Y Prif Weinidog woodd yn rhewn. A, ond, i chi'n gweithio'r rhai oherwydd gweithio'r rhai oherwydd. такие awt體iwn o'r rhai oherwydd y cyfleio'r rhai oherwydd gweithio'r rhai oherwydd y cyfleio'r rhai oherwydd a yn adlwysgol ar gyfer cadwyd. Ar gyfer cadwydau y cyfleio'r rhai oherwydd gweithio'r rhai oherwydd 40% more water and 30% more energy. There's therefore pressure on our resources like never before. Globally, food is and will remain a critical issue, but here in Scotland we're fortunate. We are blessed with some of the most amazing natural resources anywhere on the planet. Our land, our water, our seas all provide the foundation for the raw materials that underpin our fantastic food and drink industry. Industry that is now one of the fastest growing sectors in Scotland, but it wasn't always like that. Back in 2007 the Scottish Government started raising the profile of food and drink and it does seem incredible today that there was no national food and drink policy back then. There was very little by way of a joined up approach to growing an industry of huge economic importance like food and drink. This led the way to the first ever national food and drink policy for Scotland and indeed perhaps Europe, and we called that recipe for success since it was published back in 2009. At its heart was the desire for active change and since then the policy has come alive by working with highly motivated and ambitious people all over Scotland at every level of society and of course in the business community as well. This focus has paid huge dividends. The industry's turnover is now £13.9 billion, representing the largest increase in turnover in Scotland even outperforming oil and gas. Since 2007 there has been a 51 per cent increase in the value of food and drink exports and a 32 per cent increase in sales of Scottish food and drink brands across these islands. Initial growth targets were smashed an incredible full six years early. So Deputy Presiding Officer, perhaps we should not really be surprised at the success when we think of Scotland's rich larder, where Scotch beef and lamb are second to none, recognised by top chefs across the world. Our seafood from our pristine waters is acclaimed also worldwide. Our soft fruit, our cereals, our vegetables and tatties are renowned for quality taste and that's not all. Scottish berries and oats are just two excellent products that provide particularly essential nutrients in our diets. For instance, Scottish porridge oats can help to maintain normal blood cholesterol and control our blood sugar levels and berries can provide an enjoyable and healthy addition to our diets contributing to our five a day. Of course, in terms of drink, our whiskey, our famous Scotch whiskey continues to be a global phenomenon, shipping an estimated 40 bottles per second every day. Importantly, the success story is evident at the local level and local sourcing and the celebration of Scottish produce is also increasing dramatically. Indeed, there has been a 50 per cent increase in the number of farmers' markets in Scotland and 158 new local food initiatives in the last 10 years. Through our work with the Scottish Rural University College and our funding for a community food fund, we have already seen 73 projects in the last two years alone celebrate our local produce, the length and breadth of Scotland. Stuart Stevenson, the document A Good Food Nation makes reference to developing a children's food policy. Does the cabinet secretary agree that training and giving opportunities to get access to good food is important for the next generation of consumers and that that will help to drive the market as well as improving health and wellbeing across Scotland? Cabinet secretary. I think that the member makes a good point. It is ironic that we have an access to fantastic nutritious food in our own doorstep that not enough people, particularly our children, are enjoying and have access to, and therefore, if we can make that happen, that will be good for our economy at the same time. In terms of promoting Scottish food, we have seen a 50 per cent increase in Scottish products with protected food names since 2007, combined with an increasing interest where food comes from and local produce on our menus. It is not just the people of Scotland who are increasingly seeking the quality food and drink that we have, but it is also visitors to the shores as well. A recent visitor survey revealed that 49 per cent of visitors cited trying local food as one of the top activities undertaken, while more than two thirds think that the quality food is important when choosing Scotland as a destination. The world wants what we have, but we cannot rest on our laurels. We must build on the success and continue to identify new markets. It is amazing, but a recent supplier development programme, which cost less than £50,000, resulted in 35 Scottish food and drink companies benefiting from an additional £12.1 million in sales with one major retailer. With initiatives such as those, there is so much more that we can achieve. We must support businesses that want to grow their exports or to start exporting, and the £4.5 million Food Export Plan, agreed earlier this year, is a groundbreaking partnership with Government, the public sector and the private sector to support those kind of efforts. It will direct our focus to priority markets and pool of resources to help industry