Beginning the journey
The development of the National Food and Drink Policy has been deliberately collaborative and has sought to engage fully with stakeholders as this process has gone forward. The first opportunity was a stakeholder Open Space event in Dundee on 8 October 2007 which brought together as wide an audience as possible to explore what the people of Scotland expect from a National Food Policy. In November 2007 a debate was held in the Scottish Parliament during which the Scottish Government announced its commitment to a National Food Policy for Scotland and that starting in the New Year there would be a National Food Debate.
Food Discussion
In early 2008 the Scottish Government asked what you thought should be in a food policy when we launched the discussion paper "Choosing the right ingredients."
Over 400 individuals and organisations responded saying that diet & nutrition, local food & local economies, health promotion, education and access were amongst the issues most important to them.
It was clear that the Scottish Government was being set a real challenge as to how the various objectives and perspectives set out by respondents could be reconciled.
Responding to the Food Discussion
To this end, in June 2008 the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment, Richard established five workstreams to consider in more detail the key issues stemming from the consultation and to provide recommendations in key areas.
You can read the reports from each workstream (published June 26, 2009) and learn more about what they did, by looking at the links below:
The Cabinet Secretary also established a Food and Drink Leadership Forum made up of a high profile group of champions to oversee and challenge the workstream chairs to properly reflect the key fundamentals of health, environment, affordability and the economy.
The Food and Drink Leadership forum was originally established by Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment in 2008, to consider the real opportunities and challenges for the policy and to make recommendations for the future, delivering a degree of consistency and coherence on a broad spectrum of cross-cutting objectives. The Leadership Forum was made up of a high profile group of chamions to oversee and challenge the workstream chairs to properly reflect the key fundamentals of health, environment, affordability and the economy. The Leadership Forum published their report in June 2009.
Evidence and Supporting Documents
The National food and drink policy is based on the Report (also published June 26, 2009) of the Food and Drink Leadership Forum which takes account of the outputs from each of the five workstreams (listed above) which considered in detail the key issues raised as a result of the food discussion.
A number of other pieces of supporting evidence informed the development of the National food and drink policy, these were also published on June 26, 2009 - the work is listed below:
Food and Drink in Scotland: Key Facts 2009
Local Versus Global Markets for Scottish Food Producers and Consumers: What Difference Does it Make?
Public sector expenditure on food and drink in Scotland
Public Sector Food Procurement in Scotland: An Overview of Current Evidence
Food Security: The Role for the Scottish Government in Ensuring Continuity of Food Supply to and within Scotland and Access to Affordable Food
Food Prices: An Overview of Current Evidence
Product Origin - Scotland: A Review of Industry Practice and Evidence