The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, yesterday promised a greener and more healthy capital by imposing prohibitively high charges on polluting lorries and improving access to more local and organic food.Calling it the the most radical overhaul of Londoners' diet and health since the establishment of the welfare state, Mr Livingstone said he wanted his food strategy for London to become a blueprint for other cities around Britain and the world, just as the congestion charge had done. Addressing the Soil Association's conference on food and farming he said: "The energy and emissions involved in producing food account for 22% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. "I want London to set a standard for other cities around the world to follow in reducing its own contribution to climate change. How we deal with food will play an important role in this."
His food strategy for London included:
· Cutting food miles with the help of "prohibitively high" charges for polluting lorries. By 2008 he hopes to introduce a low emission zone in London with very high charges for vehicles producing high greenhouse gas emissions, and punitive fines for those failing to pay;
· Encouraging schools and hospitals to buy more local and organic food. Five London NHS hospitals are experimenting with sustainable procurement. "The power of public procurement will be used to transform food markets and drive sustainability," he said;
· Using planning policies to end food deserts in poor areas, such as Hackney, where there are whole wards "where you cannot buy a single piece of fresh food". Death rates from heart disease are twice as high in the east end of London as in the west. Improving food access was vital to tackling "health inequalities", he added.
Overall, the mayor said he was setting a target to cut London's greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050. He predicted a fight over the low emission zones.
On Thursday evening, Conservative leader David Cameron chose the organic farmers' conference in London to declare himself in favour of organic production, and to identify himself with consumers' concerns over GM foods anddiet.
He added sustainable food and farming to his blitz on key policy areas in speeches this week. Establishing his credentials by saying he had won prizes for his home-grown organic vegetables in his local village competition this year, Mr Cameron went on to identify with consumers' worries about "what we eat, how it's grown and what it does to our children".
He also promised that his party would look at food in a "holistic way", rather than thinking about farming, health and the environment in separate boxes as in the past.
