In 2019, the Scottish Government published a consultation on becoming a Good Food Nation. The consultation asked for people’s views on whether or not we should have a new law on food to help us transition to a fair, healthy and sustainable food system.

The Scottish Food Coalition has campaigned for this new law, dubbed the Good Food Nation Bill, and is delighted to see such strong support among the people of Scotland.

Key themes from the responses to the consultations were:

• That the law should include a commitment to the right to food for everyone in Scotland.
• That the Scottish Government should encourage businesses to play their part in becoming a Good Food Nation; a massive 93% of respondents agreed that businesses have a role to play
• That we need to work together across all of society to make change happen
• That we need an independent statutory body to oversee the changes, and make sure that we’re all moving in the same direction.

There was clear support for a new approach to food in Scotland, and one that helps us work together for transformational change. An impressive 627 individuals in Scotland sent in their thoughts in detail, and another 470 people responded to the Scottish Food Coalition e-action. This shows just how many people are interested in important issues like changing the food system, and how important public participation is for truly democratic decision-making.

Full analysis of the consultation responses is available online.

In 2018 we hosted a series of Kitchen Table Talks about the state of the food system. The conversations were a real success: over 800 people shared their views with us, demonstrating a huge appetite for a national conversation about food. We summarised the responses in ‘A Seat at the Table: Becoming a Good Food Nation is everyone’s business’.