Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 12 March 2013
12 Mar 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Food Policy
There are a number of important issues in that regard that will no doubt feature in others members’ speeches.
The hungry for success initiative, which was launched in 2003, heralded a revolution in school meals. A still hungry for success working group will meet this week to start to refresh the policy. All members will no doubt have the opportunity to put their views to that body.
The horsemeat scandal has made us all pause and think. In my view, provenance is the underlining factor. It is a matter of knowing where food comes from and taking assurance from high standards. Scotland’s high standards are internationally renowned, and there will be even more to work with in the future.
The year 2014 is just around the corner, and the eyes of the world will be on Scotland. The next homecoming, the Ryder cup and the Commonwealth games present fantastic opportunities for business. I have committed funding of £1 million to ensure that food and drink will be a key theme of homecoming 2014 and other events.
From international attention to community food networks, food is at the heart of our lives. We must understand more, challenge more and expect higher standards. There is much excitement and vibrancy among those who produce food in Scotland. Food producers have high standards and are justifiably proud of them. I urge all Scotland to back our food producers, and I urge consumers to ask more questions about their food. People who provide and sell food should source from shorter supply chains and promote high-quality local food.
There are challenges ahead. We will set up a new food council in summer to support our work over the coming years. However, there is much of which we should be proud. We are fuelling Scotland’s food revolution through education, grow your own and local food initiatives. Our £12.4 billion food and drink industry is a real Scottish strength, and we are supporting the industry like never before.
From global to local, Scottish provenance is known for quality and trustworthiness, and 2014 will capitalise on that. We should back the people who do it well—and that means backing Scotland. The horsemeat scandal has taught us the value of those words. Let us make Scotland a good food nation.
I commend the motion to Parliament, and I move,
That the Parliament welcomes the significant achievements of the national food and drink policy and looks to build on this progress through increasing the number of consumers at home and abroad who enjoy and celebrate Scotland’s famous larder, especially in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup and Homecoming in 2014; notes the growing interest in food and drink reflected in the many initiatives underway throughout the country that recognise the different ways that the sector impacts on society, and believes that there remains much untapped potential to promote the high standards of sourcing and provenance in Scotland’s £12.4 billion industry that makes an enormous contribution to Scotland.
14:31
The hungry for success initiative, which was launched in 2003, heralded a revolution in school meals. A still hungry for success working group will meet this week to start to refresh the policy. All members will no doubt have the opportunity to put their views to that body.
The horsemeat scandal has made us all pause and think. In my view, provenance is the underlining factor. It is a matter of knowing where food comes from and taking assurance from high standards. Scotland’s high standards are internationally renowned, and there will be even more to work with in the future.
The year 2014 is just around the corner, and the eyes of the world will be on Scotland. The next homecoming, the Ryder cup and the Commonwealth games present fantastic opportunities for business. I have committed funding of £1 million to ensure that food and drink will be a key theme of homecoming 2014 and other events.
From international attention to community food networks, food is at the heart of our lives. We must understand more, challenge more and expect higher standards. There is much excitement and vibrancy among those who produce food in Scotland. Food producers have high standards and are justifiably proud of them. I urge all Scotland to back our food producers, and I urge consumers to ask more questions about their food. People who provide and sell food should source from shorter supply chains and promote high-quality local food.
There are challenges ahead. We will set up a new food council in summer to support our work over the coming years. However, there is much of which we should be proud. We are fuelling Scotland’s food revolution through education, grow your own and local food initiatives. Our £12.4 billion food and drink industry is a real Scottish strength, and we are supporting the industry like never before.
From global to local, Scottish provenance is known for quality and trustworthiness, and 2014 will capitalise on that. We should back the people who do it well—and that means backing Scotland. The horsemeat scandal has taught us the value of those words. Let us make Scotland a good food nation.
I commend the motion to Parliament, and I move,
That the Parliament welcomes the significant achievements of the national food and drink policy and looks to build on this progress through increasing the number of consumers at home and abroad who enjoy and celebrate Scotland’s famous larder, especially in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup and Homecoming in 2014; notes the growing interest in food and drink reflected in the many initiatives underway throughout the country that recognise the different ways that the sector impacts on society, and believes that there remains much untapped potential to promote the high standards of sourcing and provenance in Scotland’s £12.4 billion industry that makes an enormous contribution to Scotland.
