Our Asks
We have four key asks of Scottish Government.
The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 is a groundbreaking piece of legislation that requires Scottish Government to think about food as an interconnected system. However, legislation alone will not create the changes we need to see.
The Scottish Food Coalition have four key asks of Scottish Government to ensure Scotland truly becomes a Good Food Nation:
1
The right to food and the right to a healthy environment must be enshrined in Scots law.
Legislation must ensure universal access to high quality and nutritious food, produced in a way that is equitable for people and the planet. This includes the right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
2
The Scottish Food Commission must engage meaningfully with civil society when carrying out its duties.
Scotland’s civil society provides the food systems expertise, practical experience and connections to wider society needed to make National and Local Good Food Nation Plans both ambitious and deliverable.
The Scottish Food Commission’s ‘Corporate Plan’ must commit to this process by including participatory mechanisms for engaging with civil society stakeholders from across the whole food system.
3
Scottish Government must adequately support and resource the development and long-term delivery of Local Good Food Nation Plans.
Local Authorities and Health Boards must have sufficient guidance, staffing and other resources to ensure that Plans create meaningful change at a food systems level, cutting across all relevant service areas. This is in line with duties as laid out in the Act.
4
Local Good Food Nation Plans must be developed and delivered as part of fully collaborative partnerships.
Local Authorities and Health Boards must work collaboratively and collectively with their local communities, and with those organisations best placed to support delivery of the Plans at a food systems level. Good practice should be taken from existing partnership models such as Sustainable Food Places.