The Land Use Framework in England, published on 18 March 2026, made a clear, long-term commitment to maintain overall food production; however, it does not consider what we should be growing or how much, only stating “we will produce more of what we consume”. Likewise, Scotland’s Fourth Land Use Strategy focuses on sustainable production rather than on specific products to be produced. We provide our thoughts on future food production opportunities, guided by policy, profit, and climate change, and ultimately driven by a change in consumer demand.

1. Gene editing

Technology will play a role in developing the food of the future. The concept of gene editing (also known as precision breeding) was covered in our Food and the Environment Spotlight. Figure 8 looks at the impact gene editing could have on the UK food supply. According to a British Sugar national consumer survey, 69% of UK adults strongly support, and 80% of Gen Z (born 1997–2012) support using gene editing to create a sustainable and resilient future for British farming.

A gene-edited barley developed by Rothamsted Research is now set for commercial farm trials in England – a step forward for the technology. Gene editing will be an important tool in the toolbox for future food producers to maintain relative competitiveness.

British Sugar – Gene editing research

British Sugar recently secured a further £1.1 million in UK government grant funding to progress research into how gene editing can support resistance to the sugar beet disease, Virus Yellows. The technology uses precise genetic changes to redirect sugar beet’s own natural defence mechanisms to enable resistance to Virus Yellows, a disease spread by aphids. For sugar beet growers, this is welcome news, as individual growers have reported a 50% yield loss. It is hoped that the research will generate positive results by the end of the decade, ready for field trials.

2. Meat and two veg

The Grocer reported in 2025 that around 4% of Great British households (twice that of 2024) have at least one person using GLP-1 (weight-loss injections). An effect of this has been a move away from ultra-processed foods and an increase in whole-food consumption, driven by greater awareness of what people are eating. The impact on the supply chain will be a transition to sourcing higher-quality raw products and ingredients, providing an opportunity for farmers. While food provenance will remain important, the time has come to focus on nutritional quality and density.

So, is tomorrow’s table more traditional than we thought? Minister of Food Security and Rural Affairs, Dame Angela Eagle, says the horticulture sector is a priority, but she does acknowledge it lacks policy direction. Given the enormous UK trade deficit, this category is certainly worth further exploration. Understandably, some of the deficit is due to the import of foods that cannot be grown in the UK, or to fill seasonal supply gaps.

Tomorrow’s table will evolve to exclude ultra-processed foods and move towards something much more comparable to that of the 1940s, where “meat and two veg” becomes the staple again. As this trend develops, processors will need to engage with growers to demonstrate the integrity of their supply chain and ensure they deliver a quality product, not a fast one.

Adam Davies, Savills Tourism, Leisure and Events team, says food provenance and integrity have become important considerations for consumers, including in the UK’s visitor economy. Increasingly, travellers are seeking experiences that genuinely connect them with place, and there are few touchpoints which deliver this more effectively than food and drink. Provenance is no longer a desirable add-on, but a core driver of destination choice and an essential component of modern tourism value. Investing in provenance, whether through supply chain transparency, partnerships with regenerative producers, or immersive agritourism, enhances resilience. This also strengthens competitiveness and supports the long-term stewardship of our rural landscapes. Food provenance has the opportunity to sit at the heart of how the UK differentiates itself globally as a tourism destination. It is not just about what visitors eat, but the story that food tells about the land, people, and values behind it.

3. Fruit

For the health-conscious consumer of the future, fruit is worth a mention. There has been a slow, long-term decrease in domestic production’s share (circa 16%) of the total fresh fruit supply. The UK remains heavily dependent on imports (84%). Anecdotal data suggests 2025 saw a boom in UK fresh fruit production, particularly berries, due to weather conditions.

Where are the opportunities? The Vaccinium group of crops trade deficit runs at over £250 million and is increasing. Most of the imports are blueberries and cranberries. These are two of the newest crops developed, and both are supported by strong marketing in the UK. While cranberry production would require considerable investment in infrastructure to establish, blueberries are grown more conventionally.

The most important deficit is in apple production, where, over the last seven years, imports have, on average, exceeded exports by approximately £300 million. Most imported fruit crops that could be grown in the UK are multi-year crops. Production is benefiting from new technology developed elsewhere in the world. In addition, some of these crops are expected to receive an economic boost from robotic harvesting systems using AI-based recognition. Fruit crops with a long production period require consistent government policy and support to establish. There is a material risk that, if these crops are not introduced now, the UK will be left behind when the robotic harvesting systems currently under development are finally in operation.

4. Protein

Nutrient-dense foods are rising in demand. High-quality protein sources meet this requirement, such as lean meats (chicken, turkey, and lean beef), fish, eggs, dairy (Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese), beans, and lentils. While meat, eggs and dairy are the traditional protein sources, alternatives such as chickpeas, fava beans and mung beans are increasing in demand. Hodmedod’s is operating in this market where demand (UK and global) for beans and pulses is increasing.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) reported year-on-year growth in the cottage cheese market between 2024 and 2025, with value increasing by 26.2% and volume by 29.4% (Figure 9). The AHDB’s Consumer Tracker reported that 21% of respondents said they are concerned about protein content when choosing food, a three percentage-point increase compared to the last quarter.

Lab-grown meat (known as cultivated or cultured meat) is a protein market to watch. Products are being produced as a slaughter-free alternative whereby animal cells are cultivated in bioreactors to synthesise meat products without the need to raise and slaughter livestock. This is driven by ethical and sustainability conscious consumers. While not yet available in the UK for human consumption, there is pet food on the market which contains 4% “cultivated chicken”. In 2025, an FSA (UK Food Standards Agency) evidence review stated that up to 41% of people would be willing to consume “cultivated meat” in the UK. A report on farmers’ perspectives suggested initial concerns about the feasibility of commercial production and the longevity of market share.

