Food is part of our culture – MP
The Government has talked down the British food industry, according to North Cornwall’s MP, Dan Rogerson.
Speaking in a House of Commons debate, the local Liberal Democrat MP said ‘We should speak far more about the positive contribution that the food industry and food generally make, rather than continually sending out a message of “Thou shalt not” about the foods that people should eat.’
Mr Rogerson is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cheese and has led efforts in Westminster to alter the ‘traffic light’ system of labelling, which deems fizzy drinks healthy but censures nutritious products like cheese, on account of their high salt and fat content.
He has called for the Government to switch to a system known as the ‘Guideline Daily Amount’, which would show clearly on food packaging the amount of any given food it was healthy to eat, and its contribution to the overall recommended calorie, salt and sugar limits.
Commenting after the debate, Mr Rogerson said:
“The Government is so bound up in ticking boxes that it has forgotten the obvious benefits that we all gain from good, healthy, natural foods.
“It is an ongoing nonsense that cheese is virtually banned from children’s menus while Ministers are content to give the green light to fizzy drinks. People are bound to conclude that something has gone very wrong when situations like that arise.
“Meanwhile our livestock industry is under enough pressure from the threat of Bovine TB – and the Government’s persistent unwillingness to do anything about it – without bureaucrats slapping ‘red lights’ on their produce.
“Ministerial sermons about the ‘dangers’ of various foods give no credit to British food as a real asset of our national culture.
“Most foods are healthy in moderation, so it makes sense to move to a labelling system that shows people how much is good for you, and how much is too much, rather than just writing off whole groups of food for the sake of simplicity.”
