The Scottish Government

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead

A National Food and Drink Policy

Royal Highland Show, June 19, 2008

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I am pleased to welcome you here to the Royal Highland Show food hall to announce the next stage of a national food policy for our Nation.

One of the joys of being cabinet secretary is to get to deliver speeches and I've been at the QMS breakfast at this morning.

I ate all the bacon rolls, but I can offer you all some fresh and fantastic Scottish fruit from the Supreme Award winners at this year's Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Awards: "Good Natured Fruit" from Angus Soft Fruits.

Angus Soft Fruits is a great illustration and have generously provided us all with a superb healthy choice for those of you needing a healthy snack and it ably displays the high quality of the products we have on offer in Scotland - which I am going to be discussing in the next few minutes.

I have invited you all here, on this Scottish summer day because I wish to make an announcement on the next stage of a national food policy for our nation.

The steps I am about to announce will play a key part in leading Scotland towards a new food culture, one that thrives on quality, health, wellbeing and environmental sustainability.

And... Could there be a better venue or event to make an announcement about Scotland's first National Food and Drink policy than at our nation's annual show case for food and drink?

As you will al be aware, our nation is blessed with unrivalled natural assets and a spectacular environment. That combined with the skills of our communities that live off the land and our seas and many outstanding food and drink businesses deliver enormous benefits for Scotland - and we believe can go much further.

As an MSP for a constituency surrounded by some of Scotland's most famous food and drink brand names and with a wealth of natural produce, seafood, meat and dairy producers on my doorstep, I am well aware of the potential for Scotland's food and drink. Indeed, during my recent east Scottish week, I managed to sample a fair selection of it!

I can appreciate all the good work that has been going into improving how we farm in Scotland, tend the land, fish the seas, farm fish and grow fruit, cereals and vegetables. There is also much being done in helping producers market their products and Scottish produce seems to regularly win accolades for its quality and high standards.

As a Scot, I am proud of Scotland's role as a major food and drink producer with a world-wide reputation for products that can be trusted and represents outstanding quality.

Yet, in many ways we are a nation of contradictions.

We have healthy natural ingredients on our own doorstep, yet when as a nation we look in the mirror, we can see that our health record is at the wrong end of the international league table. And much of the healthier ingredients in our own local larder are absent from our diet. Too often we are confronted by an array of imports on our shop shelves when we do, or could, produce the direct equivalent right here in Scotland.

Developing Scotland's first National food and drink policy means tackling a set of complex and multi-faceted issues, with tensions we all know that they have to resolve. Perhaps that is why this will be the "first" food and drink policy. As the saying goes, 'Difficult is worth doing.'

But there are things we do know:

• More fresh, seasonal, local food is good for the environment;
• Better consumer information helps people make better choices
• Healthy, environmentally sustainable products are good for the health of Scottish consumers at home and good for the reputation of Scottish products abroad.
• So we can build on what we do know to shape a Scottish policy. And we need a proportionate approach.
  
  Common sense says:
  
  Supporting local doesn't mean opposing exports or indeed imports
• Healthy eating doesn't mean abstaining from decadence
• Tackling alcohol misuse doesn't mean never having a drink - especially our national drink

My Cabinet colleagues have recognised and agreed that, as a Government, to facilitate real change in our food culture, real change in the way we behave and our national attitudes toward food, we require a more coherent and consistent approach in our dealings on policies relating to all aspects of production, and consumption of food in Scotland.

The development of a national, joined up approach to food and drink policy is a huge challenge it will require perseverance.

Government alone cannot bring about radical change in culture, attitudes and behaviour towards food and drink, nor is it easy to impact on what is a globally traded commodity.

A properly joined up, collaborative and open approach can be a positive force for increased sustainable economic growth, improved diet and greater innovation in food production and packaging to minimise environmental impacts.

We cannot miss this fantastic opportunity to marry up all the good things that are happening in Scotland, both from Government and the wider public sector, and all the transformations already taking place in the business sector.

For example, I recently visited Albert Bartlett's potato packing factory where I was truly impressed by the innovation to use recycled rainwater to wash the potatoes and to take steps to use energy efficiently. I am also aware that North Link Ferries are providing more Scottish food on their ferries

I know there are many more examples of this type of commitment out there, not just in businesses trying to do things better, but also in communities where there people trying to make a real difference.

At Taste of Grampian, I met one of the four mums who run Loaf Face, a co-operative selling both ethical and environmentally sensitive produce. Many food and drink businesses now pay attention to their ethical and carbon footprint - because they believe it is the right thing to do and, importantly, because in the 21st century they know that, increasingly, their customers expect them to do so.

But it is not just in the past few years that the world around us has changed. Even in the last couple of months, it has changed dramatically.

