Council meat bans under pressure after Enfield and Calderdale reversals

Oxfordshire Council is under mounting pressure to scrap its meat and dairy ban after two high-profile councils moved to reverse similar plant-based catering policies.

The Countryside Alliance has written to Oxfordshire Council leader Tim Bearder, urging the authority to abandon its policy and instead promote local, sustainable produce and freedom of choice.

The call follows recent moves by Enfield Council and Calderdale Council to reverse controversial restrictions on meat and dairy at council-catered events.

Enfield Council has already announced that it is putting “meat back on the menu” and “beefing back up Enfield”, fulfilling a manifesto pledge to overturn a ban introduced by the previous administration.

Calderdale Council has also moved to scrap its meat and dairy ban in favour of a new catering policy focused on local, sustainable and healthy food. That policy is expected to go for final approval on 22 July.

Farming campaigners say blanket bans risk sidelining local livestock producers at a time when councils are being urged to support British food, shorter supply chains and sustainable local sourcing.

Oxfordshire Council has previously faced criticism over its plant-based catering policy, including from local farmers and broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson.

Last summer, former council leader Liz Leffman asked the authority’s facilities management team to “review the current arrangements for full council lunches” after councillors said the plant-based meals “do not promote sustainability”.

Opponents of compulsory plant-based menus argue that such policies can overlook issues including food miles, food waste and the role of local livestock farming.

Councillors in Calderdale had previously raised concerns about food waste linked to the authority’s vegan catering policy.

The Countryside Alliance said Oxfordshire should follow other councils by backing choice rather than prohibiting meat and dairy.

In his letter to Cllr Bearder, Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said: “This blanket ban is misguided, unnecessarily divisive and contrary to the principle of individual choice.”

He added that the policy was “deeply insulting to livestock farmers across Oxfordshire and the wider UK.”

Mr Metcalf-Fisher said farmers worked hard to produce high-quality food while supporting the countryside, local economies, landscapes and biodiversity.

He said: “By treating meat and dairy products as something that should be excluded entirely from official events, the council is sending a message that the hard work and contribution of these farming families is neither valued nor respected.”

The Countryside Alliance is urging Oxfordshire to shift its approach towards local sourcing and informed choice.

Mr Metcalf-Fisher added: “Rather than only providing plant-based food and prohibiting meat and dairy, the council should seek to promote informed choice and source local, sustainable produce.”

He said he hoped the council would “do the right thing for freedom of choice and Oxfordshire’s farming community by dropping the meat and dairy ban.”

The row forms part of a wider debate across local government over whether councils should adopt plant-based catering policies or continue to serve meat and dairy at official events.

The Countryside Alliance has described such policies as compulsory vegan-only menus, arguing that they restrict choice and undermine British livestock farming.

Several councils, including Durham, Suffolk, Cornwall and North Northamptonshire, have supported the campaign’s stance on British meat, dairy and freedom of choice.

Others, including Oxfordshire, Calderdale and Edinburgh, have previously backed bans on meat and dairy from council-catered menus.

The latest reversals mean Oxfordshire is likely to face renewed questions over whether council catering should ban meat and dairy outright or prioritise local sourcing, sustainability and public choice.