Marcus Rashford has again led the way around childhood food security, after the government voted against extending free school meals into the half-term holidays. Businesses around the country have mobilised to provide free food to those who need it, listed on Marcus’ Twitter feed and Henry Dimbleby, author of the National Food Strategy, spoke out in support of Rashford’s policy campaign. Read more…

The Agriculture Bill has been a big topic this month. An amendment is seeking to place the UK’s food standards into law, meaning that all imported foods would need to meet the same standards as food produced domestically. Protecting standards in this way has huge implications for the quality of food imported into the UK, as well as ensuring a level playing field for domestic food producers.

The amendment was initially approved by the the House of Lords, then dismissed by a vote in the House of Commons, before being ping-ponged by the Lords back to the Commons. If the government is truly committed to upholding UK standards, as per its manifesto, then it should also be in support of UK food standards being on a statutory footing. The House of Commons will consider the amendments again on Wednesday 4 November.

If you would like to support the amendment, please message your local MP using Sustain’s website.