City, restaurants sign healthy lifestyle pledge

The campaign saw 24 Joburg restaurants, such as Wimpy, Chaf Pozi and Ocean Basket sign a pledge to offer healthier alternatives on their menus.

A keynote speaker at the event, Executive Mayor for the City of Johannesburg, Parks Tau, explained the importance of adopting healthier lifestyle options.

“The goal of introducing such initiatives in the city is to confront the occurrence and increase of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, within our communities and amongst our residents,” he said.

Tau explained that such diseases are harder to combat and deal with because to confront them would mean dictating to people what they should or should not eat.

He also stressed that lifestyle diseases are not just another person’s problems as they ‘can affect anyone of us, our own families and as such should be taken seriously’.

He thanked restaurants for pledging to offer healthier options, commending them for collaborating with the City to make a difference and for their far-reaching thinking.

Also present at the signing of the pledge was Wandile Zwane, executive head Social Development Department, who provided an overview of the pledge, saying it targeted all places of eating in the city. He said working with them was an effort to offer healthier alternatives for customers.

He also explained that the City would be working with the South African chef’s association to provide minimum standards for these options.

Speaking on behalf of the chef’s association was James Khoza, a chef himself, who encouraged restaurant owners to consider their customers when preparing food.

“It’s not about what you cook inasmuch as it is about what you’re putting out there for your customers. Essentially it is about respecting the product,” Khoza emphasised.

The nutrition pledge took place on 22 April at the Sandton library and concluded with a signing of the pledge by the mayor and the various restaurants.

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