains are now often so complicated and opaque that consumers are rarely – if ever – presented with a comprehensive picture of the journey their food has been on. These complex supply chains are often impenetrable from the outside, meaning that often even retailers don’t know the source or even contents of their products – as was the case when UK supermarkets unknowingly stocked “beef” lasagne products containing 60-100 per cent horse meat. New policy initiatives such as FOOD 2030 are now drawing from these frameworks in an attempt to define the collective roles and responsibilities of producers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers in delivering sustainable food.