Another council set to join Cornwall in rural fightback

A campaign urging local councils to publicly support farmers, while rejecting compulsory plant-based menus,  is underway, in what the Countryside Alliance has dubbed a “rural fightback”.

Last week Cornwall Council unanimously voted for a landmark motion, backed by the Alliance, which ensures the council’s commitment to local farmers by proactively sourcing local, seasonal produce- explicitly including meat and dairy- at council events, while encouraging residents to ‘shop locally’ and urging them to take advantage of ‘home-grown, affordable, nutritious food’, irrespective of dietary preference.

The move comes in the face of several motions passed at other councils across the country, which encourage residents to buy ‘plant-based’ produce in a move away from meat and dairy, while also committing to only source vegan options for councillors at events.

Now campaigners are turning to Northamptonshire, where a unitary authority there is also now set to vote on a similar motion.

Conservative councillor Scott Brown, who sits on North Northamptonshire council, one of two local government districts in the East Midlands county, has tabled a motion which, if passed, will ‘encourage people to shop locally, taking advantage of home-grown, affordable and nutritious food, both plant and meat based, thus reducing the “food miles” on our plates’.

The motion, set to be debated next month, states: ‘Britain has some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and N.N.C should engage and work in partnership with our arable and livestock farmers to ensure their ability to enhance our magnificent countryside. We need to strive to support them by being sympathetic to diversification opportunities, including the promotion of local produce. Elected Members will be vocal in opposing excessive regulation by central government, enabling them to prosper.’

In 2021, Oxfordshire County Council sparked outrage among farmers, including Jeremy Clarkson, when it passed a motion to ban meat and dairy at its events. At the time, the council justified the policy saying it was ‘in the interest of the health of our planet and the health of our people’. The controversial policy was backed by Animal Rebellion- now Rising- an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion. It has also sponsored a taxpayer funded website, urging people to adopt a plant-based diet to help “slow climate change, rein in habitat loss, and regenerate the health of our planet”.

Three councils, Edinburgh City Council, Norwich City Council and Haywards Heath Town Council in Sussex, have also signed up to the ‘Plant-Based Treaty’, which calls for an end to the construction of any future livestock farm and pushes plant-based food in schools and hospitals. It also includes a pledge to promote vegan food over animal products.

Enfield Borough Council also removed meat from the menu of its catering service in 2020, while Cambridge City Council will transition to a fully plant-based catering for council meetings by 2026 and promotes vegan food options at civic and external events.

Cllr Scott Brown said: “ I was appalled at the decision by neighbouring Oxfordshire to ban meat and dairy products at council events. Snubbing hardworking livestock farmers is unacceptable. Without these farmers, our stunning countryside will fall to ruin. I want North Northants to join Cornwall in saying no to division and yes to supporting all our fantastic farmers.

He added: “I would hope that this motion gets cross party and unanimous support, it seems a no brainer to me. Buying local, seasonal produce is the way forward, not imposing unnecessary bans”.

Mo Metcalf-Fisher a spokesman for the Countryside Alliance said: “ We’ve seen several hostile anti-livestock farming measures at town halls elsewhere and the time for moaning from the side-lines is over. We need to fight back. Farmers are part of the solution to fighting climate change. No council in Britain should be against publicly supporting our farmers, nor should they be imposing certain diets on anyone. Our farmers work hard to maintain and enhance the countryside we know and love and councils need to be their ally”.