Jamie Oliver wants Australia’s help. The celebrity chef chose Sydney to launch his latest project over the weekend – which he is calling a food revolution. By the end of this year, he wants two million signatures from Australians and a commitment from our government to support his global plan to put food education on every school curriculum.
It’s an ambitious ask, but with the help of social media and Australia’s Business Chicks community, Oliver believes it can be done.
“It’s not a ‘Like’, it’s a petition,” he told a roomful of 800 women and some Business Blokes in Sydney this morning. “It’s got to be a loud thunderclap… and your (Aussie) spirit has the capacity to smash it.”
The petition has so far garnered more than 160 thousand likes in just over 26 hours. Oliver wants millions around the world to sign it and create a social movement he believes will force change. So far, Oliver has convinced six countries of the need to educate school children about nutrition, and hopes to persuade all G20 countries to take action and do something about the obesity epidemic in the developed world.
“Let’s fix it. We’re not talking about putting people on the moon…. I want law to be changed in Australia by the end of the year, and I will be pissed off if that doesn’t happen.”
On Oliver’s website he states 42 million children under the age of five are overweight or obese. If this continues, Oliver claims the next generation is at risk of living shorter lives than their parents.
“I’m not preaching this because I’m a foodie,” he said this morning. “The fact is the biggest killer in this country is diet related disease.”
Apart from the risk to health, Oliver says childrens’ learning capacity is limited when they haven’t eaten properly. He believes teachers will be instrumental in pushing for basic nutrition to be included on the school curriculum because they’re passionate about creating a better society for the next generation.
Oliver is also a strong advocate for women and believer in the change they can manifest. A husband to Jools for two decades, father to three daughters and a man who mainly hires women, Oliver says “I have done what I have done over the last 20 years because I have mainly hired women.”
As well as the call for public support, Oliver has some powerful friends. He’s been working with Australian cook Stephanie Alexander’s Healthy Schools Program here in Australia, and plans to release a free song promoting his Food Revolution Day, which will celebrate its third anniversary on May 15. So far, Oliver has convinced Sir Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Paloma Faith to contribute to the song, which he hopes will go viral and help the cause.
Where Oliver does want financial help is from governments. He believes taxing sugary drinks and other junk food won’t necessarily impact sales of those products but could have a major impact on education.
And also because, as he so eloquently put it this morning, “If kids are on Gatorade and Redbull, they’re really fucking hard to teach.”