Council in hypocrisy row over vegan-only menus
Oxfordshire county council banned meat, dairy and eggs from all its catered events in 2021, citing climate change.
Now the Lib Dem authority has admitted serving imported oranges and bananas at council lunches, despite telling others to reduce their ' food miles ', a concept aiming to keep produce local to benefit the environment.
It comes despite the council contributing to the Oxfordshire Food Strategy, a set of sustainability guidelines for councils, businesses, community groups and individuals, which call for 'reduced food miles' in the county.
A council spokesman said: 'While we do try to source food locally there have been occasions, particularly in the winter months, when food such as oranges and bananas have been sourced from further afield. All other fruit is British-grown.
'We need to balance sustainability against the wish to serve councillors a balanced menu which is nutritious and healthy.
'Oranges and bananas are bought in small quantities from local shops. Such shops would source these oranges and bananas from various locations.'
After concerns were raised that it was breaching the environmental guidelines, the council has been forced to review its vegan menu.
The Countryside Alliance has called for the council to reverse its ban on meat entirely. Mo Metcalf-Fisher, its director of external affairs, told The Telegraph: 'It never made sense to ban grass-fed beef from a farm up the road, to only source fruit from South America, for example.
'British meat is vastly sustainable and the answer to cutting emissions lies with supporting and promoting our farmers and their produce, not policing what people eat.
'Oxfordshire's leadership should right the wrongs of the past, mend their relationship with local farmers, and reverse this illogical meat ban as swiftly as possible.'
In 2021, the council passed the meat and dairy ban submitted by Ian Middleton, a Green party councillor, because it was 'in the interest of the health of our planet and the health of our people'.
Pictures of the first plant-based lunch posted by Cllr Middleton on X showed a spread of fruit, including melon, mango, kiwi and pomegranate, alongside sandwiches, pastries and chocolate cake.
The decision outraged farmers, led by Jeremy Clarkson, of Clarkson's Farm fame, who said: 'It's the principle of it. You can't dictate. You might be a vegetarian but you can't make everyone else a vegetarian just because you are.'
Bethia Thomas, a Lib Dem councillor, called for the council to rethink its catering policy at a full council meeting on Tuesday.
In a written question, she claimed 'meals have not been sourced locally, and do not promote sustainability or wholly reflect the policies set out in the food strategy which the council endorses'.
She called for the council to use local produce 'to reflect the county's rural economy and our farmers' role in food production'. About three quarters of Oxfordshire's land is used for farming.
Liz Leffman, the council leader, said she has asked for the authority's facilities management team to 'review the current arrangements for full council lunches'.
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