Closed petition Ban processed meat from nursery and school menus in England

Closed on 15 September 2023

Ban processed meat from all nursery and school menus across England to help reduce overall consumption of processed meat in line with recommendations, and reduce health inequalities. "Processed meat refers to meat that has been preserved by smoking, curing, salting or adding preservatives" (NHS.uk).

There is growing evidence that too much processed meat can increase risk of certain illnesses, including bowel cancer (WCRF). Processed meat is also high in salt which we are trying to reduce in diets nationally. Processed meat is cheaper and is being consumed more with limited budgets (Kantar). If we banned processed meat from nursery and school menus, children who still eat processed meat at home would have less of it in total. This ban would help reduce health inequalities and risk.