Meat and dairy products should face sweeping local authority restrictions on advertising and procurement, a new report claimed this week.
Researchers at Newcastle and Oxford Universities, backed by campaign group Sustain, called for prime minister Andy Burnham to give councils greater devolved powers to tackle climate change, alongside obesity.
It claims that councils have widely recognised the threat of climate change but are being held back by lack of national leadership and fears over a backlash from farmers.
Policies recommended include the rollout of a new national framework to restrict advertising of food contributing the most to climate change, alongside those causing obesity. A step-change in the procurement of local food is also advised.
The report cites the Netherlands, which has given powers to local authorities to ban “high-carbon ads”. It says their English equivalents have had their ambition to tackle the issue blunted.
It found that 278 of 317 English local authorities had declared a climate emergency, with many introducing policies such as serving more plant-based foods, sourcing locally and using accredited sustainable produce.
Some councils were restricting the advertising of certain foods as part of climate reduction ambitions.
Some 23 local authorities were found to have published climate-focused food procurement policies, with local sourcing the most common action (20 councils). The highest-impact actions (serving more plant-based foods and less meat and dairy) were rarer.
Five councils were found to have published documents for restricting advertising of certain foods, with climate change part of the rationale for doing so.
However, the research declared “significant gaps” and the authors called on the national government to provide clear universal standards, support and leadership.
Less than 10% of local councils had a publicly available policy for either procurement or advertising, despite three quarters of councils having declared a climate emergency.
The report calls on climate change to be treated in the same way as obesity, with almost a quarter of local councils in England having an advertising policy aimed at restrictions of less healthy foods.
“This suggests that restricting the advertisement of food products with a high environmental impact may have the potential to reduce diet-related environmental impact,” the report says.
“To date, the extent to which advertising policies that aim to promote climate-friendly diets has not been systematically explored and documented.”
The UK Committee on Climate Change has called for a reduction in the consumption of meat and dairy products.
Other recommendations in the new report include creating universal standards for public sector food procurement, claiming the government has failed to deliver on its promised overhaul of public sector food standards.
The Labour Party’s 2024 manifesto set a target for half of all food purchased across the public sector to be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards.
Ruth Westcott, co-author and Sustain’s climate and nature emergency campaign manager, said: “This research shows a real appetite among councils to use their power to reduce the climate impacts of our diets, and it is impressive that many are sharing them publicly.
“What we need now is national leadership. We need the Burnham government to step up and set mandatory minimum standards for all public sector catering so that every citizen, in every area, benefits from councils taking the steps available to them to make sustainable and healthy food more accessible.”
Fran Bernhardt, co-author and Sustain’s commercial determinants co-ordinator, added: “As climate change induced extreme weather and food shortages become more common, there is no doubt that climate change poses a significant threat to our health and that the most vulnerable among us are most at risk.
“If the national government truly prioritises health and equity, they must widen the scope of health-focused food policies beyond nutrition to equally prioritise climate change. So that healthier and sustainable food is the easiest option for everyone no matter where they live.”
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