It’s easy to feel like you’re swimming against the tide when you care deeply about climate change. You cycle instead of drive, reuse instead of replace, support local producers – but sometimes it feels like the world isn’t changing fast enough.
But here’s the truth: you’re not alone.
According to the UN’s People’s Climate Vote, the largest climate survey ever conducted, 80% of people globally want their governments to do more to tackle the climate crisis. In the UK, that figure rises to 84%. Most people also want better protection from extreme weather and a rapid shift away from fossil fuels. And 80% of Brits want greater efforts to restore nature.
We are not a silent minority. We are a growing, powerful majority.
And last week, I took that majority message straight to Westminster.
I travelled to London for Act Now, Change Forever, a Climate Coalition lobby at Westminster, joining people from all over the country for a face-to-face with their MPs. Alongside colleagues and new friends from our region, I met with Anna Sabine, Frome’s local MP, to speak candidly about what we want to see change.
I focused on the link between climate health and physical health, something we urgently need to recognise in public policy. Diet-related ill health alone costs the NHS a staggering £268 billion a year. That’s not just unsustainable, it’s unaffordable.
What if we tackled climate and health together?
I believe passionately about investing in prevention: clean air, warm homes, access to good food, accessible access to green spaces and active travel. These are not just climate solutions, they’re life-enhancing health strategies that reduce costs long-term and improve lives today.
There is so much to discuss and so much to improve on, but inspired by Frome Medical Practices’ Climate and Health podcast ‘The Real Cost of Cheap Food’ – what I really wanted to focus on for this particular meeting was changing legislation around our food and fashion industry. Overhauling our food systems and the fast fashion industry is essential because both are driving climate breakdown, chronic illness and costing our public services billions. I want a fairer, healthier food system in the UK, I want our Government to do more to protect people, planet, and future generations from unethical industry practices.
As a parent, I see my children growing up amidst a tidal wave of salacious food choices – products that are actively damaging to our health, so I asked:
- Can we tax ultra-processed, high-fat, high-salt foods that are fuelling chronic illness?
- Can we restrict harmful pesticides, ban trans-fats, and demand better food labelling to avoid misleading the public?
- Can we stop marketing junk food to our children and introduce a policy-led initiative that changes consumer behaviour towards healthy diet choices?
- Can we shift more government support toward regenerative farming, which nurtures both people and planet? Why has Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) funding been paused?
- And as my brilliant colleague Caroline Wajsblum mentioned, a total reform of carbon pricing – expanding the UK ETS to include other emission-intensive sectors, reforming fossil fuel subsidies and redirecting revenue to fund energy support and climate adaptation.
I also raised women’s health, asking for more regulation on what chemicals are allowed in everyday products like sanitary items, which are poisoning both our bodies and our waterways.
And we talked about fast fashion – the number one contributor to microplastics in our oceans, also being responsible for 10% of global greenhouse emissions, as well as unethical working practices. Can we reform how we tax, market and label these synthetic products?
These aren’t just environmental issues. They’re economic, ethical, and health issues, too. Recognising this, some inspirational countries have taken the brave step to shake up these entrenched industries. France’s senate has just approved a bill to regulate ultra-fast fashion giants. And Denmark’s ground-breaking investment in a green transition for the entire food value chain, for a green and sustainable food supply. Using a combination of policy and regulatory measures, financial incentives, research and innovation, and a collaborative effort with stakeholders, their aim is to reduce emissions and improve environmental practices in agriculture and promote sustainable, healthy food production and consumption. Having launched in October 2023 this government’s trailblazing plant-based food initiative hopes to save a potential £1.6 billion in annual healthcare savings as well as reducing Denmark’s food-related emissions by 31 – 45%.
The payoff is social, economic and environmental – better health outcomes for our community, NHS savings, job creation in local food economies, investment in local supply chains, creating resilience through regenerative farming – reducing the need for subsidy dependency, creating cleaner waterways, lowering carbon emissions, fewer microplastics, less pesticide use, less waste.
Here in Frome, we’re lucky to be part of a community where action is already happening, with a progressive Town Council and Medical Practice that embeds sustainability and health from within to inspirational grassroots action on the ground like Everyone Needs Pockets to Frome Food Network, the Plastic Free. Period. project, Frome Families for the Future, and Sustainable Frome. We’ve seen what’s possible at a local level and learned from our friends across the channel. Now we need a national policy to catch up, with courage, urgency, and honesty.
We’re not alone. We have the numbers. Change starts with public demands, let’s take our voices to those who can turn our ideas into action.
Grab your phone. Write to your MP, and let’s turn public demand into policy. We all deserve a fairer, greener, healthier future.