Fresh and Nutritious Food: Inequality of Access Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Edward Morello
Main Page: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)Department Debates - View all Edward Morello's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Fresh and Nutritious Food: Inequality of Access
Edward Morello Excerpts(1 day, 9 hours ago)
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Ben Coleman
That is a very important point. The availability of fast food right outside schools needs to be looked at and curtailed. The food is cheap, but it is incredibly low quality, and it is not doing our children any good. And school food standards are not properly enforced. There is a lot of cheap school food, but in some of the schools I visit, it is just orange—it is not healthy. The Government need to do a lot more to provide resources to local authorities so that they can properly enforce food standards.
We also need to do other things. We need to extend the sugar tax and the soft drinks levy, and have a general levy on unhealthy foods. At the same time, healthy food must not go up in price. As we make unhealthy food more expensive, we should bring the price of healthy food down. That is a huge challenge for any Government. We have lots of creative people in supermarkets, who come up with wonderful ideas for pumping our food full of unnutritious substances, but I would love to see them take the same effort to bringing healthy food to the population at a price that can be afforded.
Edward Morello (West Dorset) (LD)
I wonder whether the root of the solution is for local authorities and schools to have mandatory minimum purchases from local producers, thereby giving local farmers a supply chain into the local area and providing fresh food for children.
David Mundell (in the Chair)
Can the hon. Member respond and also conclude, so that the Minister may respond to the numerous points that have been made in the debate?