The UK is threatening its long-term food security by depending heavily on imports given future challenges to food production arising from climate change and changing global demands, a report warned on Tuesday. According to the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, the UK is currently 68% self-sufficient in foods which can be produced in the country - a sharp decline from almost 87% in the early 1990s. Self-sufficiency in fruit and vegetables has decreased the most, to 12% and 58% respectively. The UK imported £8 billion of fruit and vegetables in 2012. MPs also expressed concern over the country's dependence on imported soybean for animal feed. Rising demand for protein in China and other countries could lead to competition. The government should “give higher priority to research to enable us to source more of our animal feed from within the EU” and “promote the growth of more legumes.” Friends of the Earth welcomed that the report identified the impact the UK livestock system has on the climate but said it failed to tackle the need to change diets. “Eating less but better quality meat would be healthier, help cut greenhouse gas emissions and free up land for other uses”, Food Campaigner Vicki Hird said. The report supports the concept of “sustainable intensification” - producing more food with fewer inputs in a sustainable way, noting that yield levels for the UK’s staple crops have not increased for over 15 years. Organic farming does not seem to be important to the authors since “organic yields are generally lower than those for conventional agriculture”. Soil Association disagreed with the focus on yields: “Rather than measuring agricultural output as yields per hectare, we need to measure how efficiently we produce our food. Looking just at yields masks the high levels of inputs with subsequent impacts on greenhouse gas emissions”, policy officer Louise Payton said. The report clearly backs genetically modified crops: “The Government should do more to inform the public about the potential beneficial impacts of growing GM crops in the UK” and “counter food safety fears about the consumption of GM”, the MPs concluded.