Consultation reSPONSES PUBLISHED

People power evident in response to Good Food Nation Consultation
Huge numbers of people have supported the call for change to Scotland’s food system by sharing their views with Scottish Government.

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government published a consultation on becoming a Good Food Nation. The consultation asked for people’s views on whether or not we should have a new law on food to help us transition to a fair, healthy and sustainable food system.
The Scottish Food Coalition has campaigned for this new law, dubbed the Good Food Nation Bill, and is delighted to see such strong support among the people of Scotland.

Key themes from the responses to the consultations were:

• That the law should include a commitment to the right to food for everyone in Scotland.
• That the Scottish Government should encourage businesses to play their part in becoming a Good Food Nation; a massive 93% of respondents agreed that businesses have a role to play!
• That we need to work together across all of society to make change happen
• That we need an independent statutory body to oversee the changes, and make sure that we’re all pulling in the same direction.

There was clear support for a new approach to food in Scotland, and one that helps us work together for transformational change.  One faith-based organisation commented:

“Government and public bodies should involve lots of different groups and individuals in making the Good Food Nation plan reality because food should be the concern of everyone in society. Just as importantly, Ministers and public bodies should foster this collaboration in a way that makes it easy for people to understand the plan and to have their voices listened to.” 
And one local authority commented that “An overarching framework set out in legislation would go substantially further than existing pieces of legislation and policy that focus on one part of the food system e.g. climate change, diet etc.”, showing clear support for a more joined-up approach to this important area.

A mighty 627 individuals in Scotland sent in their thoughts in detail, and another 470 people responded to the Scottish Food Coalition e-action. This shows just how many people are interested in important issues like changing the food system, and how important public participation is for truly democratic decision-making.
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Click here to  read the full analysis of the consultation responses here