Plant-based Diet

Baroness Walmsley Excerpts

Tuesday 28th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Katz (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness, but I point out that the UK’s dietary guidelines, as depicted in the Eatwell Guide, to which I referred in my Answer, already recommend a diet that is based predominantly on plant foods. Analysis has shown that adherence to that guide does indeed improve both health and environmental outcomes. We are clear that we have to promote healthy eating messages based on that guide. We are working with the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition both to improve robust assessments of the evidence that we receive and to make sure that we work with our farming industry to produce environmentally sustainable food that we can rely on as a country and export.

[Baroness Walmsley (LD)]

My Lords, I chaired your Lordships’ inquiry into food, diet and obesity. We recommended that the school food standards, which are 10 years old, should be updated in the light of the latest dietary advice. The Department for Education agreed to that, and this is under way. Can the Minister tell us when the updated standards will be published? Can he say how many food industry representatives are on the advisory committee, and how many farmers? Will the new standards mandate a more plant-rich menu for schools? How will they be funded, monitored and enforced?

[Lord Katz (Lab)]

I am sure that I could fill up the whole of Question Time trying to address all those questions. I thank the noble Baroness for her interest and for the work that she undertook with the committee. Many of the recommendations from that report are being taken forward through the Government’s 10-year health plan. The plan has set out action to tackle the obesity crisis with a broad policy package aimed at improving food environments and ensuring better access for everyone. As regards the school food standards, we are working on this—coming up with standards to define the food and drinks that must be provided to schools and which must be restricted. We are looking particularly at foods that are high in saturated fat, salt and sugar.

I think it is important to respond to the point raised by the noble Baroness concerning the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition. Members of that committee have a duty to act in the public interest, in accordance with the Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees, and to be independent and professionally impartial. The committee’s code of practice has been updated recently. Individuals are now eligible to be members only if they do not hold significant interests in relation to the food, drink, diet or supplement industries. So we can be assured that they are acting on impartial and independent grounds when they provide the Government with advice.