Greens call for ban on junk food ads
Tuesday, 13 April 2004 22:11
The Green Party hosted an international conference in Dublin today at which a call was made to ban television advertisements for junk food in Ireland and across Europe.
The party said such a ban would help to protect children from the risks of obesity.
The Greens also said an EU ban was necessary because an Irish ban would not cover advertising on foreign-based stations which broadcast in Ireland.
The president of the European Greens, Dany Cohn-Bendit, attended the event at Dublin Castle to present the Join the Food Revolution campaign.
The Europe-wide campaign aims to tackle the causes of food scares such as BSE, salmonella and toxic residues in farmed salmon, as well as looking at ways to reduce obesity levels.
The Irish Government was expected to come under some criticism over its stance on genetically modified food.
A decision on whether to allow the sale of GM food in the EU - in the form of tinned sweetcorn - is due to come before EU agriculture ministers later this month.
Ireland is one of six EU countries who have voted in favour of lifting the ban but the Greens say the Taoiseach has denied that any decision has been made on the issue.
