Drive the shift to a fair, healthy and sustainable food system
The food system accounts for a significant proportion of Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the food we import generates significant emissions in other countries.
Alongside this, many people in Scotland lack access to affordable, sustainable and nutritious food, impacting our health and increasing household costs.
Scotland’s first National Good Food Nation Plan was published in December 2025 as part of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 commitments. This sets out a systems approach to food policy which, if done well, could help to deliver the changes needed to transition to a low carbon, sustainable food system that promotes human and planetary health, enhances food security, protects biodiversity and supports businesses, while ensuring this does not increase costs for households, and ensuring a fair transition for all workers in the food system. However, for the Plan to be effective this ambition must be translated across all relevant policy areas, not least within the final Climate Change Plan.
Farmers have a key role to play in both providing sustainable, healthy food, and managing our land and seas in ways that minimise emissions and protect nature. However, currently less than 10% of public funding given to the industry pays for farming methods that explicitly support nature and tackle climate change.