Rural Affairs and Islands Committee 03 September 2025
The point about the indicators around the food environment is good. It is important that we look at the food environment in the broadest sense. You have highlighted where the plan has gaps, and the population health framework will incorporate some of that. There is a commitment in Government to publish a two-year implementation plan, which should address some of those areas—for example, restricting the promotion of high-fat, high-salt and high-sugar foods in retail food environments.
I agree that it is not explicit in the plan, but it is important that we address that issue. Some of the upstream actions that the UK Government might take, such as setting healthy food targets, could help to improve that further down the line. That is another thing.
The inequalities point is really important. Diet-related ill health is very different across the lower and higher socioeconomic groups. We need to be mindful of all our actions.
The final point in relation to diet and health is about bringing it back to the environment and greenhouse gas emissions. We know that having a healthier diet would reduce our carbon emissions by around a third. There are many synergies. Achieving some of those goals will also achieve other goals across the environment and health. We need to look for those synergies and where we can bring those important points together. I hope that the cross-Government nature of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 allows us to do that.