Agenda item

Cambridge City Council notes:

·      That the government has tried to take away free school meals for 1.1 million children while subsidising parliamentary bars and restaurants by £4 million in the last year.

·      That public demand for reducing plastic waste has soared, forcing the government to bring in a bottle deposit scheme.

·      That soil degradation now means we have only 30 to 40 years of soil fertility left, which was acknowledged at the parliamentary launch of the Sustainable Soils Alliance.

·      That Scotland is considering enshrining the right to food in law, after the recommendation was made by an Independent Working Group on Food Poverty.

·      That Cambridge Sustainable Food have done superb work engaging with businesses and residents, and the new Food Poverty Alliance comes at a time when it is much needed.

·      That the University of Cambridge in 2016 launched its sustainable food policy.

·      That food security is put at critical risk by the economic consequences of Brexit, because of the volume of food which we currently import, and the food footprint of Cambridge.

·      That the councils excellent work promoting recycling champions risks being undermined by the development of a new incinerator near Waterbeach.

·      That there is a UK health epidemic due to unhealthy eating.

·      The introduction of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.

·      That Iceland have banned palm oil from all own-brand products, realising that there is no such thing as sustainable palm oil.

·      That Waitrose will ban all disposable coffee cups this year.

·      That 3.5 million UK residents (7%) currently identify as vegan according to new research by comparethemarket.com and Gresham college.

·      The activities of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vegetarianism and Veganism. 

·      That the German government has banned meat and fish from being served at government functions, and insisted on food which is seasonal, regional, produced on organic farms, and sourced from Fair Trade providers if available.

·      The many benefits that the Cambridge Sustainable Food Hub project would bring to the region, including increased scope for food waste innovation and sustainable food startups.

·      That climate change, mass extinctions, and ocean dead zones are being caused by human activity.

 

Cambridge City Council resolves:

·      To draft and begin consultation on a Sustainable Food Policy, which can incorporate the Food Poverty Action Plan being worked up by the Food Poverty Alliance. To include the following points as items within the draft (amendments are very welcome):

·      To reduce catering and hospitality spend on food where possible by offering simple plant-based food from a local social enterprise rather than lavish fare, and donate any savings found this way to the Food Poverty Alliance.

·      To pledge to seeking gold standard accreditation from Sustainable Food Cities.

·      To reaffirm its commitment to being a fair trade city, and examine whether the resolutions made regarding fair trade in 2002 have been fully held up.

·      To support the Refill scheme to encourage reusing bottles for drinking water, to provide drinking water fountains in city parks to support this, and to ask Visit Cambridge, Cambridge Live and Cambridge BID to assist with this.

·      To adopt a framework for food and cafe procurement, like Preston Council, which asks questions about food sustainability and fairness. (current ITT framework is not detailed or strong enough: "The successful operator will be encouraged to provide “healthy eating”, locally produced, Gluten Free and Fairtrade options.")

·      To adopt a strategy for community centres, which ensures all new kitchens have adequate cooking facilities for local community groups to prepare food and teach cooking skills.

·      To consider planting more fruit-bearing trees in sites where they would help to relieve hunger.

·      To appraise the sustainability of food in the city market stalls, and close the loophole which allows disposable cardboard cups with polyethylene linings to be used.

·      To ask Cambridge Live and the events team to introduce a sustainable food framework, which aims to guide event organisers toward sustainable food procurement, offering healthy options, and minimising plastic use. Biodegradable food packaging should only be encouraged when there is a waste pathway in place for it to actually biodegrade. (current guidance: "All events should minimise waste, maximise recycling, use where possible sustainable resources and manage and mitigate ecological/biodiversity impacts with clear guidance on how these will be achieved set out in the Event Management Control Document" - however, many MCDs are highly vague and superficial).

·      To empower environmental health officers to award a sustainable food rating to food outlets which they can choose to display alongside their food hygiene rating, and to warn outlets about the environmental consequences of food waste and over-packaging.

·      To offer support to local businesses in reducing their waste overhead and environmental damage from food and packaging, and seek to build more partnerships around sustainable food.

 

References:

 

http://www.unicen.cam.ac.uk/files/cambridge_sustainable_food_policy_2016_0.pdf

http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/sites/brighton-hove.gov.uk/files/downloads/sustainability/Final_2012_Spade_to_spoon_Food_Strategy_low_res.pdf

 

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/sustainable_food_strategy_-_consultation_draft.pdf

 

http://www.preston.gov.uk/thecouncil/about-preston-city-council/our-fairness-agenda/progress-towards-fairness-charter

 

https://www.sustainweb.org/publications/planning_sustainable_cities/

 

https://vegappg.org.uk

 

https://cambridgefoodhub.org

 

https://xkcd.com/1338

 

Committee Manager’s Note: 20/10/21: Updated link to the most relevant Compare the Market research page https://www.comparethemarket.com/customer-rewards/meerkat-meals/how-to-eat-out-like-a-vegan-pro/

 

Councillor Gillespie proposed and Councillor O’Connell seconded the following motion: 

 

Cambridge City Council notes:

·        That the government has tried to take away free school meals for 1.1 million children while subsidising parliamentary bars and restaurants by £4 million in the last year.