CASE STUDY

The English Olive Co. Adapting to change

With the climate changing and the UK experiencing wetter winters and drier, warmer summers, the crops we used to grow may no longer be the most effective use of land. David Hoyles, a farmer in South Lincolnshire, gives us insight into how he is adapting to climate change and the food production opportunities he is pursuing.

David farms on fertile Grade 1 retained silt land, close to the Wash. The farming business has an extensive rotation including potatoes, peas, sugar beet, cereals and mustard seed for Colman’s. Over the last decade, some crops have struggled with changing climate conditions that have led to warmer and drier periods. While the business has done all it can to mitigate dry weather, constructing three large reservoirs in the last six years (covering 10 hectares with around 180,000m³ of capacity) and 8.2km of underground mains, it has not been able to offset rising temperatures. Varying nutrient sources and bio-stimulants have been tried, with limited success. This has prompted David to explore alternative crops better suited to these conditions.

David felt that vineyards were not suited to the soil conditions at the Lincolnshire site, and a visit to Italy led to the trial of olives. A small trial was planned, but this was reviewed following Brexit, as plant health phytosanitary checks became more complicated. David realised that scale was needed to mitigate import costs. Following research in 2023, David pressed the go button and ordered 18,000 trees (four varieties of 4,500 trees each).

A further six varieties (300–400 trees each) were also ordered to monitor differences among species. The three main drivers for the new enterprise were:

1. Adapting to climate change – growing crops that fit better with the changes we are seeing.
2. Producing a product where the business can control the brand “The English Olive Co.”
3. To provide succession planning for the business and allow family members to be included in other enterprises across the farm.

Planting, growing and harvesting

The trees have been planted in “Super High Density (SHD)” and will look like hedges when they mature. They are in long lines running north to south and quite close together. This is a more modern planting method designed to allow mechanical harvesting with a machine similar to that used for grapes and blackcurrants.

When the SHD system is used in Spain and Italy, the lines of trees are spaced 3 metres apart; however, due to the UK receiving less light, the spacing had to be widened to 4 metres. Within the lines, the trees are spaced 1.5 metres apart, and David is running a trial with them closer together to understand the impact.

A permanent trickle irrigation system has been installed to provide precision application of both nutrition and water. The irrigation system is tapped into the farm’s ring-main. A container with a pressure-reducing pump with four outlets has been installed, allowing all varieties to be irrigated, and it is controlled via an app. Soil moisture probes are used to monitor the conditions.

In these early years, the olives will be hand-harvested. The first harvest in December 2025 was a community project, involving friends, family and neighbours with the promise of olive tasting once the harvest was complete. Normally, harvest would be earlier in the autumn; however, the olive press machine arrived late, and a few olives were lost in the November storms as a consequence. The varieties did perform differently, with nearly half the olive grove not performing at all, and five of the six smaller trials performing brilliantly.

David says, “We’re not strictly organic as we do use a few artificial fertilisers, but we are not using fungicides or insecticides as I think future consumers will demand this production method. We use integrated pest management (IPM) methods such as grass with beneficial species in between trees to encourage all the predators we can”.

The manufacturing process for olive oil involves washing, smashing, and spinning (100kg per hour work rate). Followed by bottling and labelling. The oil will taste different each year, depending on the season, but will always be high-quality and traceable to provenance.

The future

This is the first commercial olive site in the UK and remains a trial. Olive trees are slow-growing, reaching maturity (i.e., peak production) at 20–25 years. This is a long-term investment, and the barriers to entry include the enterprise’s high risk and slow return.

Climate change is impacting the traditional growing areas. Olive oil prices spiked in 2023 after two consecutive years of heat and drought in Spain which severely impacted yields. Similar to vineyards, we may see olives become a mainstream UK cropping decision as the European climate evolves.

David is exploring several opportunities for the future:

1. Growth - A decision will be made this month on whether to increase the area of olives grown by 10 hectares. The trees will yield significantly when fully grown, and there is a cooperative opportunity to work with others who could grow olives.
2. Be more specialist than generalist – rent land for others to grow crops, for example, vegetables (overwintered cold-tolerant varieties are being developed).
3. Land and water are key for the future, and these services will be valuable to others.
4. Make better use of data and technology – soil moisture probes, weather stations, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index and Green Area Index data to monitor the trees’ biomass – exploration of how to use data and technology continues.
5. Use all the crop. Opportunities continue to be explored; a) having beehives in the olive groves and selling English olive grove blossom honey, b) dehydrating the olive leaves to produce English olive leaf tea, and c) using the pomace (waste from olives when smashed) to produce skin care products such as soap.

David is excited for the future, “We must work with the climate changing and not against it; other European countries are adapting, and we must do the same”. He continues, “the food and health agenda are picking up, and demand for The English Olive Co.'s oil outstripped supply in 2025, and we will continue to focus on providing high-quality, local food”.

WHAT NEXT FOR UK FOOD PRODUCERS:

• Understanding your cost of production for each enterprise is essential for making key decisions and ensuring long-term profitability.

• Review where supply chain collaboration can occur. Collaborative models are emerging, for example, brewing supply chains where sustainability-linked barley contracts are becoming more common, and dairy supply chains where environmental performance is increasingly integrated into long-term pricing frameworks.

• Use data and technology to monitor the performance of individual crops against metrics such as climate change impact. Review alternative crops and rotations if necessary – change may be required.

_{Read the articles within Spotlight: Food Beyond Today below.}