to fully exploit those massive opportunities out there. I am pleased to tell you today about two new additions to Team Scotland. The first two of our new full-time overseas food experts are now in post in Toronto and Japan and are getting on with their jobs. I am grateful. Can the minister confirm my suspicion that starting to export is far more difficult than carrying on and that probably most businesses struggle to see an overseas market, because it is just not what they have done before? His suspicion may have some grounds in that it is daunting for many businesses to get into exports, but those that have usually do not regret it and find that it is a very lucrative marketplace, so that is why there are a number of initiatives in place to mentor and work with particularly smaller and major science businesses to get into the international marketplace. 2014 has already brought a huge boost to the reputation of Scottish food and drink. The eyes of the world were on Scotland and our food and drink did not disappoint. We successfully delivered a fantastic offering at the Rider Cup, the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and homecoming 2014 as well. It is difficult to visualise, but over 2 million meals were prepared for athletes, officials, media, the workforce and spectators at the Commonwealth Games alone. With such vast volumes of produce, Glasgow 2014 set a new gold standard in delivering major events in Scotland in a sustainable way. Liam McArthur for taking an intervention. He is right to point to the resounding success of those events. It has been suggested to me, however, that because of the sponsorship relationships that the Commonwealth Games had, the opportunities for Scottish food and drink producers were perhaps more limited than we had hoped earlier this year. Perhaps he could comment on that. It was certainly a case in which we made huge strides with the Commonwealth Games, and perhaps compared to every previous Commonwealth Games, there was much more local food for sale. I have spoken to many Scottish companies that have benefited hugely from Glasgow 2014. However, it is also the case, as perhaps the member is alluding to, that in terms of the Rider Cup, it was absolutely fabulous what we managed to achieve with the Rider Cup, with perhaps more control for Scotland over some of those issues. Both platforms were used to maximum effect for Scottish food and drink in this country's reputation. Indeed, a legacy of 2014 was the Games sustainable food charter, which was rolled out to the other major events, such as the Rider Cup and homecoming 2014, and will feature strongly in the 2015 year of food and drink. It is no wonder that Kate Devine, the Herald, called the Games food charter that we developed, the first of its kind, deeply impressive. That is why we are now going to encourage the adoption of the food charter for every event, every organisation and, hopefully, one day every town and city in Scotland. Along those successes since 2007, there has been huge activity in other areas, because food is not just about sales and profit. We have devoted unprecedented effort towards food education, helping young people to understand the role food plays in their lives, ensuring that they have the facts that they need at their disposal to make informed choices for their future. We have also made real progress on health with the introduction of supporting healthy choices, a framework of voluntary action for the food industry to encourage consumers to make healthier choices, and we are working to ensure that the public sector is walking the walk and not just talking the talk. In 2007, food and their skills in care homes was estimated at 34 per cent. Source from Scotland is now estimated at just under half and is growing. That means that expenditure on Scottish food and drink by the public sector in Scotland is now nearly £150 million. As well as pupils, we also want patients in our hospitals to enjoy good food. Scotland has led the way in the UK when it comes to developing and monitoring standards for judicial care and catering in our hospitals. We have made good progress but we recognise that there is also more that can be done to drive up standards. That is why we are now going to consult on whether nutritional and catering standards in hospitals should be placed in a statutory footing. We are debating today what is an undisputed success story. Recipe for success has, as they say, done exactly what it says in tin. Scotland is some of the best food and drink in the world and our reputation is world class. However, there are areas of unfinished business. In part, this is about continuing to be ambitious for the industry and we are not resting our laurels. However, my ambition is shared by leaders in the sectors in 10 years' time. Scotland should be well known throughout the world as one of the best places for food and drink businesses to be based. However, more than that, there is something not quite right about our relationship as a nation with food. That presents a profound paradox, one that confronts me every day of my life, not just as a minister of the responsibility for food but as a member of the public and indeed as a parent as well. We may be world-beating in terms of food quality but, unfortunately, we are also beating much of the world in terms of diet-related ill health. The average waste line for Scottish men, for instance, has grown by two inches in a decade and two-thirds of Scots continue to be overweight or obese and the current trends of obesity is set to cost Scotland £3 billion by 2030. Food and vegetable consumption in the poorest 20 per cent has fallen by 20 per cent since the recession and it even goes wider than that. It is also about waste where we still throw away about a fifth of all the food that we purchase that costs Scots over £1 billion so that we can learn a lot from recycling of food waste such as what happened in Glasgow 2014. Although too many of us are buying too much food and wasting too much food, too many of our fellow citizens cannot afford to put food on their tables. Food poverty in 21st century Scotland is a scandal that we all have a responsibility to tackle. 