London 2012 Olympics commit to using only 'demonstrably sustainable' fish

In December 2009, the London Organising Committee of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) launched its London 2012 Food Vision. This outlines plans to offer a wide range of food for visitors, athletes, journalists, staff, volunteers and dignitaries attending the Games from all over the world. A total of 14 million meals will be served during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, across 40 locations.

Included in the London 2012 Food Vision is the commitment that all fish served will be "demonstrably sustainable", the first such commitment by a leading international sporting event. The Food Vision aims to set new standards for catering at UK events, leaving a positive legacy for the future.

London 2012 Chief Executive Paul Deighton said: 'We want to ensure everyone at the Games has a fantastic experience and key to that is the food and drink that’s available – we want it to be affordable, sustainable and celebrating the fantastic diversity and quality of what Britain has to offer. We also want to ensure that there is a great legacy for the catering industry in this country, ensuring it is even better equipped to provide quality, sustainable food and drink for events both large and small."

Many of the organisations that now back the Sustainable Fish City campaign [see 'about'] contributed to the LOCOG process by which this sustainable seafood commitment was achieved. Throughout 2009, LOCOG convened a Food Advisory Group to help draw up and consult on suitable sustainable food commitments for the largest peace-time catering operation in the world. Sustain, which now coordinates the Sustainable Fish City campaign, sits on the LOCOG Food Advisory Group and chaired the sustainable seafood working group. Sustain consulted with over 50 industry, conservation and government specialists on seafood and marine conservation issues, and drew up recommendations for robust and sustainability standards for fish served at the Games. These now form part of the mandatory commitments in the London 2012 Food Vision.

Following that process, the environment and fish conservation groups that had been involved in the LOCOG process continued to meet independently, and drew up plans for the Sustainable Fish City campaign launched in January 2011. Our aim is to transform the way fish is bought and sold in the UK by harnessing and coordinating the huge buying power of public and private sector caterers, universities, tourist attractions, venues, employers and other organisations.

Read the London 2012 Food Vision at: http://www.london2012.com/documents/locog-publications/food-vision.pdf (see page 18 for the fish / seafood commitment)

Read the accompanying update to the LOCOG Sustainable Sourcing Code at: http://www.london2012.com/documents/locog-publications/sustainable-sourcing-code.pdf (contains commitments to exclude endangered species, including fish)

Read the recommendations of the LOCOG Food Advisory Group fish working group - download here [450kb PDF].

The London 2012 Food Vision also contains commitments that dairy products, beef, lamb and poultry must be raised to British standards of production, with free range eggs, and a proportion of chicken and pork raised to higher standard of animal welfare. In addition, bananas, tea, coffee and sugar will be Fairtrade certified, and free drinking water will be available at all venues. See statements from a range of organisations following the launch of the London 2012 Food Vision at: https://www.sustainweb.org/olympicfood/