Healthy Food, Fresh Air On The Menu

First Minister Rhodri Morgan is visiting Pembrokeshire this week to support a Welsh Assembly Government drive to ensure that people in Wales have a choice of food that is healthy, affordable and sustainably produced.

The Welsh Assembly Government launched the Welsh Food Debate - the first and biggest consultation of its kind in any of the four UK home countries - on September 25 to give the public a chance to help shape the way food is produced, supplied, promoted and eaten in Wales.

The First Minister began his visits at Bethesda Fresh Farm Meats, a small family farm business near Narberth, which rears and produces its own meat and meat products. The farm also has an on-site shop, which sells its own produce as well as many other locally sourced foods.

He then visited Pembroke Leisure Centre to see the range of healthy activities that children are taking part in over half term - along with the Welsh Assembly Government's free swimming scheme, activities on offer include a healthy eating cooking display and fun activity sessions.

The First Minister then visited Saundersfoot harbour to see how a Welsh Assembly Government funded project is helping to develop a new method of harvesting razor clams in a sustainable way. Global demand for this type of fish is increasing and it could bring a big financial boost to the Welsh economy.

Rhodri Morgan said: 'We want to make it possible for everybody in Wales to be able to eat food that is healthy, affordable and produced in a sustainable way. I know from my own experience that the quality of food we eat and the nutrition it contains has a direct impact on our overall levels of health. I'm pleased to see, at first hand, examples of the kind of projects that will have an impact on the way we produce and consume food, as well as how young people are being encouraged to eat healthy, balanced diet and take regular physical activity - all of which should have an impact on our health, for the better. The First Minister finished his visits to Pembrokeshire with a walk along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path between Saundersfoot and Waterwynch, accompanied by Tim Jones, the local Pembrokeshire National Park ranger and other representatives of the Pembrokeshire National Park Authority."