The 27-page document, which will be officially released on Monday, follows two references made by the restaurant chain Leon, Henry Dimbleby, to the UK food system. His research on obesity and the environment, commissioned by former Environment Minister Michael Gove, has led to recommendations for expanding free school meals, launching a long-running salt and sugar tax campaign and introducing fruit and vegetable recipes. But according to one version of the strategy, seen by The Guardian and The Telegraph, these proposals were ignored in favor of a “statement of vague intentions” – said Rob Percival, head of food policy at the Soil Association. They include encouraging fish farming, which has long been considered extremely harmful to the environment, increasing the consumption of “responsible deer” feed, algae protein feed and the production of technology that helps cattle produce less methane. Mandatory vegan menu choices in schools, prisons and across the public sector are accompanied by animal welfare warnings on restaurant menus – if the facility uses factory-raised meat. While the cost-of-living crisis is hitting the UK, with recent ONS figures revealing that most Britons are cutting back on food and other basic necessities, the government says the cost of food “is not a matter for the government’s food strategy”. There are also no recommendations for government intervention on obesity, despite the fact that 64% of adults in the UK and 40% of children are overweight. According to reports, the strategy paper states: “The government can set a clear direction for the industry and ensure that consumers have the power with information to make better food choices. “The government should also motivate industry to restate and promote healthier foods that are more affordable, and to design and implement policy actions that lead to improvements throughout the food environment.” Image: Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain, led two exhibitions on food, the environment and obesity Jim McMahon, the Labor Party’s shadow foreign minister for the environment, food and agriculture, said: “The UK is in a crisis of living costs taxes also fall. “It is clear now that the government has absolutely no ambition to rectify the chaos it has created. “A food strategy is vital, but the government has prevented it, delayed it and now it has failed to deliver. “This is nothing more than a statement of vague intentions, not concrete proposals to address the major issues facing our country. Calling it a ‘nutrition strategy’ borders on the absurd.” The Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) declined to comment on the leaked document. “We will present the content of our ambitious new food strategy in due course,” a spokesman said in a statement.