820,000 people in this country are living in relative poverty and every inch of access to affordable, healthy food. We recently announced an extra million pounds over the next two years to help combat food poverty in Scotland. We want to make sure that those who are using food banks as a result of the UK's welfare reforms are able to access appropriate advice and support. Our policy must also tackle ignorance, generally speaking across the population about what lies behind what we eat and where it comes from and how it is prepared. We have to create a culture that attaches greater importance to our food. Today is not just about reflecting in progress, but about saying that we will no longer put up with all those paradoxes. That is why I am committed to making Scotland a good food nation. Scotland is already well known as the land of food and drink, but we also need to become a land of food and drink that is known for the quality of the food that we serve, eat and sell day by day. It needs to become second nature that everyone in Scotland serves, eats and sells fresh, tasty food with sound, healthy and environmental credentials. We want everyone to know what constitutes good food and why. All players in Scottish life from schools to hospitals, retailers and restaurants, the manufacturers would be committed to serving such food. We all know that becoming a good food nation will not be easy. It is a challenge that will require a commitment from all to change. It will take time, but the impact will affect future generations. The Scottish Government is fully behind this aspiration. It will be pursued with vigor under our new First Minister, reinforced by new powers, resulting from the current constitutional process. Above all, it will need a broad coalition for change involving many areas. That is why, in June, I launched the discussion document, Recipe for Success, Scotland's national food and drink policy, becoming a good food nation. Its purpose was to start to this next phase of the debate in this country about our food future. It sought people's views on what it would mean to be a good food nation, what steps it would have to be taken both locally and nationally at the grassroots level and so on. The consultation process closed in late October. We are currently analysing the responses. We have to understand what people think about our food and drink culture. As a starter for 10, we think that public food, local food and children's food are the right areas to focus on more in the future. Of course, that will continue in tandem with our efforts on exports and economic growth, and those are not mutually exclusive aspirations. There will of course be other important issues. To help us through those issues, we will shortly be ready to establish a Scottish Food Commission. It will have two roles, firstly, advising on the key areas that need to be taken forward, and secondly, advocating the importance of food to Scotland's health, environment, economy and our general quality of life. It is vital that we involve everyone from all walks of life for Scotland to become a good food nation, and that is why the work of the commission will be supported by a network of local champions, the length and breadth of Scotland. I make no apologies to the facts as I reach my conclusion that becoming a good food nation is a challenge for us all. It will not happen in one fell swoop. It will happen as we create together good food communities, villages, towns and regions the length and breadth of the country. There is no better time for that to happen than now. 2015 is the designated year of food and drink as part of the Government's overarching tourism drive. That will provide further opportunity to showcase our fantastic industry, both at home and abroad, and to get people engaged in the debate. A series of themes are being developed throughout the year, and I hope that businesses and people across the country will harness all the opportunities. Our food and drink sector is now well and truly in the spotlight, and now is the time to capitalise on the strength of our industry, its providence and the quality of our produce. Becoming a good food nation and creating a good food culture will mean that, in 10 years' time, when Europe or indeed the world thinks good food, it thinks not only of Italy and France but of Scotland as well. That must be our aim, and that is what we must achieve, so I commend the motion to Parliament. Many thanks, and I now call on Clare Baker to speak to and move amendment 11598.1, around 10 minutes, please. I am delighted to be opening the debate for labour this afternoon. This is an exciting