Delicious UK - (04)April 2020

T

osayHenryDimbleby

hasa mammothtaskon

hishandsis a significant

understatement.Asleaderof

theNationalFoodStrategy,the

government’slandmarkreview

ofEngland’sfoodsystem,he’s

tacklingsomeofthemostcomplex

andurgentchallengesofmodern

times:howcanwestopourfood

systemfromcontinuingtodamage

theenvironmentandthenation’s

health?Howcaneveryone,

regardlessoftheirincome,continue

toenjoysafe,healthyandaffordable

foodpost-Brexit,ina rapidly

changingworld?

Dimblebyadmitsthescopeof

theNationalFoodStrategyreview

is “insanely broad”. But he didn’t

hesitatetosayyeslastyearwhen

MichaelGove,thethenSecretary

ofStateforEnvironment,Food&

RuralAffairs,askedHenrytotake

thehelm.“Iwasexcitedbythe

ambitionandtheissues,”hesays.

DimblebyhastherightCVfor

thejob.He’sworkedfor 25 yearsin

thefoodindustry,firstasa chefand

foodcritic,thenasco-founderof

therestaurantchainLeonand

directoroftheSustainable

RestaurantAssociation.Crucially,

he’salsodealtwithpoliticiansand

policywonksbefore;in 2013 he

co-authoredTheSchoolFoodPlan,

a blueprinttotransformmealsand

cookeryeducationinschools.And

thenthere’sthesurname– he’sthe

son of broadcasting icon David –

whichinspiresconfidenceandno

doubthelpsopenimportantdoors.

Sowhyis a NationalFoodStrategy

necessary?Ourcurrentfoodsystem,

Dimblebysays,wasdevelopedafter

WorldWarII whentheworld’s

populationwaspredictedtoleap

from2.5to9 billion.Amidfears

theplanetwouldbeunableto

feedsuchvastnumbers,a new

technologicalapproachtofood

productionbeganinthe1950s,

knownastheGreenRevolution.

High-yieldingseeds,advanced

irrigationmethodsandincreaseduse

ofchemicalfertiliserswereusedto

boostthequantityoffoodproduced.

Globalstarvationwasavoided,but

therewereunintendedlong-term

consequences, among them obesity

Meet the man shaping the

future of food in England

Yes,it’sa bigclaim...Butbeingleaderofthegovernment’slandmarknewNationalFoodStrategy

isa bigjob.SueQuinntalkstoHenryDimblebyabouthowhe’stacklingsomeofthetoughest

issues, from food poverty to animal welfare, and finds out what keeps him awake at night

PHOTOGRAPHS: JON CARTWRIGHT, ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES