With less than a month to COP27, over 10,000 back CAFOD petition calling on UK to fix the food system

With less than a month to go to COP27, over 10,000 people have urged the government to fulfil its promises to fix the broken food system.

In Glasgow last year, the UK signed up to the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. This committed the government to supporting sustainable agriculture, which promotes food security and benefits the environment.

Yet, little to no progress has been made since Glasgow. The consequences are severe, with nearly 50 million people in East Africa are on the brink of starvation as the devasting drought continues to sweep the region.

In the run up to COP27, leading international development charity CAFOD engaged with communities across England and Wales, securing their support to call on the government to deliver the promises it made in 2021.

The petition shows strong support for a global agricultural system which grows food in ways that are good for people and the planet, rather than focusing on an approach which destroys land and uses harmful chemicals

Commenting ahead of COP, CAFOD’s Head of Public Policy Graham Gordon said: “The global food system is broken. This is shown most acutely in East Africa, where millions are on the brink of starvation as deadly droughts devastate harvests.

“The UK committed to support a sustainable farming model globally that puts people and the environment first last year at COP26, but we’ve seen almost no progress in delivering. We need the UK to step up and put people and the environment first.”

CAFOD supporters delivered the petition to the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office in King Charles Street on Wednesday 19th October 2022.

The petition was established by CAFOD in April 2022 as the organisation continues its efforts to pressure the government to deliver on its promises at COP26.

The petition calls for an agricultural system that tackles the climate crisis, by putting local communities at the centre so the food system works for them and not just for big business.

You can read more about CAFOD’s Fix the Food System campaign by visiting: Fix the Food System | CAFOD.