time for the food and drink sector. As the recent Bank of Scotland report demonstrated, we are seeing strong export figures in key markets, but we are also seeing a very positive approach across the whole sector with companies planning for the future. That success has happened at a time when there has been really economic pressure on other areas as a credit to all involved. As we look forward to 2015, the year of food and drink, I give credit to the Government for working positively with the sector and promoting its importance in our modern economy. That success has come through increased partnership working with the Scottish Food and Drink Federation, Scotland Food and Drink, the Federation of Small Businesses, our FE and HE sectors, as well as key government agencies. Scotland has a fantastic lardar. We have many unique products that reflect our history and heritage that present opportunities for us to share with the world. As a fifer, I am all too aware of the excellent, locally produced products that we have. From pitting weem fish to puddle dub pork, fife's food and drink is world class. It is a lardar that many of us have grown up with, and it is one that is synonymous with quality and excellence. Reputation and trust is so important in the food and drink sector, and Scotland's brand is strong. We must do all we can to enhance and protect that. Our export sector is dominated by Scotch whisky, a Scottish and UK success story. It is the largest food and drink export in both of those markets. It is a significant product, it supports employment in Scotland and it also opens the door for other products to come on to the international stage. Our food sector is led by another key product with demand for Scottish salmon and seafood growing significantly in recent years. I want to see more products and companies able to build on those successes, moving into emerging markets and ensuring that our brand is able to grow beyond industry leaders and iconic names. As we head into the year of food and drink, we must look to build on the year that we have just had. A strong Scottish tourism sector can showcase our products on our own doorstep. At the Visit Scotland event in Parliament last night, that was clearly demonstrated, we have seen excellent growth in visits to Scotland and our food and drink sector play a key part in that success. However, we must also address the challenges in the sector and the country when it comes to food and drink. As the Bank of Scotland report highlights, producers are facing challenges from rising costs, integrity of the supply chain, food security and meeting global demand. In a space of a year, we have seen the expected growth almost double. The potential within the sector is evident and we must now ensure that this potential is realised, even exceeded, and that the benefits, both economically and socially, are not just experienced by those in the sector but also by the workforce and the country at large. In a world that is seemingly getting smaller, we have seen advances in technology through shipping practices through to food preservation and the flourishing of countries and regions such as Asia. With its middle class expected to grow from just over £500 million to over £3 billion by 2030, we are seeing the emergence of new and exciting export markets for Scotland. We are seeing an increasing global interest in food and its providence. In tough economic times, we have seen the food and drink sector buck the trend and seen positive returns. The opportunities for expansion are clearly there. The questions we must ask ourselves is how we create and maintain the conditions for the sector that will enable us to meet this potential. How do we take advantage of emerging markets and how do we ensure that there is a legacy for the industry for years to come? I very much welcome the export plan and the route map that it offers and welcome the update from the cabinet secretary today. The proposals are practical, responsive and I look forward to their implementation. Last night, when I was at the Visit Scotland event, I was speaking to someone from FSB who works with artisan producers and Fife. When we look at the international food trends, we can see that there is a lot of potential in those types of products, but we need a bit more support to grow our businesses. Issues that Nigel Don was raising. Some of those smaller businesses just need a bit of support to take the next step. Those smaller businesses can also provide additional benefits such as employment in rural areas, support our local tourism section, support innovation and increase Scotland's reputation. It is not an area that could do with a bit more focus. When promoting food and drink in Scotland's reputation, we also need to consider Scotland's health record. We need to address our reputation, fair or otherwise, as the sick man of Europe. I was pleased to hear that the cabinet secretary raised those issues. It signifies that the Government has been listening to concerns over the past few years that the food debate has been a bit too narrow and we need a much more inclusive approach to it. Our obesity levels are far too high. When it comes to 2030, when the sector should be taking advantage of the expected three billion members of the Asian middle class at home, it is estimated that we will be dealing with a £3 billion cost in tackling obesity. It does not have to be that way. Our