Food and Drink

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 1 September 2021.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Ariane Burgess Ariane Burgess Green

As other members have said, food poverty is a pressing issue in Scotland. Like other human rights, the right to food is already protected under international law, but we need only consider the unacceptable levels of food insecurity in Scotland to know that that protection is not happening on the ground. Of course, that is, first and foremost, a legacy of Tory austerity, but there are things that we can do in Scotland.

Enshrining a right to food has been a long-standing priority of the Scottish Greens. That is why we used budget negotiations in the previous session to secure the extension of free school meals, and it is why a right to food is part of the co-operation agreement between us and the Scottish Government in this session. That will form part of a human rights bill. It is about more than just a right to food, however. We need to act.

For one reason or another, as we have heard, the good food nation bill was waylaid in the previous session, and we have been clear that it will be progressed. It will underpin on a statutory basis the work that is already being done across the Scottish Government to support the good food nation policy. As we head into food and drink fortnight, we must acknowledge the food insecurity that persists in Scotland, and which has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

However, tackling that is about more than providing the right to basic sustenance for our citizens. Food must mean more to us than a means to survival if we are truly to build a wellbeing economy. Food is at the heart of our daily life and our culture. It is the focal point of occasions—community gatherings, festivals and celebrations. [

Interruption

.] No. I will not take an intervention; I will keep going.

Today, by celebrating the people who produce and procure our food and drink, and who play a vital role in our lives, we must also acknowledge the challenges that they face. It has been a torrid time for food producers in Scotland. The reckless Tory Brexit stripped away a vital EU workforce and threatened the standards of our food for deregulated trade deals, and there are now serious disruptions in the supply chain.

We saw in the first part of the pandemic that people stocked up to ensure that they could feed themselves and their families. Supermarkets benefited from that surge in demand, but that was not necessarily reflected down the supply chain, which led to shortages. Now, there is a different reason for shortages. As well as the loss of lorry drivers, many food producers do not have the labour to harvest what they have grown or raised. We heard earlier from Jim Fairlie the heartbreaking story of 2.5 million heads of broccoli having to be thrown away due to the lack of a labour force for harvest. In addition, shellfish have been left to rot on the quayside because producers face export challenges.

However, Brexit is not the only threat to our food supply. Farmers are dealing with an increased number of extreme weather events because of the climate crisis, and are spending more to mitigate the effects of floods and droughts. It will therefore be increasingly important for food producers to have a direct relationship with their local communities. Over the summer, I met food producers and providers across my region, from beef farmers in Orkney to oyster farmers in Na h-Eileanan an Iar, and from Highland market gardeners growing vegetables for hundreds of families to a community food-growing and kitchen project in Argyll, feeding anyone who needs a meal.

It is clear to me that food is a central part of our communities and that they must have access to and involvement with that food resource. Eating well and being able to nourish ourselves and each other should be a right. Food in Scotland has returned to being a point of pride and pleasure, and we are fortunate to have a multitude of producers who care about the food that they make. In the face of our climate and nature emergencies, the right to food that is adequate, available and accessible is going to become even more pressing. [

Interruption

.] I am sorry, but I am going to keep going. That has made me lose my place.

In the face of cruel policies from the UK Government and the focus on stigmatising those who cannot afford to eat well and enjoy their food, Scotland’s place as a good food nation has never been more important.

We can learn from our communities. During the pandemic, we saw local producers rise to the challenge of feeding their local communities, and people started to make local connections for procurement. We have the opportunity to take that further by redesigning our food systems so that people can access locally produced food.

Food is at the heart of so much of our lives, and we must eat to live. We have started to understand that access to good food will support us with good health and mental wellbeing. The co-operation agreement that we have struck with the Government recognises that producing high-quality food goes hand in hand with tackling both poverty and the climate emergency.

Scotland can be a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture, Scotland can have a diverse pattern of land ownership and tenure that supports that, and Scotland can be a good food nation in which no one needs to go hungry.