Government food falls below McDonald's standards

Today campaigners have attacked the Government for failing to lead by example after research reveals that new compulsory environmental and ethical standards for food served in public institutions are weaker than McDonald’s fast food standards.

The research, carried out by the Good Food for Our Money campaign, compared new compulsory ’Government Buying Standards’ for food bought by government departments, prisons and parts of the military to the standards of meals served by McDonald’s. It found that the environmental and ethical standard of food served at McDonald’s is either higher than or equivalent to ’Government Buying Standards’.

Some comparisons include:

’ Eggs bought by the Government must be laid by hens living in ’enriched’ cages as a minimum, but McDonald’s serve only British free-range eggs

’ 50% of coffee bought by the Government has to be fairly traded (e.g. Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance certification), but McDonald’s requires 100% of its coffee to meet this standard

’ Milk bought by government has to have been produced to UK legal minimum standards of production, but McDonald’s serve only organic milk

The Good Food for Our Money campaign represents a coalition of more than 60 organisations including Compassion in World Farming, Friends of the Earth, RSPCA, the Soil Association and WWF UK.

Alex Jackson, Co-ordinator of the campaign, said: ’These new standards are feeble. If Government cannot even match McDonald’s food standards, how can anyone take seriously their claim to be the greenest government ever?’