Food and Farming

REFORM FARMING SUBSIDIES

On average, £775m of public money is spent every year on farming subsidies, but Scotland is lagging behind Europe and the rest of the UK in ensuring this funding tackles the climate and nature emergencies.

The Scottish Greens will:

• Deliver a new Agriculture Bill that enshrines the principles of climate and nature recovery into a new agricultural support scheme.
• Make emission reductions and climate mitigation measures a compulsory requirement for all subsidies, delivering significant change at no extra cost.
• Replace current grants with Land Management Contracts, which will support farmers to deliver a range of public benefits including organic farmland conversion, agroforestry, agroecology, soil conservation and peatland restoration, flood management, wetland creation, landscape restoration and public access, renewable energy, rewilding and species reintroductions.

HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE FOOD FOR ALL

The Scottish Greens will bring forward a Good Food Nation Bill that establishes an integrated food policy, tackling the health, social and environmental impacts of food. It will enshrine the Right to Food in Scots law, oblige the Scottish Government to deliver a statutory National Food Plan, and reform procurement law to oblige public kitchens to source food from more small local businesses and organic producers. It will also oblige the Government

to fund local emergency food and food resilience networks, ensuring everyone can access good food in times of crisis. This will be overseen by a statutory Food Commission, charged with a duty to ensure the right to food is maintained and that decisions in areas such as health, planning, and education contribute towards a positive food environment.

THE SCOTTISH GREENS WILL ALSO

Support high farming standards

• Maintain EU bans on bee-harming pesticides, and phase out the use of neonicotinoids in the forestry sector.
• Make environmental measures compulsory for basic farm payments, such as the roll out of whole-farm carbon audits and soil testing.
• Deliver a National Nitrogen Strategy to cut down excessive use of inorganic fertiliser, prevent air and water pollution, improve soil health, and slash greenhouse gases.
• Develop a carbon food labelling scheme.
• Maintain the ban on Genetically Modified foods and production in Scotland.

Build thriving rural communities and support sustainable food and farming businesses

• Deliver a £20m per year Land Advisory Service, supporting the roll out of climate-friendly farming practices and diversification of farm businesses to maximise public benefits including carbon sequestration, soil health, and biodiversity.
• Increase direct support for horticulture and market gardening businesses, including community and social enterprises.
• Establish a National Farm Land Trust to support generational change in farming and provide new entrants with access to land.
• Provide funding to establish community and crofter led wool processing and manufacturing businesses.
• Roll out a network of mobile abattoirs for rural and island communities, to support crofters whilst minimising live animal transportation.
• Establish local crofter and producer food co-ops to sell direct to the public and the hospitality and tourist trade.

Support education and research into climate friendly and restorative agriculture

• Restore funding to Scotland’s renowned agricultural research institutes, with a focus on developing farming techniques, plant breeds and soil science that tackles the climate and nature emergencies.
• Make agroecological and regenerative agriculture techniques the standard curriculum in rural education institutions.
• Offer qualifications in crofting and sustainable farming in Scotland’s rural schools, with partnership programmes with colleges available in urban areas.

Prioritise building resilient local food economies over export driven markets

• Establish a local food development fund, building distribution networks between rural and urban areas, and establishing direct to consumer markets such as veg box schemes.
• Support the development of a domestic seafood market in Scotland, through schemes such as Edinburgh Fish City.
• Make prime sites available in towns and cities for farmers markets, local food hubs, and other innovative ways to build short supply chains.
• Use public procurement contracts to support local sustainable food producers, building on the Food for Life model developed by the Soil Association

Ensure food policy delivers our national health goals

• Bring back the Food Promotions Bill to restrict the marketing, promotion and advertising of unhealthy foods including alcohol.
• Make access to sustainable, affordable and healthy food a key indicator for the National Performance Framework.
• Use the planning system to break the dominance of unhealthy takeaways, including banning the opening of fast food outlets near schools.
• Support consumer trends towards reduction in meat and dairy consumption in line with national health guidelines by ensuring greater choice in schools and other public canteens.

Ensure fair work and fair pay in the entire food chain

• End the use of zero-hours contracts and monitor the implementation of workers’ rights through existing licensing schemes, such as local authority food hygiene inspections.
• Make living wage accreditation or other union negotiated rates of pay a requirement for public kitchens and public food tenders.
• Ensure decent working and living conditions for migrant and seasonal workers in the agricultural sector, removing agricultural subsidies and financial support for those found in breach of standards.