Feeding the Interest - Community Food and Health

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policycurrentWhile there are policies which support local food systems, thesetend to sit within individual Scottish Executive departments involvedin health, environment and rural affairs, enterprise and transport,or different agencies (such as NHS Health Scotland). So, althoughimportant, local food is not at the top of any specific agenda.The Scottish Executive’s Partnership Agreement (2003) recognisesthe importance of developing local food with an emphasis onthe rural development context. The Forward Strategy for ScottishAgriculture gives strong direction on market identification andmentions shortening the food chain, adjustment, quality assuranceand traceability. However, although clearly relevant, local food is notincluded.Within the Scottish Executive, the Environment and Rural AffairsDepartment supports a range of agri-food marketing initiatives. Thisincludes administering the Processing and Marketing grants schemesthat support food producers, including those in the local food sector.The Executive also supports the Scottish Diet Action Plan, which notesthat important groups of fresh food consumed in Scotland are alsoproduced in Scotland, and recommends that action should be taken tostimulate consumer demand for the local product.The Enterprise Networks generally focus on developing the food sectorthrough developing markets and products and improved businessperformance. They play a key role in the industry-led Scottish Food andDrink Strategy. They do not regard ‘localness’ as a separate issue; itsrelevance lies in being part of the overall market.Highlands and Islands Enterprise identifies ‘local’ as one of the marketsto address for niche products and regional import substitution. Itencourages producers to meet the demand for local sourcing from thetourism market as one way of addressing regional import substitutions.18
Scottish Enterprise focuses on adding or retaining value and removingcosts from the food chain. This means it will help food processors tokeep their costs down, and encourage food processing to be donelocally where possible.Local authorities and Local Enterprise Companies are keen to promotelocal business development. Their efforts are not targeted particularlyat local foods but at strengthening the local food industry throughimproved performance, skills and marketing. When this relates tolocal food, there is a strong link with tourism. They have scope totarget local food production and processing, but this tends to focuson marketing these outwith rather than within the area. Some localpublic bodies and institutions promote the use of local produce inhouse.However, this is constrained by tendering rules, range ofproduce available and continuity of supply.The underlying pressure from the World Trade Organisation is toreduce barriers to trade in food products. Such trends will increaseglobalisation in the food industry and undermine local food systems.moving forwardThere are good reasons for developing the local food sector inScotland because of the diverse and long-terms benefits it couldprovide.While there are isolated examples of highly effective partnershipsencouraging local food systems, these are the exception. Lack ofcontinuity, limited resources and fragmented policy impede progress.Integration and focus tends to be better at a local level, closer to thecommunity where the benefits arise, and where dynamic individualsare able to reduce the barriers to change. A cohesive approach is nowneeded.The policy agenda is changing as a result of the mid-term review ofthe Common Agricultural Policy which, for the first time, will linkpayments for food production to compliance with standards covering19
Page 1: FeedingtheInterestA discussion of t
Page 4 and 5: introductionFood occupies a fundame
Page 6: summaryLocal food in Scotland impac
Page 10 and 11: The experience of local initiatives
Page 12: • Limited resources for promoting
Page 15 and 16: EarthShareEarthShare, near Forres,
Page 17 and 18: KnowetopCommunityFarmKnowetop Commu
Page 19: case studyRenfrewshire Community Ga
Page 23 and 24: further informationscotlandFSA Scot

Feeding the Interest - Community Food and Health

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