The UK ranks in the bottom half of EU countries on a raft of health, environmental, social and economic indicators relating to food, according to a new report.
Of the 28 countries currently in the EU, the UK ranked 16th. On a global scale, the UK came 24th out of the 67 countries.
The Food Sustainability Index (FSI) assesses country performance on 89 indicators, from food waste per head to childhood obesity, from sustainability of fish stocks to working conditions in food and farming.
The ranking aims to promote food sustainability concerns, benchmark countries and help policymakers identify priority areas to act.
The UK scores well in some areas of the FSI, such as quality of policies to address food loss, compulsory nutrition education and quality of animal welfare regulation.
However, the Food Ethics Council, a charity that advocates a fairer food system, has called the UK's overall performance “poor”.
Dan Crossley, executive director of the Food Ethics Council, said: “If the UK aspires to be a global leader on food sustainability, it must step up to the plate and lead by example.
“The UK’s poor performance in the 2018 FSI shows this is not yet happening. The FSI provides conclusive evidence of the need for the UK Government to have a bold and integrated food strategy that address critical issues such as climate change.”
The charity is now calling for a “new and inclusive food strategy” that ensures the UK delivers “good food for all for ever”.
In doing so, the group says the UK will fulfil its global responsibilities, such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
The UK's worst category is sustainable agriculture - which includes the impact food and farming has on water, land and air - where the UK ranks 24th out of 28 EU countries.
The UK falls down particularly badly on the prevalence of over-nourishment; number of people per fast food restaurant; greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture; diversification of agricultural system; participation rate of youth in UK farming; and working conditions in food and farming.
