Oxford City council faces furious backlash after meat ban
A city council has faced a furious backlash for banning meat from its meeting and events and going fully vegan.
Butchers have accused Oxford City Council of a ‘kneejerk reaction’ after it voted unanimously to completely ban meat from all its internal events – leaving only 100 per cent plant based options.
The motion was proposed by Labour Party councillor Paula Dunne, following in the footsteps of of Oxfordshire County Council, which became the first authority to do so in December 2021. At the time, there was a fierce backlash from Oxfordshire farmers and Jeremy Clarkson branded the policy “utter, utter madness”.
And at a full Oxford City Council meeting on Monday, (20/03) the council unanimously voted in favour of “following Oxfordshire County Council’s lead by ensuring that food provided for internal councillor events are entirely plant based”.
Matthew Alden, the managing director of the 230-year-old Alden Butchers, called the decision a “kneejerk reaction” and said it was “very easy to have a negative view about meat”. He said: “I’m not against veganism but this won’t suit everybody.
Meat leads to the employment of a huge amount of people up and down the country. As butchers, we do a lot for conservation.”
Athena Stavrou, Ed Halford & Liberty Sheldon | Oxfordshire Live
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