City Food Lecture 2018

It was good to attend the City Food Lecture in February this year. This event is arranged by the Worshipful Companies of the City of London and takes place in the Guildhall. Despite the snow, even on the streets of London, I managed to arrive unscathed.

The lecture was given by Dave Lewis the CEO of Tesco. He began by speaking about the importance of good relationships with suppliers, a welcome change as this hasn’t always been the experience of farmers. He admitted that supermarkets had begun to realise that if they don’t treat their suppliers fairly they may go out of business which would affect us all.

Dave Lewis is also passionate about food waste, driven in part by his experiences of working in countries where food is scarce. For him, sending waste food to anaerobic digestion was not the best solution. Any excess food which is still fit for consumption goes to Fair Share, a charity that redistributes food to charities.

It was good to hear the CEO of a large supermarket chain talking about fair supplier relationships, food waste and healthier food. This is an event that brings together so many who are involved in the production, manufacture and sale of our food. It’s great that the church is represented at such an event, even if people are a little surprised to see someone in a clerical collar!

Revd Elizabeth Clark, National Rural Officer for the Methodist and United Reformed Churches