Environment update: Government’s food security push said rely animal feed

Campaigners have warned that a government push to expand the UK poultry sector could carry national security risks, arguing that the plan sits uneasily with Britain’s dependence on imported animal feed and the possibility of supply chain disruption.

The debate comes as ministers have been presenting food security as a central goal of agricultural policy. Environment secretary Emma Reynolds told the Groundswell agriculture festival earlier this month that improving food security means increasing the amount of homegrown produce consumed in the UK. She said that was part of the rationale for creating the Farming and Food Partnership Board, a body that brings together industry leaders including the president of the National Farmers’ Union and the chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation.

Poultry sector growth plan and the food security argument

Reynolds said she wanted the board to be used to help boost food production in the UK, describing it as one of the state levers available to government. In a separate parliamentary committee hearing earlier in the month, she also said one of the biggest barriers to growth in the poultry sector was planning constraints.

That position has become part of a wider policy push around livestock expansion. But campaigners say any growth strategy for poultry has to be judged against the sector’s dependence on animal feed inputs that are not produced domestically. In their view, that reliance leaves the system exposed if global supply chains are hit by shocks.

The concern is not simply about farming economics. It touches on resilience, because food security policy depends not only on output levels but also on the reliability of the inputs needed to sustain production. If feed imports are interrupted or made more expensive, the impact could spread through the supply chain.

Planning rules remain part of the dispute

Planning has emerged as a major fault line in the discussion. Reynolds’ comments at Westminster suggest the government sees regulatory barriers as part of what holds back expansion in poultry production. That aligns with broader efforts that have been reported by The Guardian, which previously revealed ministers were rewriting planning rules to make it easier to build intensive livestock farms.

Those changes have prompted concern from critics who point to the environmental pressures associated with intensive livestock development. Water pollution, air quality and local opposition have all been part of the debate around new or expanded farm sites.

The latest warning from campaigners adds a national security dimension to that existing dispute. It suggests the argument over poultry growth is no longer limited to how much meat the UK can produce, or where new farms should be built. It also raises questions about how dependent a larger sector would be on imported inputs and whether that is compatible with the government’s food security aims.

Why the issue matters

The issue matters because food security policy is increasingly being framed as a strategic question, not just an agricultural one. The government says it wants to strengthen domestic production. Campaigners say expanding poultry output without reducing dependency on imported feed could simply create a larger system with the same vulnerabilities.

That tension is likely to shape future debate over livestock planning, farm policy and the balance between domestic production and supply chain resilience. For now, the government is advancing its food security agenda through the Farming and Food Partnership Board and through planning reform discussions, while critics continue to question whether poultry expansion would make the UK more secure or more exposed.