As if we needed it, the current attacks on Iran have provided a glaring reminder of the instability of our own national security.

The resulting closure of the Strait of Hormuz has been felt across the globe as ships full of oil, gas and other vital inputs to the global economy remain blocked. Already, this is translating to rising costs of food, as fuel and energy price increases make food more expensive to move.

The UK food system is concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of people and organisations – leaving the system that feeds most of the population highly vulnerable to shocks. The UK imports around 50% of its vegetables and 80% of its fruit, making it particularly exposed to rising logistical and transport costs. However, these pressures may represent only the tip of the iceberg.

One of the key products affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is fertiliser; intensive large-scale agri-businesses are reliant upon artifical inputs to offset soil depletion. Higher fertiliser prices – or even a complete lack of fertiliser – could significantly affect autumn yields. Indeed, British farmers who have already secured fertiliser have stated that they are considering selling it on in order to cash out on the high prices. Other inputs are being affected too, such as herbicides and pesticides made from oil inputs, and chicken feed made from methanol. The impact of the disruption in global supply chains is hard to predict, but some have already estimated that British consumers can expect to see a 9% rise on food inflation.

What can ordinary people do when faced with the simultaneous power, wealth and fragility of this globalised food system?

On Wednesday evening, over 30 local growers and L8 (and wider) residents gathered in Toxteth TV to discuss community responses to the coming crisis.

As we know, there is a wealth of knowledge, skills and interests to draw upon within our communities. At the meeting, there were growers, allotmenteers, chefs, beekeepers and people with no growing experience but with connections to neighbours, trade unions, seed savers, history and heritage researchers, doctors and decolonial health advocates – to name a few!

The group discussed how the community might expect global food system shocks to affect it and how they might develop actions to build resilience together. As people followed up connections over homemade soup, the room buzzed with conversation and a real sense of possibility. Since the meeting, a shared working document has been set up help plan actions and the group’s next meeting.

Community action to move towards greater food sustainability and autonomy is vital, and it is important that local, regional and national Governments support, and act, with us. Professor Tim Laing has well documented the lack of state action on the dire state of UK food security to date. Activists in Liverpool have also used a Freedom of Information Request to uncover that at a Liverpool City Region level, the resilience forum has no formal planning in place for widespread food insecurity. The National Preparedness Commission Report states that Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) noted that food could not be addressed or resolved by LRFs themselves, and that this challenge requires work with external partners. We would be happy and willing to contribute.

We are living in an era of prolonged uncertainty. Brexit, the pandemic, Russia’s invasion on Ukraine and escalating global conflict have all exposed how fragile the UK’s food system has become, with the consequences felt most clearly through inflated food prices. These repeated shocks show that a food system governed at a distance and concentrated in too few hands leaves people vulnerable to descisions and events far beyond their control. We believe power over how food is produced, sold and retailed must be shifted closer to citizens and communities in order to build resilience, transparency and democratic accountability. As DEFRA develops its forthcoming UK Food Strategy, it must confront these realities and commit to a food system that protects people’s livelihoods and quality of life – especially in times of crisis.

Increasing community food growing, reducing waste, instituting community kitchens, cooking and preserving skill sharing, securing community asset transfers through Right to Grow, and the raft of other ideas discussed by the group on Wednesday will not solve the looming crisis on their own. However, they can help to lay the foundations for a level of hyper local support which will provide a model for a circular, equitable, sustainable and resilient food system.

Local initiatives ideologically and practically strengthen calls for bigger institutions to take food security seriously – showing that an alternative is as possible and popular as it is necessary. For those in the room on Wednesday, action felt the antidote to despair.

If you would like to know more about how you can get involved in this conversation, please contact Samir.