For example, on the 15th January when I launched the national discussion, "Choosing the Right Ingredients", according to the shopping basket price watch in the Grocer magazine, the average price of a loaf of white bread was around 90 pence, it is now averaging around £1.20, the same price change applies to butter, and the price of half a dozen free range eggs was around £1.30, whereas it is now sitting around £1.60.

So we are all are acutely aware of the pressures on family budgets due to the rising costs of mortgages and borrowing generally, and energy adding up to a squeeze on families budgets for food. And the rocketing price of fuel is driving food prices up. As well, this Government is making strong representations to the UK Government on this issue. Consumers and our food and drink sectors are being hit hard by the UK's refusal to act - and harder than anywhere else in the UK.

The context of a national food and drink policy must recognise that any push for a change in behaviour - consumption or production - must been seen in this wider context for individual households and the global economy.

I would like to explain why I am talking today about a food and drink policy.

I have listened to the overwhelming support for the inclusion of drink in the scope of the policy in the responses we received from industry. And to reflect the decision to have a food and drink policy, our already expanded food unit in the Government will now be expanded further to create a single food and drink industry unit to take forward an integrated approach.

The reality is that this is a single sector where Scotland is likely to be more successful looking at issues of marketing, supply chains, reputation and innovation in a joined up way across food and drink.

A successful food and drink sector is entirely complimentary with our alcohol strategy published for consultation earlier this week - we aim to achieve a nation where people eat sensibly and drink sensibly. This is a message that industry of course support.

Going forward, I see two components of our overall food and drink policy: Major on-going areas of work across government where there is a food policy dimension, and specific new areas of action in relation to food and drink.

So, what did we learn from the national discussion on food? Well, given the tremendous response rate, we commissioned external consultants the SAC and Parento Consulting to provide an independent analysis and the executive summary is included in your folders this morning, along with a number of new Scottish Food and Drink Statistics. This is the first time they have ever been produced.

The independent analysis revealed a very positive response throughout the food discussion period. In all, 441 individuals and organisations responded. 13 stakeholder meetings, which were attended by Ministers and Government officials, gave rise to 12 records of proceedings, and 108 valid responses were received on the blog, these were analysed using the same text analysis technique as for the written responses. All responses, where respondents have agreed to publication, will be available on the food website from today.

The top five big recurring themes in people's responses were:

Other issues included; adult education; support for agriculture; environmentally friendly food production; local food and communities; and food labelling.

These are all important issues, and I want to talk about how we are already, and will continue to tackle them.

I propose to split them into FIVE main themes of work. For each theme I will highlight work that is already underway, and set out the new work I am commissioning.

The five themes are:

1. Increasing sustainable Economic Growth of the food and drink industry
2. Food Education - supporting consumers and the food and drink industry to make healthier and more environmentally sustainable choices.
3. Celebrating and enhancing Scotland's reputation as a Land of Food and Drink
4. Walking the talk - getting Government right
5. Access, affordability, and security in relation to food

Bringing these all together, I propose that the aim of Scotland's first national food and drink policy is to promote Scotland's sustainable economic growth by ensuring that the Scottish Government's focus in relation to food and drink, and in particular our work with Scotland's food and drink industry, addresses quality, health and wellbeing, and environmental sustainability, recognising the need for access and affordability at the same time for all.

Our underlying purpose is to ensure that we go forward with a policy that seeks to improve the quality, nutritional content and environmental and economic sustainability of Scottish produce, for the ultimate benefit of Scottish consumers, and that this is a vision we want to share with industry.

I see this as enhancing our reputation internationally as Scotland - Land of Food and Drink. However, in all this good work, I reiterate that we must always be sensitive to the needs of Scottish families with limited resources being able to access affordable healthy food, wherever they live.

I am determined to hand much of this work back to consumers, responsible agencies and the food and drink industry.

That's why, in addition to all the work already underway, I will shortly be writing out to a number of key experts and influencers, inviting them to join a Scottish Food and Drink Leadership forum.

Some of you in this room have already accepted an informal invitation to become part of that. My initial sense is that there is a real enthusiasm and excitement about becoming involved as we collectively move forward, and I hope you can all sustain this in the coming months.

Furthermore, I am commissioning activity under the key themes, which I will now take in turn;

Under the first major area of collective work we will be looking to increase the SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH of the food and drink industry, currently worth £7.3 Billion to Scotland, to meet its target of value to the economy of £10bn by 2017.

To help achieve this, the Scottish Government is already delivering:

• A recently launched Process Marketing and Co-operation Grant Scheme within the Scottish Rural Development Programme, and I am delighted to announce that the initial assessment indicate approvals for the first tranche of grant awards totalling some £5.9 Million. This is part of £60m over the next five years.
• Food and drink is one of the 6 priority sectors in the Government's economic strategy. That means it is a priority for Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Development International.
• And there has been great progress in developing an industry led food and drink strategy. We want to ensure that this strategy is delivered.

