This note outlines current UK trade in food and animal feed, examines the challenges raised to the security of UK food supply by withdrawal from the EU and analyses the policy options available for improving UK food security
Security of UK Food Supply (570 KB , PDF)
The security of UK food supply is a key priority for the Government, particularly in light of the UK’s forthcoming withdrawal from the EU. This note outlines current UK trade in food and animal feed, examines the challenges raised to the security of UK food supply by withdrawal from the EU and analyses the policy options available for improving UK food security.
An update to this note was made on 05 Jan 2018.
Acknowledgments
POSTnotes are based on literature reviews and interviews with a range of stakeholders and are externally peer reviewed. POST would like to thank the interviewees and peer reviewers for kindly giving up their time during the preparation of this briefing.
Security of UK Food Supply (570 KB , PDF)
Air pollution is the greatest UK environmental public health threat. This POSTnote updates the 2014 POSTnote on ambient air quality (PN 458) and describes air pollutants, their health impacts and measures to mitigate poor air quality.
Biomass can be used to produce bioenergy in the form of electricity, heat, biogas or transport fuels, or to produce materials and chemicals. The Climate Change Committee recommend dedicated energy crops and forest residues as future sources of domestic biomass. This POSTnote summarises the opportunities and challenges surrounding the expansion of UK biomass production.
The UK’s energy system relies on the storage of fossil fuels to manage variations in supply and demand over varying timescales. As these are replaced to meet the net zero emissions target, new types of low-carbon, longer duration energy storage will be needed to provide secure energy supplies. This POSTnote examines different low-carbon storage technologies, their role in addressing future system needs, issues relating to scaling-up the technologies and Government strategy.
