Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 15 December 2016
15 Dec 2016 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Food Waste
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests—I am a farmer.
I am pleased that the Scottish Government lodged the important motion that we are debating today. Food waste is a huge problem. It is estimated that a third of all the food that is produced across the world is wasted or spoiled. When millions are starving, that is an international scandal.
Food is wasted at every stage of production—in the fields, in store, during processing, by retailers and in the home. Wasted food is a huge waste of energy, fertiliser and water, and it contributes to climate change as it decomposes and emits greenhouse gases. Here in Scotland, food waste affects household incomes; the average family throws away hundreds of pounds-worth of food every year.
In our house, if food looks okay and smells okay, it probably is okay and I will gladly eat it. That has been my guide for years—and just look what a fine figure of a man I am. [Laughter.] That said, I am not suggesting that we should totally ignore things like best before and sell-by dates.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Christine Grahame)
SNP
The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-03102, in the name of Roseanna Cunningham, on delivering Scotland’s food waste target. In the open debate...
The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (Roseanna Cunningham)
SNP
I am pleased to open the debate, which has been shrinking as the weeks have gone by. I notice that it is now even shorter than it was intended to be. However...
Peter Chapman (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests—I am a farmer. I am pleased that the Scottish Government lodged the important motion that ...
David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
Will the member take an intervention?
Peter Chapman
Con
I do not have time—sorry. A little common sense would help us to stop good food being thrown in the bin. I am sure that the whole chamber would agree that t...
Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Scottish Labour is positive about supporting the Scottish Government motion and the Tory amendment. Given that the cabinet secretary suggested that there was...
Maurice Golden (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
When Claudia Beamish talks about the recycling of food waste, does she include composting, in-vessel composting and anaerobic digestion? In other words, does...
Claudia Beamish
Lab
I thank the member for that intervention, and I am happy to clarify that that is indeed our position. I see that the cabinet secretary now wants to intervene.
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
You will get your time back, Ms Beamish.
Roseanna Cunningham
SNP
I am curious to know what advice was taken when Labour drafted its amendment, because I have had direct advice from Zero Waste Scotland that Labour’s proposa...
Claudia Beamish
Lab
I have looked, along with colleagues, at the range of options that exist. I have said that it is a proposed target, which would be open to discussion. That i...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I ask the member to wind up, as I have given her an extra minute.
Claudia Beamish
Lab
It demonstrates the huge impact that would be lost if that fruit was left to rot on the ground. I ask the cabinet secretary to consider further support for c...
Gillian Martin (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP)
SNP
First, I inform members—as I believe we have to do on these occasions—that I am the parliamentary liaison officer to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, C...
Edward Mountain (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
There seems to be a fashion for making declarations at the moment. I am not going to declare that I am a farmer, because I do not farm rubbish and nor am I a...
Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East) (SNP)
SNP
I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in the debate. The topic may seem minor to most people out there in the context of day-to-day life, but food wa...
Elaine Smith (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
It is shocking that we have to discuss the problems of food waste at all, given that one in nine of the world’s population are starving and increasing number...
Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Green
I thank the Government for this short debate. I very much hope that this is just the start of the conversation on our food culture in this session of Parliam...
Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD)
LD
Given my performance during First Minister’s question time earlier, I should perhaps start by declaring an interest, in that I am guilty of creating food was...
Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP)
SNP
I am pleased to have the opportunity to make a brief contribution to the debate. We should celebrate the fact that Parliament is having a dedicated debate on...
Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Con
I am delighted to participate in this debate on delivering Scotland’s food waste target. The Scottish Government has pledged to cut food waste in Scotland b...
Mark Ruskell
Green
Does Finlay Carson recognise that that initiative has yet to report and that the early targets were extremely disappointing? The target was only 3 per cent i...
Finlay Carson
Con
There is no doubt that there is more to be done. The Government can encourage improved performance. I have no doubt that supermarkets and those associations ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Linda Fabiani)
SNP
You must close, please.
Finlay Carson
Con
Furthermore, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, the Co-Op and other supermarkets all have ambitious plans to cut the amount of food that is sent to landfil...
Graeme Dey (Angus South) (SNP)
SNP
First, I will reflect on a positive element of the subject, which others have already mentioned. Household food waste has decreased by an estimated 37,000 to...
David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
This has been an important and insightful debate with well-informed contributions from across the chamber. It is ironic that, as the festive season beckons, ...
David Stewart
Lab
I am very sorry about that. There were extremely good contributions from Gillian Martin and from Edward Mountain, who made the quotable point that he does n...
Maurice Golden (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests with regard to Zero Waste Scotland and to my being a Chartered Institution of Wastes Manage...
Roseanna Cunningham
SNP
The member is a geek.