·        That public demand for reducing plastic waste has soared, forcing the government to bring in a bottle deposit scheme.

·        That soil degradation now means we have only 30 to 40 years of soil fertility left, which was acknowledged at the parliamentary launch of the Sustainable Soils Alliance.

·        That Scotland is considering enshrining the right to food in law, after the recommendation was made by an Independent Working Group on Food Poverty.

·        That Cambridge Sustainable Food have done superb work engaging with businesses and residents, and the new Food Poverty Alliance comes at a time when it is much needed.

·        That the University of Cambridge in 2016 launched its sustainable food policy.

·        That food security is put at critical risk by the economic consequences of Brexit, because of the volume of food which we currently import, and the food footprint of Cambridge.

·        That the councils excellent work promoting recycling champions risks being undermined by the development of a new incinerator near Waterbeach.

·        That there is a UK health epidemic due to unhealthy eating.

·        The introduction of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.

·        That Iceland have banned palm oil from all own-brand products, realising that there is no such thing as sustainable palm oil.

·        That Waitrose will ban all disposable coffee cups this year.

·        That 3.5 million UK residents (7%) currently identify as vegan according to new research by comparethemarket.com and Gresham college.

·        The activities of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vegetarianism and Veganism. 

·        That the German government has banned meat and fish from being served at government functions, and insisted on food which is seasonal, regional, produced on organic farms, and sourced from Fair Trade providers if available.

·        The many benefits that the Cambridge Sustainable Food Hub project would bring to the region, including increased scope for food waste innovation and sustainable food startups.

·        That climate change, mass extinctions, and ocean dead zones are being caused by human activity.

 

Cambridge City Council resolves:

·        To draft and begin consultation on a Sustainable Food Policy, which can incorporate the Food Poverty Action Plan being worked up by the Food Poverty Alliance. To include the following points as items within the draft (amendments are very welcome):

·        To reduce catering and hospitality spend on food where possible by offering simple plant-based food from a local social enterprise rather than lavish fare, and donate any savings found this way to the Food Poverty Alliance.

·        To pledge to seeking gold standard accreditation from Sustainable Food Cities.

·        To reaffirm its commitment to being a fair trade city, and examine whether the resolutions made regarding fair trade in 2002 have been fully held up.

·        To support the Refill scheme to encourage reusing bottles for drinking water, to provide drinking water fountains in city parks to support this, and to ask Visit Cambridge, Cambridge Live and Cambridge BID to assist with this.

·        To adopt a framework for food and cafe procurement, like Preston Council, which asks questions about food sustainability and fairness. (current ITT framework is not detailed or strong enough: "The successful operator will be encouraged to provide “healthy eating”, locally produced, Gluten Free and Fairtrade options.")

·        To adopt a strategy for community centres, which ensures all new kitchens have adequate cooking facilities for local community groups to prepare food and teach cooking skills.

·        To consider planting more fruit-bearing trees in sites where they would help to relieve hunger.

·        To appraise the sustainability of food in the city market stalls, and close the loophole which allows disposable cardboard cups with polyethylene linings to be used.

·        To ask Cambridge Live and the events team to introduce a sustainable food framework, which aims to guide event organisers toward sustainable food procurement, offering healthy options, and minimising plastic use. Biodegradable food packaging should only be encouraged when there is a waste pathway in place for it to actually biodegrade. (current guidance: "All events should minimise waste, maximise recycling, use where possible sustainable resources and manage and mitigate ecological/biodiversity impacts with clear guidance on how these will be achieved set out in the Event Management Control Document" - however, many MCDs are highly vague and superficial).

·        To empower environmental health officers to award a sustainable food rating to food outlets which they can choose to display alongside their food hygiene rating, and to warn outlets about the environmental consequences of food waste and over-packaging.

·        To offer support to local businesses in reducing their waste overhead and environmental damage from food and packaging, and seek to build more partnerships around sustainable food.

 

Cllr Bick proposed under Council Procedure Rule 13.8(f)(i), that the motion be referred for decision to the Executive Councillor for Environmental Services and City Centre.

 

Resolved by (by 39 votes to 1) that the motion be referred for decision to the Executive Councillor for Environmental Services and City Centre and reported to either the next, or the next but one, subsequent ordinary meeting of the Council.