I will shortly be reviewing how best to align the activities of Government and industry bodies currently supporting Scottish food and drink businesses and developing Scotland's reputation as a land of food and drink.

There is already alignment taking place on a different level. I fully support the planned merger between the Rowett Research Institute and the University of Aberdeen to form the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health to create a world class centre on health and nutrition here in Scotland. I see this as an opportunity for the Scottish industry to strengthen whole food and drinks innovation process in Scotland.

Alongside these proposals, through Scotland Food and Drink, we will further support commercial innovation through an industry insight group which will be available to help businesses achieve greater commercial success through innovation in science.

We want to Deliver the skills to succeed - by asking Scotland Food and Drink and "Improve" to work with Scotland's key stakeholders, including Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Qualifications Authority, the Scottish Funding Council to set a strategy for skills for the food and drink industry. This will include working with "Improve" and Abertay University as they develop a detailed business plan for the Food and Drink Skills Academy for Scotland.

Looking From farm and sea to plate - Asking Scotland Food and Drink and SAOS to develop a single, industry-led strategy to improve logistics, deliver sustainability, respond to consumer demand on quality, health, and environmental sustainability and reduce costs in order to create efficient and economic value chains. In doing so we will look to bridge the gaps between the primary producer, the processors and the customers.

We have already begun to bridge the gap between producer and consumer, we have entered into positive dialogue with all Scotland's major supermarkets operating here and are learning more about their sourcing policies and their current relationships with Scottish suppliers, and I am delighted that a major retailer has this week confirmed that sales of Scottish products manufactured/produced in Scotland and sold in Scotland are up 20% ,and for the same chain, sales of Scottish products in the rest of the UK are up 14%

We'll get tough when we need to, but we do recognise the significance of the supermarkets, and their expertise in a number of areas, and we in Government see the opportunities to engage them further in achieving our key outcomes for the people of Scotland.

From retailers, I am looking to identify strategic partnerships where individual retailers champion particular goals whether that be climate change, or affordable food.

There will be an opportunity to cement these ideas at the Supermarket Summit in September chaired by the First Minister, where all major supermarkets, represented at senior level, will discuss opportunities to support mutual goals for the people of Scotland.

The second theme of FOOD EDUCATION we have to improve knowledge and understanding about the impact of food on health and the environment, to learn about where our food has come from, - encouraging consumers, and working with the food and drink industry to make healthier and more environmentally sustainable choices

We are already undertaking a number of initiatives, in health and diet:

Our Healthy Eating Active Living Plan which identifies the key actions needed to tackle priorities on health improvement for individuals and communities.

And we are developing further interventions aimed at providing healthier food choices Beyond the School Gate to provide continuity to the School Act, and also provide opportunities for the wider food sector, to encourage industry to think more carefully about these kind of issues.

We are waiting full Parliamentary approval next week, to introduce new nutritional requirements for food and drink in schools through regulations. Yesterday, I read the press release on a World health Organisation report that ranked Scottish 11-year-olds as 2nd out of 41 countries when it comes to eating fruit daily - so we are making progress.

Launching Scotland's first Cooking Bus, will allow us the opportunity to deliver practical teaching of healthy cooking skills in our schools and communities, and I am pleased that Nick Nairn will be playing a role within that.

Within the environmental impacts theme, our forthcoming consultation on waste proposals for the Climate Change Bill, will include requiring businesses and public sector bodies to have waste prevention plans which would include preventing food waste. This will help us reduce the impact of food waste, and encourage businesses to further innovation.

We will also be extending trials so that an increasing amount of household food waste is collected for composting.

In terms of brand new areas of work I will ask for the following:

Firstly, a group getting the industry sitting around the same table as key experts to investigate ways in which food and drink manufacturers can promote health through reformulation, and clearer food labelling.

This will involve consumers, industry and the FSA to achieve a better understanding of the technical and consumer perceptions behind Scotland's labelling and branding initiatives.

We want to seriously look at developing a clearer common definition for what "product origin - Scotland" actually means and how this supports the goals of quality, health, affordability and environmental sustainability. We want to make it easier for Scottish consumers to identify and trust the "Scottish" label on their supermarket shelves and eating out menus.

The third major theme is CELEBRATING AND SAFEGUARDING SCOTLAND'S REPUTATION for the finest, freshest produce and to enhance our reputation for quality, healthy, affordable and environmentally sustainable products at home and abroad. The recent announcement by one major retailer to stock only Scottish salmon is a resounding endorsement and vote of confidence in Scottish produce.

