More than 100 food companies, charities and other organisations have urged ministers to publish a Good Food Bill, arguing that new primary legislation is needed to force a long-promised overhaul of Britain’s food system and make policy commitments legally binding. According to the Food Foundation and partners behind the campaign, the coalition includes retailers, manufacturers, caterers and health groups united around a single demand for a white paper followed by statute to lock in reform.

The signatories range from major supermarkets to global food firms and service providers, with names including the Co-op, M&S, Danone, Bidfood, The Compleat Food Group and Sodexo among those publicly backing the initiative. Campaigners say their intervention follows frustration that elements of a draft food strategy were sidelined at Number 10 and that government promises to build on Henry Dimbleby’s 2019 National Food Strategy risk being watered down.

Proponents set out a wide remit for the proposed bill: enshrine targets and duties on government to improve public health, reduce inequalities, bolster environmental protection and strengthen resilience in UK food supply chains. They describe the measure as a single legislative vehicle to ensure policies survive short-term political cycles and to create “teeth” behind long-term ambitions for healthier, more sustainable food.

“We see this as a really key moment in the food strategy,” said Lydia Collas, head of natural environment at Green Alliance, warning that the government’s current approach risks failing to deliver lasting change. Campaign groups emphasise industry backing and point to polling suggesting strong public support for government action to widen access to healthy food.

Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation, urged ministers to use the approaching King’s Speech to set out a white paper as a precursor to primary legislation, saying “It has now been 14 months since the government first set out its ambition for a food strategy and with the next King’s Speech approaching, now is the prime opportunity to commit to a white paper as a precursor to a ‘Good Food Bill’ to lock in the government’s ambition for a healthier, more resilient, sustainable food system.” Campaigners argue that comparable policies already exist in devolved administrations and that Westminster should adopt UK-wide legislation.

Ministers point to recent policy work aimed at reforming the food system, including the government’s Good Food Cycle framework and a 2025 food strategy setting out priority outcomes for health, affordability, sustainability and resilience. The administration has also established an advisory board of sector leaders to guide delivery. Campaigners say such programmes are welcome but insist that statutory duties would provide the enforcement and continuity missing from voluntary commitments.

The push for a bill follows broader parliamentary and public concern about diet-related disease and food security. A House of Lords committee report called for a comprehensive long-term strategy and legislative underpinning to tackle the obesity crisis and its heavy social and economic costs. Industry and health groups warn that without new legal obligations the window for reform may be lost as competing priorities absorb ministerial attention.