food and drink export policy has produced clear successes in economic terms, but I welcome the expanded focus of the becoming a good food nation consultation, including the focus on children's diet that Stuart Stevenson raised. There are challenges in producing an overarching inclusive food policy across Government, and if it is to be truly inclusive, it is not just up to Richard Lockhead to deliver it. I was pleased to see that Michael Matheson supported the motion, but we need greater commitment from across Government if we are to make progress in those areas. We need to make greater connections between food and drink as an economic driver with its importance as a public health issue. With such a magnificent lardar, with great export figures and quality in our door steps, we should not be facing significant failings in addressing food poverty, poor health and obesity. We must find solutions to those challenges. The Scottish Parliament has really led on public debates and policy around smoking and alcohol. We need to now have a serious debate about food. Food in Scotland is an emotive issue. It is much easier to talk about the negatives of tobacco and alcohol. When my colleague Richard Simpson spoke about soda tax, which has been introduced in France, he got pretty negative press coverage around that, mainly as seen as an attack on our national drink. Tax as a mechanism for changing behaviour is pretty challenging, but we need to have the space in Scotland to have the honest debate. I welcome comments about the establishment of a food commission, which might help with that. It might provide the space for that debate to take place. Not only would we improve our citizens' health and life chances, but by improving Scotland's diet, we enhance our reputation abroad, supporting the message of a land of food and drink. Sustainability, alongside providence and traceability, is becoming increasingly important in Scotland and internationally. Scotland has a good story to tell in terms of good animal welfare standards and shorter supply chains, but it feels that the global food market does not always value that. Food and drink is an intensely competitive sector, which we have seen in recent years' consolidations in Scotland through mergers and acquisitions. Recently, we have seen the number of independent chicken producers fall in Scotland, as the contracts with Scotland hook two sisters were cancelled. Alongside the desire to promote local, we have to recognise the financial pressures that are on many families when it comes to food. A bit of my own research, a pound of sausages—roughly 400 grams—at my local farmers market cost me £3.24. At high street butchers in my region, a similar weight of sausages cost me £3.18. In a big supermarket, where they offer a whole range of differently-priced sausages, a pound of their own brand pork sausages was £1.38. That is quite a significant difference. While there is clear evidence to suggest that a cultural shift would be a good thing for Scotland, we need to recognise that part of the debate must be about how we ensure low-income families are not excluded from that debate. When it comes to food safety, we must almost be vigilant. We are only too aware of how one food scare can have very negative consequences for a whole industry and take years if not decades to fully recover. Reputation is so important to maintain. The horse meat scandal a few years ago did expose the complexity of the food market, the vulnerability that there is to food fraud and criminality. The news this week of bird flu in England is leading to, I think, for the consumer pretty confusing reports about the risks that there are to human health. We cannot be complacent, but we must also have robust signs to build consumer confidence and a good understanding of any threats. Currently, the Parliament is consulting on a new food standards bill that will create a new food body to take over from the FSA and establish new food law provisions. We should use that as an opportunity to have robust regulation for the food sector that will ensure consumer confidence and trust. As the sector grows, it is important that it grows with a long-term, high-quality workforce in place. For the benefit of the industry, for the benefit of our economy and our society, we need to attract future generations into the industry. Earlier this year, I visited a fish manufacturer that is based in West Lothian. They sat on the boundary of Bathgate in Livingston and they still found it extremely difficult to recruit young people from the local area to come and work for them. When we are facing real challenges around youth unemployment, there is an outdated perception of what working in the food sector is. What I found when I went to the fish factory was that there were fairly paid jobs, secured jobs and jobs that were produced in a high-quality product. We must do more to get young people attracted into that sector. We also need to ensure that future generations are gaining the relevant skills to be successful in the global marketplace. While business programmes remain popular, Scotland is still pretty behind on language skills. Our approach to languages and education is still centred on the traditional languages. We must ask how we can reflect the modern workplace or the business world. If we are talking about Scottish products moving into bigger export markets, we really need to have