Part of Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 10 September 2025.
Murdo Fraser
Conservative
I congratulate the Minister on his track record in producing healthy red meat on Scottish farms, but he will be familiar with the concern that Scottish farmers and food producers have expressed about the growth of meat-free days—for example, on school menus—and about the substitution of meat with heavily processed meat substitutes, instead of healthy, home-produced Scottish meat products.
In the area that the minister and I both represent, a group called ProVeg International is actively involved in designing school menus to reduce the availability of meat. Does the minister agree that we should support choice when it comes to menus in schools and elsewhere and that, just as there should always be vegetarian and vegan options for those who want to choose them, there should also be the option of healthy, home-produced meat for those who wish to choose it?
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