Vegan food will be served exclusively at Council events in Oxfordshire, causing outrage among some local councillors.
The row began when Lib Dem and Green Alliance councillors passed a motion banning meat and dairy products from their events.
Veganism ‘is not something that should be rammed down the throats of vegetarians and meat-eaters,’ according to the Oxfordshire opposition.
Plans to reduce meat and dairy consumption are part of the government’s green agenda.
In order to combat climate change, a report from the Climate Change Committee has urged Britons to cut their meat and dairy consumption by a fifth.
Reduced livestock in Britain’s fields would also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the report. This is especially true in Oxfordshire, where farming is the backbone of the local economy.
The new orders have been dubbed “dictatorial” by David Bartholomew, a Tory Councillor representing Sonning Common.
‘The Conservative opposition believes that veganism is a choice that should be respected but it is not something that should be rammed down the throats of vegetarian and meat-eaters. A carrot not a stick approach should be employed.’
According to the Countryside Alliance, councillors “would do well to actually liaise with their local farmers…rather than bringing in provocative proposals that alienate the rural community.”
‘It is wrong for the council to force all catering to become plant-based.’ Henley-on-Thames Independent Cllr Stefan Gawrysiak says, “It has to be gradual.”
”Scrapping meat is unnecessarily divisive 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”. according to the Countryside Alliance.
‘meat and dairy are enjoyed by the vast bulk of the public and dietary choices remain just that: a choice.
‘Oxfordshire County Council’s Liberal Democrat and Green leadership would do well to actually liaise with their local farming community to see their amazing work first hand, rather than bringing in provocative, headline grabbing proposals which alienate the rural community.
‘By sourcing their meat and dairy from only local producers going forward, the council would be setting an example people might want to actually get behind.’
Green Party councillor Ian Middleton proposed the Vegan motion. His goal was to ensure that all food served at council meetings was “entirely plant-based.”
Vegan Councillor Middleton told MailOnline that the county council’should be embracing the opportunity to set an example’ by implementing the Government’s green agenda.
This raises important questions;
Do we want to force people to become Vegan or do we want to make them aware about the bad ethics of it.
Do we want government to provide food that was made with animal suffering…