that flexibility in the language skills in there. What I have seen when I have been to recent food and drink events is the growth in translation services companies who are setting up to try and help companies to make that expansion. We also need to see investment into research and new product development. For example, we cannot get a more traditional product than oatcakes, but they have diversified into gluten-free biscuits and crackers. The US is now its most successful market, and gluten-free is its fastest growing export range. While businesses have a responsibility to invest, there is also potential for greater collaboration with our further and higher education sectors for bringing new products to the market. With that positive example, as we move into 2015, we can look forward to a year of celebration and raising the profile of Scottish food and drink, but we also have much work to do within this Parliament if Scotland is to become truly a good food nation. I move the amendment in my name. Many thanks. I now call in Alex Ferguson, around six minutes or so please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. It is usual in debates of this nature that as the debate goes on and draws to a closed as a degree of repetition takes place. I am sorry to say that here we are only in speech number three, and a certain amount of repetition is going to take place. However, I make no apology for that, because whatever our political or constitutional differences might be, I do not think that anyone can take away from the undoubted success that the Scottish Government's policy on food and drink has been. Alex Ferguson. Is the member not aware that political debates are not over when everything has been said, but only when everyone has said it? Mr Stevenson is accusing me of accusing him of being repetitious. I will reserve judgment on that until later in the debate. However, not for the first time, I am more than happy to applaud the Government, not just for recognising the potential of the sector but for delivering the mechanisms and structures, particularly through recipes for success, that have allowed it to flourish over the past few years, even as other sectors have struggled with the economic pressures bought about by the worst economic depression seen in the so-called developed world since the 1930s. It is a massive testament to all those involved in the food and drink sector that that is the case, from the smallest artisan producer to the industrial-scale processors of some of our best-known products, because it is their efforts that have brought about the real success that is Scotland's food and drink, and we should all applaud them for it. However, I think that we should also recognise the role played by the organisation Scotland Food and Drink since it was established in 2007, initially tasked in its own words with growing the value of Scotland's food and drink sector, making it more profitable and delivering greater global success in a challenging competitive market. It is set about its task with such determination and focus that it has set a new goal of increasing the sector's turnover to £16.5 billion by 2017, having achieved its original target six years ahead of schedule, as the cabinet secretary noted. If only every Government initiative could boast that level of success we would be living in a much happier world. However, it is surely to the great credit of the management team at Scotland Food and Drink that the success has been achieved. I note with some sadness that Ray Jones, the chair of the organisation, is going to be stepping down from his role at the end of the month, I believe, and I am sure that I am not alone in wishing him well. The first Minister's shoes are clearly not the only ones that will take some filling as 2014 draws to a close. The figures that allow us to measure the success are indeed impressive, as the various briefings that we have received prior to this debate indicate. Overall sales of £13.1 billion in 2013, exports paying an increasingly important role, some 60 per cent of Scottish companies looking to expand those overseas markets, food manufacturing growing by over 20 per cent last year, a potential to create almost 10,000 new jobs in the sector over the next five years. Who could fail to get excited over figures, statistics and prospects of that nature? And yet, there are concerns as well. The rising cost of new materials, sustainability and security of supply, the burden of regulation, the crucial need for innovation and improvement in food production, an area in which SMEs play such an important role, and there are other wider concerns, Presiding Officer. The export record and potential, as I think has already been mentioned, of farmed salmon is spectacular, but that industry continues to provoke serious environmental questions over matters such as sea lice and the shooting of seals that remain unanswered, and that leaves that sector just a little bit vulnerable while those questions remain unanswered. On another issue, I was horrified, frankly, to hear the RSPB saying in evidence that the Rural Affairs Committee just last week that it harbored serious concerns over its perception that too great a proportion of common agricultural policies support will remain targeted at the most productive areas of Scotland once the cap reforms are in place. Now, what I would hotly contest that statement, as indeed would most