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Meat and Dairy
Press release – “Reckless” Labour must halt spread of factory farming, say campaigners
Joint letter to the government calls for changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to halt the expansion of factory farming.
The government must amend the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to halt the expansion of factory farming, according to a letter signed by Communities Against Factory Farming, and green energy industrialist Dale Vince [1].
In another blow to the under-fire Labour government, 19 prominent environmental, public health and animal welfare groups, including The Vegan Society, Foodrise and Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, today [10/03/26] urged the government to rethink its flagship planning policy reform.
In the letter, the campaigners warn that the current draft NPPF “risks embedding decades of industrial livestock land use in rural and Green Belt locations without adequate scrutiny.” Instead, the government should “amend the NPPF to reflect the need for a just transition towards a sustainable, predominantly plant-rich food system”, the letter urges.
The letter comes in response to the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government’s consultation on a revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework that closed on Tuesday. If implemented, the new NPPF would facilitate the rapid expansion of factory farming by limiting local governments’ power to challenge the national framework.
Maya Pardo, Legal Strategy Coordinator at Communities Against Factory Farming (CAFF), and a signatory of the letter, said:
“The new NPPF would take power away from communities and allow conglomerates to build more factory farms without local democratic scrutiny. This reckless government is essentially proposing a national policy to encourage intensive livestock expansion.
“Stopping the expansion of harmful factory farming systems and prioritising growing crops for food instead of animal feed is crucial for food security, benefitting national health, and allowing ecosystems to recover. Rather than promoting the uncontrolled expansion of industrial livestock facilities, the government should create the legal environment for a plant-rich food system which protects communities and the planet.”
Communities Against Factory Farming has supported communities across the UK in challenging harmful intensive farming developments. In the past year alone, CAFF has helped overturn multiple planning applications for intensive farming units after legal challenges revealed failures in environmental assessment and planning procedure [2] [3].
Under the proposed changes, substantial weight should be given by decision makers to the economic benefits of “modernisation” of livestock, which refers to intensification. The intensification of the livestock industry has reduced Britain’s food security, with 40% of UK cropland now used for growing animal feed, and three million tons of soy imported every year to feed livestock [4].
A recent report by the Joint Intelligence Committee identified food security as a major risk to national security, explaining that ecosystem collapse around the world is likely to lead to food insecurity [5]. Policies that encourage more efficient and sustainable agriculture, such as arable farming, forestry, and horticulture, are required to make our food system more resilient. The report also noted that “food production is the most significant cause of terrestrial biodiversity loss” and that “the UK is unable to be food self-sufficient at present, based on current diets and prices”.
Instead, say campaigners, the NPPF should adopt a food-first policy of encouraging arable farming and horticulture for human consumption.
Labour is already facing accusations of abandoning its environmental ambitions. Last month, public figures including Vince signed a letter that accused the government of having “lost its way” on its environmental ambitions [6]
Promoting factory farming development on a national level would be a major deviation from Labour’s environmental pledges. Industrial livestock production is a leading cause of ammonia emissions, water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss. The livestock sector contributes approximately one-third of global anthropogenic methane (CH4) emissions and is responsible for up to 19.6% of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent, while a transition to plant-based diets could reduce food related emissions by as much as 80%. The Climate Change Committee recommends a 25% cut in meat consumption by 2040, a 35% cut by 2050 (40% for beef and lamb), and a 20% reduction in dairy consumption by 2035.
Factory farm expansion does not align with the government’s other strategic priorities. A primary motivation for the NPPF reform is to help “tackle this country’s housing crisis”, yet industrial livestock production is directly responsible for blocking rural housebuilding: new homes cannot be built in many rural areas because water catchments are polluted by livestock manure and animal feed pesticides [7]. Research has also shown that pig and poultry farms impose over £1.2 billion annually in hidden costs on the public [8].
Natasha Hurley, Deputy Director of Foodrise, said: “The government’s proposed planning reforms would give environment-wrecking factory farms a green light to expand despite the damage they are already doing to communities, air quality, and rivers across the UK. We are urging politicians to act in the public interest and reform the planning system to support sustainable food production instead.”
References
[1] https://www.caff.org.uk/nppf-consultation-joint-response
[2]
[5]
[6] https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4525687/government-lost-green-step-calls-uk-nature-policy-reset
[7]
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