14:31
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-05892, in the name of Richard Lochhead, on Scottish Government food policy. I remind members to speak thr...
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment (Richard Lochhead)
SNP
Today we are discussing food policy. Given that in taking the issue forward I often deal with the James Hutton Institute, I use this opportunity to say how s...
Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
In relation to the promotion of Scottish venison and putting it on a level playing field, can the cabinet secretary clarify the position on single farm payme...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Jamie McGrigor will be aware that we are currently in negotiation on the allowance for Scotland’s venison producers. We have made available £2 million for ne...
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green)
Green
I am curious at how Richard Lochhead can so easily segue from talking about local procurement and the importance of shorter supply chains into an enthusiasti...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
I will return to some of those themes, but I will say that even 5 million people in Scotland could not consume all the whisky that we produce, so it is quite...
Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary consider altering the balance between finance and quality in respect of the meat products contract for school meals?
Richard Lochhead
SNP
There are a number of important issues in that regard that will no doubt feature in others members’ speeches.The hungry for success initiative, which was lau...
Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
In September I was pleased to bring to the Parliament a members’ business debate on the Fife diet manifesto. I hoped to start or encourage discussion about o...
Rob Gibson (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
SNP
Does the member agree that cuts in the FSA—the cuts emanated from the previous Labour Government in London and the coalition Government has made further cuts...
Claire Baker
Lab
Since 2008, under the Scottish National Party’s watch, we have seen a reduction in the number of meat inspectors and environmental health officers. Under the...
Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
I fear that Claire Baker is right that both this debate and the debates on food that are going on in different forms throughout the country have come out of ...
Alison Johnstone (Lothian) (Green)
Green
Shelter, warmth and food are the basic things that keep us alive. According to psychologist Abraham Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs, just above those basi...
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
It is a long time since I have spoken in a debate involving food and farming issues. In fact, my background as a rabid, running-dog capitalist dairy farmer i...
Patrick Harvie
Green
Will the member give way?
Alex Johnstone
Con
I am coming to the end of my remarks.
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
The member is in his last minute.
Alex Johnstone
Con
The idea that somehow buying better-quality cuts of meat might be an answer to this problem shows a misunderstanding of how the beef industry works. Of cours...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
You should be closing, please.
Alex Johnstone
Con
I believe in high-quality produce from Scotland at cost-effective prices. I believe that this Government, if it is careful, is still steering the correct path.
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
Excellent. Thank you.15:02
Graeme Dey (Angus South) (SNP)
SNP
The county of Angus is very much at the centre of Scotland’s flourishing food industry, from soft fruit to smokies to popular preserves. The part of the coun...
Bruce Crawford (Stirling) (SNP)
SNP
I am disappointed that Graeme Dey has not yet mentioned the famous Forfar bridie, which I would have thought was the most important thing to get on the recor...
Graeme Dey
SNP
I must tell Bruce Crawford that I am being entirely parochial, and Forfar is not in my constituency.Beyond these islands, Mackays exports preserves to 50 cou...
Elaine Murray (Dumfriesshire) (Lab)
Lab
I, too, am glad to take part in the Scottish Government’s debate on food policy, not least because food production is an important part of the economy of Dum...
Nigel Don (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP)
SNP
I am grateful that the member has taken an intervention.I agree that too many cookery programmes show meals that very few people will ever learn anything fro...
Elaine Murray
Lab
Along those lines, l would like to see greater concentration on the cooking of healthy but inexpensive dishes—dishes that can be frozen for those whose time ...
Bruce Crawford (Stirling) (SNP)
SNP
I was delighted to hear that the Government had chosen the subject of food policy for today’s debate, and for a number of reasons.First, I am one of those pr...
Maureen Watt (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
SNP
I add my condolences to those of the cabinet secretary on the deaths of the researchers from the James Hutton Institute, the Macaulay part of which is in my ...
Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
Last week, in a restaurant that is situated just off the Fife coastal path, I tried beetroot ice cream. I admit that it will not be my first choice for a con...