Building a good food nation: Good food as an investment in our future

What is the cost of a broken food system?

Is food a public financial issue and, if so, what should we be doing about it? 

Our food system, the activities involved in food production, processing, transport and consumption, is responsible for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Agriculture is the primary driver of biodiversity loss. In Scotland, this is especially important because 75 percent of our land is dedicated to agriculture. At the same time, two thirds of all adults in Scotland are living with overweight or obesity, and 9 percent of adults in Scotland experience food insecurity. It’s clearour food system isn’t working for us.

New research from the Food Systems Economic Commission shows how we produce, process and consume food in our broken “food systems are currently destroying more value than they create” with the “economic value of human suffering and planetary harm …well above 10 trillion USD a year, more than food systems contribute to global GDP.” If we continue with business as usual, by 2050, obesity rates are estimated to rise by 70 per cent globally, and food systems will contribute to 2.7 degrees of warming, resulting in further vulnerabilities in food production from climate change and extreme events. However, the Commission also calculated that food system transformation “provides a uniquely powerful means of addressing the global climate, nature and health emergencies while offering a better life to hundreds of millions of people”. Fixing food systems would bring an estimated economic benefit of 5–10 trillion USD annually, with 70 percent of the net benefits achieved from the transition to healthy and sustainable diets. 

The study also points out that this transformation will happen on a national and local level. In Scotland, this work is underway. The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act passed in 2022, and the National Good Food Nation Plan will be finalised next year, with local Good Food Nation plans written by health boards and local authorities to follow. 

What does investing in good food look like in practice and what benefits does it bring? 

Both the Good Food Nation Act and the report from the Food Systems Economic Commission see public procurement as a key lever for change, supporting local producers, especially those producing organically or farming with nature, to support the planet, economy and health. These are the types of supply chains we support through the Food for Life Scotland programme.

The Food for Life Scotland (FFLS) programme, led by Soil Association Scotland and funded by Scottish Government since 2012, provides a framework through which local authorities and public sector sites can ensure they are serving good food. This is done by meeting a set of standards to achieve the Food for Life Served Here award at Bronze, Silver or Gold level.  

The Food for Life Served Here certification, recognised in the draft National Plan as an indicator in two of the six outcomes, is well aligned with Good Food Nation principles, such as the standard that 75 percent of the menu is freshly prepared from unprocessed ingredients, and the standards for animal welfare in the meat, fish and eggs purchased.

Glasgow City Council is one of the 17 local authorities that currently hold a Food for Life Served Here certification for their school meals service. Stephen Sawers, Head of Facilities Management at Glasgow City Council, spoke about his service’s Food for Life journey at this year’s Scotland Finance Live. 

The Food for Life Served Here certification is a huge source of pride for the council and the catering staff, motivatingboth school and central staff to perform well in their jobs to produce 37,000 meals across 113 early years and 152 primary and ASN schools each day.

Stephen Sawers, Head of Facilities Management at Glasgow City Council, presents at CIPFA’s Scotland Finance Live 2024 on Glasgow City Council’s Food for Life journey

Stephen sees immense value for the council in being a part of the Food for Life Scotland programme. Their partnership with Food for Life Scotland and Soil Association Scotland has opened doors to a network and has built momentum around food issues in the city. The council is closely connected to the Glasgow Food Policy Partnership, Nourish, APSE, ASSIST FM, and NHS Scotland.

The council received support from Food for Life Scotland on sourcing local and cheaper ingredient through their data analysis offer; provided online and face-to-face training to catering staff across the local authority on the standards, seasonality, and provenance; supported on maximising the value they received from suppliers by taking fully advantage of community benefit clauses for school visits and engagement on seasonal veg offerings; and offered realistic and achievable menu design support on providing the best choices while simplifying the menu for labour and ingredient efficiencies.

Glasgow City Council and Food for Life Scotland have been working together since 2019. The council achieved the Food for Life Served Here Bronze award in 2021, and extended the award to 113 early years sites in the most recent inspection in 2024. Looking to the future, the council catering team will feed into the Glasgow local food plans and continue working with Food for Life Scotland to explore upgrading their certification to Food for Life Served Here Silver by using some organic products. Stephen Sawers is acutely aware of the importance of valuing school catering and the catering team who make the food, and that for some children, their school meal may be the only hot, nutritious meal they may receive that day. For him, it is ultimately about bringing everyone along on this good food journey – caterers, the council, school staff, parents and, most importantly, pupils. 

Through this type of collaboration at a local level, local authorities can leverage the power of public procurement and use the Food for Life Served Here framework to improve the food system and put more good food on to school meal plates.

Soil Association Scotland is a sustainable food and farming charity working to transform the way we eat, farm and care for the natural world. The Soil Association was founded in 1946 by farmers, scientists, doctors and nutritionists to promote the connection between the health of the soil, food, animals, people and the environment. Food for Life is a Soil Association initiative that began in 2003 and has developed into an award-winning national programme to transform school food culture. In Scotland, the programme has been funded by Scottish Government since 2012. 17 Scottish Local Authorities currently hold Food for Life Served Here certification for their school meals. Food for Life is a leading voice in the campaign for positive change in all areas of food and health. Find out more here.