In England, the Land Use Framework (LUF), published on 18 March 2026, focused mainly on the need for multifunctionality. What it did not do was identify what and how much food we will be growing in the future. The LUF indicates that 14% of England’s agricultural land may need to change use away from primarily food production to meet nature recovery and climate objectives. This is important for tomorrow’s table because it could affect highly productive areas.

Food production and climate change

Climate change is having a big impact on  food production. In the past decade, we’ve become used to the idea of British wines but the UK has also just enjoyed its first commercial olive harvest.

The English Olive Co. farms 18,000 olive trees on a 10-hectare site of Grade 1 productive land in Lincolnshire, and the decision was made to grow olives when yields of traditional crops dropped – including wheat, sugar beet, potatoes and peas – due to increasingly high temperatures. Currently, this olive grove is a trial: the trees were only planted two years ago and the olives were harvested by hand, with the first commercially pressed batch of oil produced last December and sold out.

So, what we choose to grow for tomorrow’s table will have to respect climate change. But there also has to be more collaboration and communication within the supply chain, to understand how and why the changing climate will affect food production and what that means in terms of supply chain resilience. That’s where regenerative farming and data gathering by farmers is invaluable.

Weight loss drugs and a more traditional way of eating

Another less predictable influencing factor has been the increased use of GLP1 weight loss drugs and the shift away from ultra processed foods (UPFs). As GLP1 users are losing weight, they are appreciating the need to eat wholefoods and fresh produce in order to maintain weight loss. Indeed, there has been some discussion about whether we’ll eventually see a return to a more traditional way of eating – a ‘meat and two veg’ approach – in future.

Currently, we only have 16% self-sufficiency in fruit and 54% in vegetables so there is huge potential to increase UK production to meet growing demand. Take blueberries and cranberries – the majority are imported and demand is high, so potentially there’s an opportunity there. It would require infrastructure investment but is worth considering.

Harnessing technology

Having said all that, more investigation is needed into how we can actually grow more fruit and vegetables in a changing climate. Water will continue to be a challenging factor and  abstraction licences are still a minefield. Using technology to drive effective and efficient water use will be key.

Some landowners who already have reservoirs in place are renting land out to other growers instead of taking the risk of planting crops themselves

I believe we need to start looking at technology differently, in terms of how we grow food, and gene editing is definitely one to watch. Gene editing is not genetic modification (GM); instead, it’s about editing crops and precision breeding to be more resilient in the face of climate change in future.

Demand for British produce continues to climb, and food provenance is no longer a desirable add-on but a key driver of sales. Investing in provenance – either through supply chain transparency, partnerships with regenerative producers or agri-tourism – can enhance business resilience and strengthen competitiveness across the whole industry.

Further information

Contact Kelly Hewson-Fisher