Fossil fuels are built into our food system. Industrial food systems consume at least 15% of fossil fuels globally, from the production of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides to long-distance supply chains. Yet, instead of moving away from oil and gas, the UK government is giving harmful subsidies to the food and fossil fuel industries.
Synthetic fertilisers – made using fossil fuels – are used to grow our food, but their production has devastating consequences for people and planet.
In Lincolnshire, a spill of synthetic fertiliser from manufacturer OMEX polluted 46km of waterways, killing more than 135,000 fish. The damage is devastating – but corporations keep profiting from public money. This must end.
Better ways to grow food without fossil fuels already exist. In Sri Lanka, organisations are working with smallholder farmers and the government on a national plan for farming that relies less on agricultural chemicals. Cooperatives are also helping farmers sell their produce locally, keep more value in their communities and produce nutritious food for all.
At the COP31 climate talks this November, governments have an opportunity to support a just transition away from fossil fuels, including helping farmers reduce their dependence on fossil-fuel-based fertilisers and pesticides while investing in fairer, more sustainable ways of producing food.
Public money should support these solutions, not the corporations driving the food and climate crisis.
Write to your MP and demand an end to harmful subsidies for polluting industries – and public funding for a fairer food system that puts people and planet before corporate profits.
