Some councils have angered farmers by ditching meat (Image: Getty)
Farmers have slammed the “growing absurdity” among councils of taxpayer-funded “compulsory veganism”. At least 10 local authorities across the UK have either a meat ban or signed the plant-based treaty, an international movement which aims to promote a shift to veganism and discourage animal agriculture.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, of the Countryside Alliance (CA), said: “A growing absurdity, slowly taking hold of councils in the most unlikely of places, is a move towards compulsory veganism. Several councils, including Oxfordshire County Council, Enfield and Calderdale have all voted to ditch meat and dairy products provided in internal catering.
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We must stand up and challenge the anti-meat agenda plaguing our local councils!
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“The justification they claim, to ‘tackle climate change’ and lead by example. No more ham sandwiches for hungry councillors, but instead, lavish platters of exotic fruit and vegetables. All taxpayer funded of course. There is no suggestion that residents or workers at any of the local authorities would be banned from eating meat.
Oxfordshire county council, held by the Liberal Democrats, as well as Labour-held Calderdale and Exeter councils, committed to moving to “plant-based diets” in 2015, 2020 and 2022 respectively.
Read more: Keir Starmer's local council looks at banning bacon in latest woke move
A campaign led by the CA has seen 10 councils reject “compulsory veganism”, and promote the importance of shopping locally and supporting UK farmers.
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So far Suffolk, Cornwall, Portsmouth, Fenland, Peterborough, the Highlands, Dorset, Wiltshire, Staffordshire Moorlands and Rutland have all signed up to the alternative campaign.
National Farmers Union President Tom Bradshaw said: “What we eat should be a personal choice and decisions should be made in an informed way taking into consideration the nutritional, environmental and biodiversity benefits that eating a balanced diet including meat and dairy provide.
“We know the public values homegrown, nutritious produce and British farmers are well placed to deliver that – producing high-quality meat and dairy products to world-leading standards.
“We engage regularly with local councils about the importance of supporting local supply chains and the vital role farmers play at the heart of our rural communities. There have been some great successes with councils including Suffolk County Council and Cornwall Council showing their support for local farmers by committing to pro-actively source local produce, and we will continue to work with local authorities and food providers to champion backing British farming.”
Kate Arthur, head of nutrition and health at the Agriculture and Horticulture Board (AHDB), added: “Considerable evidence supports including lean red meat and dairy as part of a healthy, balanced diet. These foods are naturally rich in protein and a source of other essential nutrients such iron, zinc, calcium, iodine and vitamin B12 which are often lacking in people’s diets, particularly nutritionally vulnerable groups.’
Food and farming is critical for Britain’s food security and caring for the countryside, Ms Arthur added.
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The sector employs 340,000 people, many in rural communities and in 2024 Government figures show agriculture generated ￡7.7 billion pounds for the economy.
Flora Clemett, Plant-Based Councils' spokeswoman, said: “These trailblazing councils are leading the way by demonstrating safe and sustainable diets to the wider population. No such ‘ban’ on meat exists, since councillors are free to bring their own food. Diverting taxpayers’ money from meat and dairy to plant-based foods is a straightforward swap that benefits both the environment and our health; there is nothing absurd about it. Fruits, vegetables and other plant-based alternatives do not even come close to causing the harm that meat and dairy inflict on our wildlife, rivers and climate.
"Fruits, vegetables, grains and beans are all grown by farmers, meaning these councils are still supporting British farming while working to improve local supply chains. The full force of climate breakdown is already being felt by our farmers, with yields down, fields parched and animals suffering from heat stress. The NFU and Countryside Alliance are ignoring the need for farming to modernise - this is short-sighted and betrays our farmers and those of us who rely on them for our food.”
By Mo Metcalf-Fisher, External Affairs Director at the Countryside Alliance
A growing absurdity, slowly taking hold of councils in the most unlikely of places, is a move towards compulsory veganism.
Several councils, including Oxfordshire County Council, Enfield and Calderdale have all voted to ditch meat and dairy products provided in internal catering.
The justification they claim, to ‘tackle climate change’ and lead by example.
No more ham sandwiches for hungry councillors, but instead, lavish platters of exotic fruit and vegetables.
All taxpayer funded of course. The decisions have sparked major backlash, with livestock farmers rightly taking umbrage at having a gaggle of councillors peddle tropes about their livelihoods.
When put into action, the policies have often been farcical.
In Oxfordshire, one Liberal Democrat councillor- who had originally supported the ban on meat and dairy- became the butt of jokes after admitting she had been sneaking milk for her tea into the council chamber to swerve the dairy-free alternatives provided by in-house catering.
Elsewhere, the Leader of Calderdale council was forced to clarify that nosy council enforcement officers would not be ‘sneaking into people’s houses to steal away their wafer-thin ham'.
It would be wrong however to dismiss these examples simply as puerile, political posturing. It matters not because there is any problem with people adopting plant-based diets, but because of the somewhat lazy assumption that moving from meat to a non-meat diet always provides a benefit for the environment. How does an avocado flown in from South America retain eco-superiority over a humble piece of grass-fed beef from a farm just outside Oxford, for example? Approximately two thirds (65%) of UK farmland is better suited to growing grass than other crops. If we did not graze livestock, we could not use it to produce food.
What then becomes of this land if livestock farming is eradicated? This vital question is one that proponents of meat-bans struggle to answer convincingly.
Our livestock farmers produce sustainable, seasonal produce while managing the countryside we love.
Without a buoyant market for their produce, fuelled by an orchestrated campaign by local councils and animal rights groups with no experience of agriculture, the countryside slowly risks being turned into an unmanaged wasteland.
Councils that are serious about cutting emissions, should be offering up produce from local growers and farmers.
Unless we stand up and challenge the anti-meat agenda plaguing these local councils, we will wake up and find that what was once a niche cause has become the new normal.
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