Green Makerfield candidate claims 'colonial' farming driving up cancer rates

The Green Party's candidate for the upcoming Makerfield by-election suggested farming across former British colonies was driving up cancer rates.

Sarah Wakefield blamed an increase in bowel cancer and childhood obesity rates on "inequality in the food system".

The Manchester City Councillor and Executive Director of Eating Better previously suggested an unequal food system was contributing to poorer diets and higher cancer rates around the world.

While she did not clarify how, she blamed Britain’s high consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF) on big corporations taking advantage of farmers in former colonies.

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She told the BBC: "Decolonisation basically means that we’re listening to marginalised voices in debates on things like food. Let me tell you, there’s nothing like the food system that needs people from marginalised backgrounds to be heard.

"Whether it’s farmers from the Global South who produce our bananas, our cocoa, our coffee who are at the mercy of markets, whether it’s us eating food every day, 60 per cent of what we eat is ultra-processed, produced by big multinational companies.

"Rates of bowel cancer, childhood obesity, are all going up because of inequality in the food system.

"Whether it’s farmers in Kent who cannot get water to their vegetables because abstraction licences are going to housing and planning. Those are the big issues of inequality in the food system."

A Green Party spokesman told The Telegraph their candidate was "making the point that fairer distribution and better access to healthy food is good for people’s health".

A party source also pointed to the World Health Organization's classification of processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is "concerning evidence" that it causes cancer.

Research has shown that UPFs are linked to poor health but there is debate over the scale of the effect, and whether it is processing itself or the fact many UPFs are high in fat, sugar and salt that is to blame.

Examples of UPFs include ice cream, processed meats, crisps, mass-produced bread, some breakfast cereals, biscuits, many ready meals and fizzy drinks.

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In the new study, some 132 members of the public were asked in depth about their thoughts on UPFs and where research should focus its attention.

In the UK, 56 per cent of calories on average come from UPFs, rising to 68 per cent in teenagers.

These figures are higher than in comparable European countries such as France (14 per cent) and Italy (13 per cent).

The report said: “Many participants supported immediate action on UPFs in relation to their most serious concerns, especially child health and non-communicable diseases, rather than waiting for complete evidence, fearing inaction will harm future generations."

Back in Makerfield, Labour has published a list of questions it would like Reform UK’s candidate in the constituency to answer, including on his stance towards Brexit, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and abortion.

Anna Turley, the Labour Party’s chairwoman, accused Robert Kenyon of being in "hiding" and said his party was "mired in scandal".

But a Reform source claimed that many of the questions levelled at Mr Kenyon had already been answered.

"We fully back Councillor Kenyon and are confident that he will be a fantastic MP for Makerfield," a Reform spokesman said.

Several of Mr Kenyon’s past social media comments have emerged over recent days, published in several newspapers.

The Guardian reported the Reform candidate appeared to have used a now-deleted X account to cast doubt on the efficacy of a vaccine.

According to The Times, Mr Kenyon wrote on the website formerly known as Twitter that "all the [sic] Brexit means is we’ve shot our economy in the foot for the short term".

He added campaigners who supported leaving the European Union peddled "nationalistic pish".

Ms Turley said: "It’s high time Robert Kenyon came out of hiding and answered these questions.

"How (Reform UK leader) Nigel Farage thinks Kenyon is fit to be an MP will come as a real surprise to voters given the enormous amount of appalling positions, deeply offensive comments, and downright denial we’ve seen from Kenyon and Reform this week.

"While Reform are mired in scandal and refuse to answer basic questions, Labour’s Andy Burnham is firmly focused on bringing communities together and delivering for Makerfield."

But Reform’s spokesman said Mr Burnham, a former Cabinet minister, was using the by-election as part of a Labour leadership bid.

"This by-election is a straight fight between our local Reform candidate and Labour’s parachuted mayor who only wants to use the people of Makerfield as a stepping stone into No 10," they said.

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