JUNK food advertising aimed at children should be outlawed by the EU to tackle spiraling levels of childhood obesity and food poverty, London Euro-MP Jean Lambert said today.
Calling on fellow MEPs to demand a junk food advertising ban, the London MEP said: "Advertising of junk food is not generally designed to impart information but to encourage unhealthy choices based on the lack of it.
"We have a specific responsibility towards children. They don't have free choice and they don't have the necessary information or understanding to make informed choices either."
"There is a strong link between poverty and obesity - and we need a food revolution to confront poverty, corporate control of food choices and the global trade of produce if we are to break this link," said Mrs Lambert, speaking after a House of Commons select committee warned of an obesity time-bomb.
"A first step must be to ban junk food advertising - we have seen the public health benefits of banning tobacco advertising and governments must now have the courage to take the same approach with unhealthy food, at least where children are concerned."
Mrs
Lambert added: "We mustn't blame obesity on the victims, especially children,
or concentrate on weight and body shape to the exclusion of fitness and health.
The responsibility for tackling obesity and poor diet extends to the food industry
and those with the power to curb its excesses
in government at all levels.
Promoting health isn't nanny state-ism - it's central to what government should
be all about.
"It's all very well talking about freedom of choice the poorest but families don't have a real choice - and the Government needs to take action that promotes access to healthy foods for all."
Mrs Lambert's comments came in the context of her campaign to incite a 'Food Revolution' for better quality, more fairly produced, sustainable, food, adopted by the Greens across Europe last month in Brussels.
The Green Group's campaign centres
on the message that food is a political issue and that the Greens across Europe
will offer an integrated approach to combining opposition to GM and factory farming
together with the promotion of organic agriculture, local production, fair trade
and animal
rights.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
For more information
on the Greens' 'Food Revolution' Campaign, visit www.eat-better.org
Pictures of Mrs Lambert at the 'Food Revolution' launch are available on request
For more information please contact Katy on 020 7407 6280, 07973
823358 or
at press@greenmeps.org.uk