John Battle MP Uses National School Meals Week to Call for More Action on Children’s Food

John Battle MP for Leeds West, met award-winning food writer Sophie Grigson in the House of Commons yesterday at the Parliamentary launch of the Children’s Food Bill. The Private Members’ Bill, sponsored by Mary Creagh, MP for Wakefield, was launched during National School Meals Week and calls on the Government to ban advertising of junk food to children and improve food education.

John Battle said, “I am pleased to support the Children’s Food Bill in its aims to stop the marketing of fatty, sugary and salty foods to children, and to equip all schoolchildren with cooking skills. The Government’s proposals to improve school food and remove unhealthy foods from school vending machines is good news for children’s health, but even more needs to be done to address increasing rates of childhood obesity”.

John Battle is one of more than 200 MPs who have signed a House of Commons Early Day Motion in support of the Children’s Food Bill, which has its second reading on 28th October 2005. The Bill is also supported by 150 national organisations and thousands of concerned parents.

Sophie Grigson joined more than twenty other top chefs and food writers this week including Gary Rhodes, Nigel Slater, Raymond Blanc and Antony Worrall Thompson to write an open letter to the Prime Minister calling on him to support the Bill and protect children from junk food marketing. She said:

“To change children’s attitudes to food, we need to improve their food environments both in and out of school. As well as presenting good appetising food on their plates, we must protect children from advertisements which promote unhealthy food and drinks, and make sure they learn the skills that enable them to prepare delicious healthy food from fresh ingredients”.

©John Battle MP 13 October 2005

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