8 2GM Saturday June 11 2022 | the times
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Britons should eat meat-like proteins
developed from algae, wild venison and
homegrown cucumbers cultivated in
carbon-neutral greenhouses, ministers
will recommend next week.
In a blueprint for a sustainable food
system, the government will pledge to
invest in technologies to develop plant-
based proteins that can replicate the
taste and texture of meat. The strategy
will also pledge to cut the UK’s reliance
on seasonal imports of fruit and vegeta-
bles by backing new factory greenhous-
es that can operate all year round.
It will suggest promoting wild veni-
son as a low-carbon substitute for beef
and lamb as less productive farmland is
rewilded. The strategy was produced in
response to a government-commis-
sioned report by Henry Dimbleby, the
founder of the Leon restaurant chain,
who called last year for a rethink of how
the country is fed.
Ministers have dropped many of his
proposals including a tax on sugar and
Horse play The Hawick Common Riding festival celebrates the capture of an English flag in 1514 and the ancient custom of riding the boundaries of common land
When love goes south
A man who “failed to pay a penny”
to his ex-wife will be out of
pocket after a case of divorce
tourism. Charles and Emma
Villiers’s marriage ended in
Scotland but she sued in the High
Court after moving to England.
In Scottish law inherited wealth is
not included in a division of assets.
The Court of Appeal has said she
can claim a share of his assets.Fraud fugitive is jailed
Britain’s most wanted woman has
begun an eight-year jail sentence
after spending almost nine years
on the run. Sarah Panitzke, 48,
was arrested by Guardia Civil
officers in the Catalan town of
Santa Barbara in February. She
was wanted for involvement in a
mobile-phone VAT fraud in
which she and her accomplices
laundered up to £1 billion.More motoring misery
The diesel price passed £2 a litre
in parts of the UK yesterday for
the first time, as the cost of
refuelling a typical diesel car rose
above £100. A litre of diesel cost
an average of 188.8p, a rise of 3.6p
since the start of the week, the
RAC said. At motorway services
the average cost increased to
200.9p. A VW Golf with a 55-litre
tank costs £100.27 for a full tank
of petrol and £103.43 for diesel,
while a Mercedes E Class costs
£145.85 to fill with petrol and
£150.44 with diesel.ACCCDEE E
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Solutions MindGames in Times
Cryptic clues page 53 of ReviewCHRIS STRICKLANDSave the planet by tucking into
algae proteins and wild venison
salt to deter shoppers from buying un-
healthy processed foods, a tax on meat
to reduce carbon emissions and an ex-
pansion of free school meals.
Other recommendations, such as
prescriptions of fruit and vegetables by
GPs, have been delayed until the publi-
cation of a health disparities white
paper, due in a few months.
However, some elements remain, in-
cluding prioritising the production of
meat alternatives, a programme to
teach children in school how to cook
and plans to force schools, hospitals and
other public sector bodies to buy at least
50 per cent of their produce locally.
A promised “land use framework”
could result in the rewilding of unpro-
ductive farmland after Dimbleby rec-
ommended turning over a third of Brit-
ain’s land to nature. The strategy also
commits the government to a stricter
food labelling regime, covering not on-
ly nutritional content but also environ-
mental and animal welfare claims.
Much of the focus is on agriculture
and food security in the wake of the cri-sis in Ukraine and the UK’s pledge to
become carbon-neutral by 2050. The
report states that the UK produces
60 per cent by value of the food eaten
domestically. But about 57 per cent of
the UK’s agricultural output comes
from just 33 per cent of the farmed land
area. The report says it should be poss-
ible to rewild the least productive land.
The strategy commits the govern-
ment to investing £130 million in the
alternative protein sector using edible
algae and fermented protein. Scientists
want to develop lab-grown meat.
The investment has been welcomed
by the Alternative Proteins Associa-
tion, which said the approach could
drive exports in the long term. “With
the right support, alternative proteins
will create thousands of jobs,” said Lord
Sarfraz, the government’s trade envoy
to Singapore, who sits on the advisory
board of the association.
The strategy commits the govern-
ment to reduce CO 2 emissions from
livestock farming by using feed addi-
tives to cut animal methane emissions.Oliver Wright, Chris Smyth Sustainable food strategy
6 Pledge to invest £130 million in
new technologies to develop plant-
based proteins that can replicate the
taste and texture of meat. Ministers
want to use post-Brexit regulatory
freedom to make the UK a world
leader in the technology.6 Ease planning constraints to
encourage the development of
factory greenhouses that can
produce food all year round.6 Commitment to stricter food
labelling, covering environmental
and animal welfare claims.6 A programme to teach children
how to cook at least six basic
recipes in school and plans to force
schools, hospitals and other public
sector bodies to buy at least 50 per
cent of their produce locally.Socialist Eton’s downfall
A school once called the socialist
Eton has been rated inadequate
by Ofsted, which highlighted its
turbulent leadership and serious
behaviour incidents. Inspectors
said the leadership of Holland
Park School in west London was
unfit for purpose. In 2020 Ofsted
had complimented its leadership,
standards and the high number of
GCSEs passed by pupils.Government advice on free sanitary
products in schools repeatedly referred
to “students who menstruate” rather
than to “girls”.
A document on the Department for
Education (DfE) website detailed how
providing menstrual products to girls
did not disadvantage anyone under the
Equality Act. Its wording angered
women’s campaigners, however, who
Advice turns schoolgirls into ‘pupils who menstruate’
have warned of the dangers of alienat-
ing women and girls by using more
inclusive gender-neutral language.
The seven-page 2020 memo told of
“students who menstruate”, “young
people menstruating” and “learners
who menstruate”. There was one men-
tion of “girls” and one of “women”, both
in the footnotes, and two of “female”.
The wording was changed last night
after The Times brought it to the
attention of education chiefs. Sourcessaid ministers had not been involved
in writing it. A DfE spokesman said:
“The wording is being amended and we
are urgently reviewing all of our pages
to that effect.”
Helen Joyce, of the advocacy group
Sex Matters, said: “Replacing those or-
dinary words with ludicrous expres-
sions... reduces girls to their bodily
functions and increases the stigma
around menstruation, making it even
harder for them to navigate puberty.”This week it emerged that the main
NHS webpages on ovarian, womb and
cervical cancers — suffered only by
people born with female biology — no
longer refer to women. England’s NHS
website previously said ovarian cancer
was a common cancer “in women”.
Now it says: “Anyone with ovaries can
get ovarian cancer but it mostly affects
those over 50.” It was claimed that NHS
Digital had not consulted the govern-
ment before making the changes.James Beal Social Affairs Editor
Drama school racism
The first black actor to take the
role of Hamlet for the Royal
Shakespeare Company suffered
“appalling racism” while at the
Guildhall School of Music and
Drama. Paapa Essiedu, 32, told
The Guardian a teacher had
yelled “Hey you, [N-word]” in an
improvisation. The school has
apologised for the “appalling and
unacceptable” experience.