WORLD FOOD DAY PANEL AGREE SCOTLAND CAN BE A LEADER
Embargoed until: 00:01, 16 October 2017
An expert panel meeting to mark World Food Day 2017 will look at the politics of Scotland’s food system and what international frameworks can do to help.
Nourish Scotland in partnership with UN House Scotland and the Food Researchers in Edinburgh network will host the panel at the University of Edinburgh Business School from 10:00 – 12:00 on Monday 16 October. [1]
The groups are asking – what power do we have in Scotland, at a local and national level to effect change? What could international frameworks like the Right to Food and the Sustainable Development Goals do to make Scotland a food leader?
Nourish Scotland will also use the event to launch a crowdfund campaign to enable diverse participation in the Good Food Nation Bill process. [2] [3]
Pete Ritchie, Executive Director at Nourish Scotland, said:
“Whether breakfast today was a coffee and a banana, a tin of baked beans or a bacon roll, we’ve all been part of a global food system which generates astonishing choice and convenience for some, alongside misery, ill-health and hunger for many and untold damage on our common home.
“A just transition to a sustainable food system is possible, but only through concerted global action across the Sustainable Development Goals – from gender equality to life below water.
“Scotland’s Good Food Nation bill will start us on the journey to a food system which works for everyone, including nature. Our crowdfunding campaign, launched today, will help a diversity of voices to shape this Bill. Food is everyone’s business.”
Anita Aggarwal, Community Development Manager at Pilton Community Health, and panellist at the event said:
“People who struggle to get enough food also struggle to get their voices heard.
“I’m glad to get the opportunity to share what residents in North Edinburgh have told us about their experiences of food insecurity and the barriers they face to eating well.
“I’m inspired everyday by the lengths residents go to so they, their families and their neighbours can eat well despite the issues of affordability and availability of good quality food in the area.”
Gari Donn, Executive Director at UN House Scotland said:
“UN House Scotland is delighted to be working with Nourish Scotland for the 2017 World Food Day on Monday 16 October. Food is related to every aspect of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and especially SDG2, no hunger.
“How a nation, such as Scotland, feeds and looks after its people says so much about who we are and where we are going. Like Nourish Scotland, UN House Scotland is committed to driving forward the key values of the UN – respect for all, transparency in decision making and integrity in all actions within and beyond our organisations.
“As Scotland moves forward in the global and international arena, organisations such as Nourish take centre stage in showing how Scotland cares for its people, for its causes and for its future. We at UN House Scotland applaud the work of Nourish and are immensely pleased to celebrate World Food Day with this amazing civil society organisation.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
[1] The panel contributors are Anita Aggarwal, Community Development Manager at Pilton Community Health; Tom Freeman, Journalist and Assistant Editor at Holyrood Magazine, and Paul Bradley, Project Coordinator on Open Government & Sustainable Development Goals at SCVO. The event will be introduced and chaired by Nourish Scotland. [2] Nourish Scotland’s crowdfunding campaign on the Good Food Nation Bill will be available at: http://www.nourishscoltand/org/donate-to-good-food-nation-campaign [3] The Scottish Government committed to consulting on framework legislation on food in their 2016 and 2017 Programme for Government. The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity confirmed consultation on the Bill will begin before the end of 2017.Contact:
Elli Kontorravdis, Policy & Campaigns Manager
elli@nourishscotland.org.uk
0131 285 1795, 07432 601324
Nourish Scotland
Nourish Scotland is a food justice NGO advocating for a fairer, healthier and more sustainable food system. We are calling for a cross-cutting and rights-based approach in the forthcoming Good Food Nation Bill.