Meat banned by council as part of 'climate change action plan', as critics say it shows no understanding of British farming
Meat is to be banned by a local council as part of its 'climate change action plan', as critics say it has 'no understanding of British farming'.
Enfield council will not be serving meat at any of its catered events from Christmas 2020 as it hopes to "influence the behaviour" of local businesses and suppliers.
The local authority is understood to be the first in the UK to announce such a move.
Ian Barnes, the deputy leader of the council, said it had already announced a climate emergency and this is one of the steps being taken to make sure the local authority is carbon neutral by 2030.
Ensuring Enfield is carbon neutral in 10 years means "taking bold and sometimes unpopular action", he wrote in the council's climate report.
The report added: "All events held by Enfield Council where catering is provided to offer only vegan or vegetarian options."
The Labour controlled authority uploaded the extensive ‘Enfield climate action plan 2020’ online after holding a month-long consultation during the coronavirus lockdown.
Countryside campaigners have said this ignores the ambitious efforts being put in by UK farmers to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. This is the target set by the National Farmers' Union.
Farmers argue that banning meat in this way makes no differentiation between the industrial farming systems in countries like the US and Brazil and the mainly grass-fed systems in Britain.
The ban follows similar moves taken at both Goldsmiths and Cambridge University, which saw red meat removed from campus menus.
Commenting on the proposal, Mo Metcalf-Fisher of the Countryside Alliance said: “Banning meat is completely the wrong approach and demonstrates no understanding of how meat in this country is produced, which thanks to UK farming practices, is among the most sustainable in the world. That this ban has gone through with what appears to be very limited public consultation, is damning. Enfield Borough Council would do well to actually liaise with the farming community, properly consult their local residents and drop this proposed ban immediately.”
