Health campaigners want produce promotion

Children’s health campaigners have said they would like to see fresh produce given more promotion and have written to health secretary Andrew Lansley raising their concerns that recent government statements signify plans for policies which will seriously compromise children’s diet-related health and wellbeing.

The letter, signed by 30 organisations, including the Faculty of Public health, National Union of Teachers, Royal College of Physicians, and the Children’s Food Campaign, expresses concern at plans to hand the Change4Life anti-obesity campaign over to corporate partners such as Nestlé. Jackie Schneider of the Children’s Food Campaign said: “We would like to see fresh produce promoted not in a hectoring, lecturing way, but it a way such that it provokes people to want to eat fresh fruit and vegetables.”