Wednesday 16th April 2008
Edinburgh  

Richard Lochhead MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, will give the keynote address at a one-day conference discussing a National Food Policy for Scotland in Edinburgh on 16 April 2008.
   
Food impacts on almost every aspect of daily life in Scotland including employment, the economy, health, education and the environment.  One in five people in Scottish manufacturing work in the sector and food and drink is our top exporting industry, with sales of £3.6 billion outside the UK.

In November 2007, The Scottish Government announced its commitment to a National Food Policy and its intention to ensure the process of developing a long-term vision for food in Scotland is as inclusive as possible.

In January of this year, Richard Lochhead MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, launched the National Food Debate with the discussion paper Choosing the Right Ingredients: The Future for Food in Scotland, providing an opportunity for all interested parties to help inform the development of future policy.

The Cabinet Secretary will give the keynote address at this conference, exploring the issues related to creating the first cross-cutting policy on food to be developed in the UK.  He will speak about the processes involved, why a broad approach is required, the importance of collecting as many views as possible and the implications a food policy will have throughout the food industry, the public sector and beyond.

Other speakers will look at key aspects of formulating a local, sustainable food policy, setting out the challenges and exploring the issues involved.

What are the barriers and benefits to public procurement of local sustainable food? Why is a sustainable approach required? What are the problems involved in joining everything up to create a successful, cross-cutting policy? What are the best ways to involve and benefit Scottish communities?

Attendees will also hear about local food initiatives which are currently in place and what can be learned from them both in communities and the public sector.  The conference will provide a platform for informed debate on the main issues and an opportunity to question representatives from key organisations.  If you want to learn more about the development of a food policy for Scotland and to contribute to the discussion, you can’t afford to miss this conference.

Further Details
Additional information is available about this event online