Boris Johnson will push families to shop British this week, despite calls for a “nanny state” ban on junk food.
The Prime Minister and Environment Secretary George Eustice will unveil their food plan tomorrow, with a focus on growing indigenous supply in the face of rising global prices.
He’ll also announce that plans to impose sugar and salt taxes, which Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain, advocated in a review, have been shelved.
The plans were deemed “too nanny state,” “too un-Conservative,” and “there is an even stronger justification for not adopting them now that we are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis,” according to a government source.
Mr. Eustice will also make a rallying cry to customers to buy locally sourced food in order to assist British farms.
According to sources, the strategy will focus on maintaining and enhancing our food security in light of the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on global food supplies, as well as the rise in inflation, which is predicted to top 10% this year.
According to government sources, the White Paper on Food Strategy proposes spending half of official food procurement on a combination of local commodities and food certified to higher production standards but likely to be imported.
Insiders said the specifics of how the money will be distributed are still being ironed out, but that the goal is to focus on locally farmed food. ‘Public sector food should be healthier, more sustainable, and supplied by a diverse range of providers,’ according to sources.
‘The public sector must lead by example when it comes to supporting local suppliers and local economic growth,’ the Environment Secretary is anticipated to add.
‘We want to consult on government purchasing criteria and work toward a goal of spending 50% of food dollars on food produced locally or to higher standards.’
The Dimbleby report’s recommendations to extend farm subsidies until 2029 and invest £1 billion in research and development have been abandoned. Ministers are anticipated to increase support for plant-based meat subsidies and lab-grown meat, on the other hand.
They will also consult on ways to improve and broaden animal welfare labeling by next year.