Nothing Short Of a Food Revolution
The Scottish Green Party is campaigning for nothing short of a revolution in our food culture.
Greens want change in four key areas:
Good Food
Obesity and diet-related illness are major causes of disease in Scotland. The high sugar, salt, processed fat and additive content of food, often misleadingly labelled, is a major factor.
Greens want food to make us healthy, not sick. We will make local authorities provide schools, hospitals and care homes with healthy, fresh, local food. We will ensure all processed food is fully labelled and ban additives of questionable value. We will control advertising of junk food and remove fast food vending machines from schools.
Safe Food
Hardly a week passes without another food safety scandal. The way we grow most of our food is harming our land, water and wildlife. Greens want food to be safe for both consumers and the environment. We are committed to organic food: Greens forced action on organic production in the last Scottish Parliament session and our aim is to have much more organic food grown in Scotland.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have opened the door to genetically modified (GM) crops in Scotland, despite the proven economic and environmental damage they have caused in Canada and the U.S. We will close that door.
Local Food
As fruit and vegetable producers struggle to make a living in Scotland, cheap imported berries, beans, salads and tropical delicacies are flown thousands of miles by polluting planes to boost supermarket profits.
Greens will actively encourage local, small-scale food producers and food sellers, including local shops, farmers’ markets and box schemes. The way we import food from all over the world is fuelling climate change. We will use our “polluter pays” taxation system to ensure that the distance food has travelled is reflected in its price.
Fair Food
Fresh and healthy food is out of reach for many of the poorest communities in Scotland. We see this as a priority for change. The immense power of supermarkets over our high streets, our farmers and over the entire food chain has become a major concern.
The relentless drive for profit by the supermarkets means Scottish farmers and farmers in developing countries are receiving less and less for their produce. An industry survey in 2005 showed 88% of people want regulation to force supermarkets to act in the wider public interest.
Green MPs will work to:
- ban the brands: take fast food advertising out of schools and off children’s television, to prevent manufacturers from targeting young, impressionable consumers;
- make food labelling accurate and easy to understand, to prevent producers, processors and supermarkets from making misleading claims about their goods;
- ban live animal exports;
- seek all routes to make Scotland GM free, including a law to keep biotech companies at bay by holding them liable for any economic damage caused by GM crops;
- make the Office of Fair Trading regulate supermarkets better, so that Scottish farmers receive a fair price for their milk and other produce;
- establish an independent supermarket regulator, ensuring a fair deal for farmers and consumers;
- reform the Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy to protect the environment on which the industries depend, providing support for farmers, fishermen and dependent communities through the transition;
- ensure fair prices for farmers abroad too, through the UK’s leading position in global trade organisations and agreements.
“A statutory code of practice that stops supermarkets bullying suppliers and abusing their power is needed urgently ... With supermarket executives from the big four – and Tesco in particular – able to whisper directly into the ears of Downing Street (two of its directors came straight from Whitehall), shoppers might want to send their own message, by voting with their feet and buying elsewhere.” – Felicity Lawrence, Consumer Affairs Correspondent, The Guardian