Across Government, we are already tackling these issues:

We have improved integrated approach for managing Scotland's reputation internationally, drawing on key networks such as the Consular network to enhance and manage Scotland's reputation and events to showcase the best of Scottish food, drink and culture.

Our national food and drink is a key part of our identity. It is one of the things that defines Scotland's uniqueness and we are determined to promote and market Scotland's food and drink as a way of driving improvements in our international image and reputation.

We have set a target of growing the Scottish tourism sector by 50% by 2015. Recognising the key role that food and drink plays in the Scottish tourism experience - with around 21% of annual tourist spend going towards food and drink, we will be working closely alongside VisitScotland to improve the quality of the Scottish eating experience.

In addition we are pleased to see that a Farmers' Market quality assurance scheme is currently under development by VisitScotland.

I will be launching a campaign to improve the quality and visibility of Scottish produce being used and presented in Scotland's Restaurants and Bars and areas where people eat out - Martin Wishart is a passionate advocate of Scottish food and high profile chef and has agreed to take this forward, taking overall leadership of this workstream with other partners. This campaign will be aligned with accreditation and quality assurance marks such as EatScotland, and "Taste of Scotland".

In a new partnership with the British Hospitality Association, who have a membership spanning 3000 locations and employing 50,000 people in Scotland: we will work hard to provide best practice guidance for our hospitality industry on really important issues such as provenance, quality, health, and environmental sustainability. This is a new dimension.

The fourth theme is entitled WALKING THE TALK - Getting Government right, aimed at ensuring an agile and proactive public sector which understands food and drink and which supports sustainable economic growth for food and drink, focused on the qualities I've mentioned.

As part of our overall approach within this theme, we have already made big leaps into to better understanding the commercial success and innovation achieved in the private sector.

In terms of new work, the Scottish Government is in the process of tendering our new catering contract across Scottish government buildings serving more than 4,000 civil servants with a turnover value of £2.5 million, giving greater emphasis on buying food sustainably. It will promote freshness, seasonally available produce and quality assurance standards and will require the successful contractor to have a flexible approach to food and drink initiatives.

To compliment this new approach to our contract, I will be asking Robin Gourlay of East Ayrshire Council, who has been so successful in getting healthy food into schools, to lead a working Group of producers, processors, the hospitality industry and public sector procurement specialists to produce guidance to Scotland's public sector, on becoming an exemplar for sustainable economic growth in Scotland.

Under the fifth and final theme of, ACCESS, AFFORDABILITY AND SECURITY our aim is to ensure that Scotland as a nation should maintain capacity for food and drink production in Scotland, and that we better understand the global issues affecting supplies in order to plan efficiently and in order to maintain our longer term food security as a nation, and continued access to affordable food.

This is a complex area, and one that governments and food agencies across the globe have been turning their attention to with renewed vigour over the past six to eighteen months. We are no different in Scotland.

I recognise that we need a much better understanding of the drivers behind the rising costs of food and drink production and the levers for market change.

This is not an issue with a quick or easy answers and it needs much further thought. I am therefore commissioning a research inquiry into affordable access to food in Scotland, which will look at a full spectrum of supply and cost related factors.

In terms of short term food supply chain resilience, in April 2008 we established a Food Resilience Advisory Board for Scotland to advise the Scottish Government on Food Supply Chain Resilience through this group, we are commissioning a scoping study looking at the Scottish food supply chain's current strengths and weaknesses in the face of short-term disruption to supplies.

Longer term resilience will be looked at through a number of other initiatives as well.

I will of course continue to emphasise the need to ensure Scotland remains a food producing nation. This will be one of my guiding principles as I negotiate on behalf of Scotland farmers, crofters and fishermen with the UK and in Europe. Indeed, this was my central message to UK Secretary of State Hilary Benn when I met him in London on Tuesday to discuss the future of the Common Agriculture Policy. The outcome of CAP and others Have to ensure Scotland is maintained as a food producing country.

My intention is that these working groups get going quickly to maintain the momentum and capitalise on the exciting opportunities for Scotland's food and drink sector. I will ask them to come back to me later this year with initial findings and recommendations. In the meantime, the Scottish Government will work hard on the many initiatives I have touched upon today.

Finally, I cannot over-emphasise just how important it is that we, in our various capacities as entrepreneurs, consumers, experts, government and public agencies and everyone else involved need to engage in a more concerted effort to achieve a much better balance in our attitude and behaviours around food and drink.

The national food discussion has already raised the bar in terms of how we are all talking and thinking about food. Working together - for and with - Scotland's people we can create a much brighter and better food and drink culture for Scotland.

I am absolutely confident that in the months and years ahead, we will deliver a successful national food and drink policy with great wealth, environmental protection, better health and other benefits for our nation - working together we can make it happen.