MP tries to remove the poison from the food debate

One of the more unpalatable news stories of the week was the survey by West Yorkshire councils that seemingly innocuous food was made up of all sorts of things that either weren’t what they claimed to be, or weren’t very much like food at all. It’s another sign of the food problems that this country faces, on top of food banks and poor diet. Recently, though, the food debate has become as poisoned as vodka made from antifreeze, with politicians using food banks in particular as a political football to prove their own points, rather than bothering to examine the complex problems behind them.

But one of the MPs who has spent some time thinking about food in 21st century Britain is now trying to encourage independent study of how to improve the food system in this country. Conservative Laura Sandys, who is leaving Parliament in 2015, is setting up an independent think tank called the Food Foundation, which she hopes will do the same for the food system that the King’s Fund has done for health and social care.