Policy actions  4 of 4

Promoting sustainable production and procurement

Producing food and drink sustainably means farming and manufacturing it in a way that helps to preserve and protect the environment for future generations.

Procuring it sustainably means buying it from producers who minimise their impact on the environment, for example, by reducing their carbon emissions, and supporting the longevity of the industry.

We are promoting sustainable production and procurement to ensure a long and prosperous future for Scotland's food and drink industry, and the environment it depends on.

Scottish organic food and farming action plan

The Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party shared policy programme sets out that a new Scottish organic food and farming action plan will be established. The plan will include ambitious targets for at least the doubling of the area of land under organic management, by spring 2026. This target was also included in the Programme for Government 2021 to 2022.  We are working with Scotland Food and Drink to create the next action plan. This will build on previous work of the Scottish Organic Stakeholders Group as part of their 2022 report ‘Pointing the Way to a Scottish Organic Action Plan’.

Grow your own

Allotments and community growing spaces have an important role in the local community in terms of promoting healthy eating, increasing awareness of where and how food is grown, reducing isolation and encouraging nature and outdoor activities.

We are committed to supporting and encouraging community growing in the many different forms it can take. We support organisations who work to increase the amount of land available for growing and to improve food growing skills, helping to empower communities and individuals to grow their own food. 

Part 9 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, which came into force on 1 April 2018, made it easier for people to grow their own food by simplifying the legislation on allotments.

Following post-legislative scrutiny of Part 9, we are looking at ways to best support and empower local authorities to meet their statutory requirements relating to allotments and community growing.

National Chef

We appointed Scotland’s first National Chef Gary MacLean in 2017. Gary is Executive Chef at City of Glasgow College and the winner of BBC MasterChef: The Professionals 2016.

Owing to the success of the National Chef’s first term, Mr MacLean’s tenure was extended in 2021 and runs until spring 2026.

The aim of the National Chef is to increase awareness of the objectives of the Good Food Nation Policy. This includes promoting healthy, environmentally sustainable and affordable food for all with positive messages about the importance of cooking using locally sourced, Scottish, products.

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