Oxfordshire County Council defends 'non-local food' at vegan lunch

Council leader Liz Leffman (left) and Jeremy Clarkson (right) have opposing views when it comes to vegan-only food

A council leader has defended the presence of non-local food at the authority's first vegan lunch.

Oxfordshire County Council recently adopted a policy to serve only plant-based meals at events in order to tackle climate change.

But in pictures shared on social media, tropical fruit could be seen amid the buffet laid out for 50 people.

Leader Liz Leffman said she was satisfied with the choices made, which were bought from local greengrocers.

Farmers, including Jeremy Clarkson who runs a farm in Chadlington, had opposed the switch to vegan meals, with the former Top Gear presenter calling it "utter madness".

Green councillor Ian Middleton, who proposed the change, said the food had been "very enthusiastically received".

He tweeted a picture of the buffet at Tuesday's day-long council meeting, calling it an "absolute triumph".

He said some described it as the "best food that has ever been provided by the council".

But some criticised the inclusion of kiwi fruit, pineapples, and mangos.

"The farmers of Oxfordshire are obviously growing far more exotic fruit than I thought," someone tweeted in reply.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Leffman said the food was provided from a business in nearby Woodstock.

She said: "Of course we don't grow fruit in this country at this time of year, so if you're going to eat fruit it is going to have to come from somewhere else.

"But I can tell you that the Woodstock grocers source all their vegetables locally from farmers around Oxford and in the Cotswolds."

She added: "We all need fruit in our diets, but in any case what I'm particularly pleased about is that we've found some really good local suppliers and I have to say they did us proud."

She said the council would aim to make future meals more carbon friendly where possible.