Nourishing Scotland

This book delves into Scotland's evolving food system, uncovering the challenges of change, tracing food policy progress since devolution in 1999, and envisioning bold strategies for the next 25 years.

Food system transformation is a key global challenge for this century. This challenge is evident in Scotland where plentiful food co-exists with food insecurity, where food waste appears intractable and farm animal welfare is compromised, and where the food system in its current form is incompatible with meeting national and global goals for climate and nature. Written by a food policy insider, this book discusses what a single country can do to tackle these problems and contribute to wider change. The book is grounded in a right-to-food perspective, and describes both the necessity of, and the opportunity for, a repurposing of the food system from a focus on commodity production and trade to a focus on nutrition equity and environmental restoration. It challenges some of the faulty maps still in use which are a poor guide to food system change, such as the idea that Scotland’s priority is to feed the world, that food redistribution has a significant impact on either waste or poverty, or that educating people to make better choices is an effective strategy. It argues for more assertive governance of Scotland’s food system, both by national and local governments using the new duties set out in Scotland’s 2022 Good Food Nation Act. This should include active engagement of civil society, in keeping with the Scottish approach of collaborative policymaking. The book focuses on Scotland’s food policy journey while recognising the transferability of this experience to other subnational contexts, drawing on the author’s experience as a key participant in that journey over the last 15 years.

This book will be of great interest to students, scholars and policymakers interested in food and agricultural policy, as well as those interested in sustainable food systems, public health, and social policy more widely.

Pete Ritchie is the founding director of Nourish Scotland. From 2000–2022 he also ran a diversified organic farm in the Scottish Borders. He’s a member of the Food Ethics Council and was a member of the Scottish Food Commission from 2015–2018. He has a degree in Politics Philosophy and Economics and qualifications in both agriculture and social work.