Meeting of the Parliament 17 March 2016
I congratulate Alison Johnstone on bringing this important debate to the chamber. I spoke recently in the chamber about the amount of food that is wasted and I questioned the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body about food waste in the Parliament. We know that much food is being wasted throughout the country and, although some of that food could be given to individuals and families, there are clearly other issues that need to be dealt with. It is not just about giving leftovers to charities to patch up a failing system; it is about making sure that the system works for everyone in society.
As others have mentioned, Scotland is a resource-rich nation. According to the Scottish Government, Scotland’s current farmable land amounts to roughly 5.6 million hectares, which equates to around 71 per cent of Scotland’s total land area. As an island nation, we are surrounded by the sea, as others have mentioned, and we have large rivers and lochs that could provide plentiful food if we were to use those opportunities. Like Sarah Boyack, I do not want to challenge Alex Johnstone now, but clearly there are issues with what he said in his speech.
As well as the projects that Alison Johnstone identified in her motion, people are working hard on a number of other projects throughout Scotland not only to make people aware of where the food on their plate comes from, but to encourage them to start growing their own food. I recently visited a small project in Kirkshaws that has a few raised beds and one polytunnel. It is bringing in schoolchildren and unemployed people to give them an opportunity to start growing their own healthy food and showing them where that food comes from.
We also have the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, which this Parliament passed and which states a desire to see an increase in the availability of land for allotments. That is one way of taking forward the debate, with people being able not only to access food but to access their own food, grow it, and be actively involved in understanding the production methods.
There is another issue: procurement policies in Scotland. I met a group on Tuesday who told me that they still find it difficult to get their produce on to the procurement agenda because of how the system works. If we can get local producers engaged in the procurement process so that they can supply schools, hospitals and other public sector buildings, that would give encouragement to that sector to develop and allow it to be actively involved in providing locally produced, locally sourced, nutritious food.
Comments must be made about the other people who are working in the food production sector. I pay tribute to John Hancox, who is involved in the Commonwealth Orchard and cosponsors the Parliament’s apple day every September. He has attempted on a number of occasions to get fruit trees grown in common space, in schools and in other areas. The aim was to show children and adults that food production could take place at a local level, and that planting fruit trees in common space could enable people to go along and help themselves to nutritious fruit rather than eating fruit that had travelled halfway around the world.