Skip to main content

News

Jamie Oliver to be 'pain in the arse' if childhood obesity strategy is 'rubbish'

14 Jun 2016
Jamie Oliver has urged David Cameron to focus on the long-awaited childhood obesity strategy once the EU referendum is over.

Speaking at the EAT Food Forum in Stockholm, the chef and campaigner said: “After the EU referendum, Mr Cameron's next big job is the childhood obesity strategy. If he does a good job then I'm happy to be his mate but if it's rubbish then I'll be a pain in his arse for the remaining years of his government.”

In front of an audience of leaders from the fields of science, business, politics and civil society, Oliver argued that healthy, environmentally sustainable food is the key to tackling childhood obesity and malnutrition across the world.

He is also, in partnership with the EAT Foundation, set  to launch a new Global Chef’s Newtwork to encourage his colleagues in the industry to take more responsibility for the ingredients they use and the food they prepare.

He said: “Around my 40th birthday I started to get tired and realised that I've been guilty of not thinking big enough. Collaborating with the people in this room is essential...it's about working together to piss off the right people.”

Also launching at the EAT Forum is the 2016 Global Nutrition Report which marks an annual stock-stake of the state of the world’s nutrition. The Report aims to make it easier for governments and other stakeholders to actually make high impact commitments to end malnutrition in all its forms.

Oliver concluded: “Currently 41 million children under the age of five are overweight, while another 159 million are too undernourished to grow properly. We’re in the middle of a global health crisis and we urgently need a food revolution so we can reverse the tide.

“I believe that every person on the planet should be able to access, understand and consume nutritious, delicious food, every day.”