Gordon Ramsay's licensing laws idea for seasonal fruit and veg 'utterly ludicrous' » Environment » 24dash.com

Chef Gordon Ramsay has called for legislation to ban restaurants from selling fruit and vegetables which are out of season.

Hefty fines should be given to eateries which flout the rule, he said in an interview broadcast today.

"There should be stringent laws - licensing laws - to make sure produce is only used in season," he told Radio 5 Live.

"The quicker we get legislation pushed through the Houses of Parliament, the more unique this country will become in terms of its sourcing and level of inspiration.

"Fruit and veg should be seasonal. Chefs should be fined if they haven't got ingredients in season on the menu."

Ramsay said he wanted to see home-grown produce on menus, not asparagus in December or Kenyan stawberries in March.

"When we haven't got it, take it off the menu," he said.

"Understanding these seasonal aspects makes it 10 times more exciting for punters."

Ramsay said he felt "really concerned" about the subject but admitted he "didn't touch on it too much" when he spoke to Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently.

Responding to Ramsay’s suggestion, Mark Littlewood, communications director of liberal think-tank Progressive Vision, said: “The idea that law enforcement officers should ensure that the right type of strawberries are sold at the appropriate time of year is utterly ludicrous.

"Chefs should be entitled to serve whatever produce they want, whenever they want. It’s up to individuals – not Gordon Ramsay and Gordon Brown – to decide which restaurants are worthy of their custom.

“Gordon Ramsay’s apparent concern for the environment smacks of hypocrisy. This is a man who enjoys driving Aston Martins, Ferraris, Bentleys, BMWs and Range Rovers.

"If he is so determined to cut carbon emissions, he should start by getting rid of his luxury cars rather than by lecturing the rest of us about when and where we can eat asparagus.”

The Soil Association's Food for Life Partnership director Emma Noble said: "Gordon Ramsay is right that seasonal menus are a key step in cutting the environmental impact of our food.

"Hundreds of schools and their caterers are serving up seasonal, local and organic fruit and vegetables daily as part of the Soil Association-led Food for Life Partnership. If schools can do it, chefs and restaurants should do it too."

Michelle Di Leo, director of FlyingMatters, a coalition of farmers in the developing world, business, trade unions, tourism bodies and the aviation industry, said: "Gordon Ramsay currently has bananas, pineapples and mango on the menus of his UK restaurants, none of which could have been grown in the UK but are all likely to have come from farmers in the developing world.

"Mr Ramsay would have more credibility if he celebrated this fact rather than telling others they should give them up."

Oxfam's head of research, Duncan Green, said: "I'm sure the million farmers in East Africa who rely on exporting their goods to scrape a living would see Gordon Ramsay's assertions as a recipe for disaster.

"He, like all of us, wants to tackle climate change, but it is vital that we ensure that poor people who are already hit hardest by climate change are not made to suffer even further.

"There are far more effective ways to tackle climate change. For example, if everyone in the UK switched one 100W light bulb for a low-energy one, UK emissions could be cut by almost five times as much as would be saved by not purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables from Africa.

"It is unfair that a Kenyan farmer, who emits as much carbon in a year as a person in the UK does in 10 days, should pay the price.

"It's really positive that Gordon has engaged in this debate and we hope to talk to him next week to discuss this further."