The Countryside Alliance have renewed calls for a council to ditch their unpopular and divisive meat ban, after the deputy mayor said that the council's food waste was soaring.
Calderdale council, in West Yorkshire, voted last year to ban meat and provide solely vegan catering. At the time, the policy received huge backlash, with concerns being raised about the policy's "imposition of views", the increase of council catering food miles by importing certain produce, and the nutritional deficiencies in vegan diets.
The Countryside Alliance condemned the decision, saying it made the meat and dairy industry a scapegoat for climate change. The Alliance pointed out that if councillors truly cared about net zero, they would instead be committing to reduce food miles by sourcing local produce - be that meat, dairy, or plant-based.
Now, the Conservative mayor of Calderdale, Cllr Steven Leigh, is asking for an exemption to the policy for the events he runs, following "complaints about the plant-based menus at council catered events".
The deputy mayor, Cllr Geraldine Carter, has stated that the meat ban is not inclusive to pescatarians and meat eaters, and that there has been a large amount of food waste following plant-based catered events. The request has therefore been made for the mayor to be permitted to serve non plant-based food, when providing catering from the mayoral budget.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, Director of External Affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said:
“It was always going to be the case that dumping meat and dairy, enjoyed by the vast bulk of the population, would prove unpopular and divisive.
“The council could now inadvertently be contributing the to the actual problem of food waste, which was completely avoidable. There was never any need to enforce a full plant-based menu as meat, dairy and vegetables produced in the UK are vastly sustainable.
“The council should ditch the policy and offer an inclusive menu, regardless of dietary preference”.
Ten local authorities, including Suffolk, Cornwall, and Dorset, have voted in favour of the Countryside Alliance’s alternative motion, which commits councils to keeping meat and dairy on the menu and supplying produce from local farmers and growers, benefiting both livestock and arable farmers.
The Countryside Alliance will continue to campaign for British farmers, local food procurement, and freedom of choice for consumers.