Now meat bites back
Industry to meet councils as anger grows over city’s veganism agenda
MEAT industry chiefs are to hold fightback talks with Scotland’s councils after one of the biggest local authorities voted to promote a vegan agenda over other foods.
City of Edinburgh Council is to adopt a ‘Plant-Based Treaty’ which will see veganism given emphasis over meat and dairy in schools and other public buildings.
The city is just the second place in the UK to adopt the treaty and one of 20 worldwide.
However, the Scottish Government body Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and the National Farmers’ Union Scotland (NFUS) are to meet councils, including Edinburgh, in a counter-move aimed at showing the benefits of a more balanced diet.
They are concerned about potential impacts on Scotland’s agricultural industry, which supports thousands of jobs. The QMS and the NFUS also claim the treaty is ‘contradictory’ to Scotland’s Good Food Nation Bill, which enshrines in law the government’s commitment that ‘people from every walk of life take pride in, and benefit from, food they produce, buy, cook, serve’.
A statement issued jointly by the two bodies said: ‘Both parties are in the process of setting up joint meetings with local councils, including Edinburgh, to discuss the benefits of red meat in a healthy balanced diet.’
Writing below, leading restaurateur Nick Nairn backed a balanced diet, and said it was wrong for politicians to select what they believed people should be allowed to eat.
The treaty has 38 demands including introducing a ‘meat tax’ and banning new livestock farms.
Edinburgh council commissioned a report and found ‘diets high in plant protein and low in meat and dairy make for lower greenhouse gas emissions’.
Green councillor Steve Burgess said: ‘We are acknowledging that food systems are a main driver of the climate emergency and a shift towards plant-based diets can go a huge way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.’
However, Jake Swindells, of the Scottish Countryside Alliance, said: ‘It’s disappointing to see a city council complicit in pandering to misinformation about livestock farming, which is among the most sustainable in the world.’