of my productive agricultural constituents, but if we fail to support our productive areas, we could actually face losing the critical mass of some of our national products such as our wonderful Scottish beef, and thus begin to actually reverse the huge successes that we are highlighting today. We can only maintain those successes by maintaining a balance in all of those issues. Next year, Presiding Officer, of course, will be the designated year of food and drink. I very much welcome that initiative, I think that it has great potential, but I would add a slight caveat. Alongside the year of food and drink, we will be taking forward the consultation document of becoming a good food nation. I have absolutely no quibble with the vision that lies behind that consultation, although I have some sympathy with the NFUS that the vision might be more holistic than tangible and may prove difficult to measure. I hope that they are wrong. But if we are truly to become a good food nation, then we have to tackle the fundamental problem that the Cabinet Secretary and Clare Baker have already mentioned. It is one that I see vividly at too many secondary schools in my constituency, in the shape of the fleet of fast food vehicles as close to the door, the school gates, as they could possibly get during the lunch hour. We all know the dreadful statistics on obesity, heart disease and other lifestyle issues that are all too common in Scotland today, and we all know the stress that our health services come under because of them. It has to be one of the great ironies that, as we designate 2015 the year of food and drink and work towards becoming a good food nation, we are simultaneously and not terribly successful in trying to deal with a population that suffers from some of the worst dietary-induced health problems in the western world. In closing, perhaps that should simply spur us on towards becoming that good food nation, because there is no doubt that the health and environmental benefits of doing so are unquestionable. I have some reservations about the establishment of the Food Commission that the Government proposes, but they are for another debate and another time, and I am out of time. For now, we on these benches would simply welcome the success of Scotland's food and drink sector. We wish it well in the future, and we will be supporting both the amendment and the motion before us today. We now turn to the open debate. The speeches of six minutes, please. I call Angus MacDonald to be followed by Alex Rowley. I am certainly pleased to speak in today's debate on food and drink, not least because, as you can probably tell, I am no stranger to the first class food and drink that Scotland has to offer. The cabinet secretary mentioned in his opening remarks that waste lines have increased by an average of two inches in recent years. Sadly, I am well above that average, but there is always hope, I guess, and of course will power. I am certainly pleased to see that the Scottish Government's recipe for success has indeed been a success since 2009, and I look forward to the becoming a good food nation initiative being rolled out in the future, along with the necessary wholehearted participation of everyone in Scotland. My constituency of Falkirk East and the wider Falkirk District plays its part already, and we can boast an impressive number of notable food retailers and producers. In Falkirk East, there are companies with international operations, such as Bacavore, Caledonian Produce and Bone S, who produce ready-made salads solely for M&S using locally sourced ingredients. I also have the state-of-the-art White and Mackay bottling plant in Grangemouth. The cabinet secretary will recall visiting Bacavore and Caledonian Produce following their further expansion in 2012, and I hope that he will also be available to visit White and Mackay's state-of-the-art bottling plant at some point in the near future as a recently received confirmation from the CEO that the plant will remain in operation following the purchase by Philippines-based Imperador. However, my constituency is not just a home for industrialisation and big business. It is also home to a wide range of small food and drink companies and new starts, such as Grangemouth-based Caledonian Cheesecake Company and The Tablet Company, and a new whisky distillery outside Ploment, which was made possible by a generous grant from the Scottish Government. The Falkirk distillery company, which is a plant that is half built at the moment, is expected to provide 86 full-time jobs and attract 75,000 visitors on the back of the world-class attractions of the Kelpies, the Helix and the Falkirk wheel. When debating Scottish food and drink and the Government's plan for Scotland to become a good food nation, we must remember all aspects of our food heritage—good and bad—and acknowledge the impact that those have on our culture. Falkirk is famously the original home of Scotland's other national drink, iron brew. It is now produced in my colleague Jamie Hepburn's constituency, but it was originally produced in Falkirk around 1901. The drink is enjoyed by millions worldwide and is a true Scottish success story, but, arguably, it does not meet the healthy standards encouraged by the Scottish Government. Nor do I suspect that one of Matheson's and Baker's legendary sausage rolls has been traded in Falkirk districts since 1872 and is now based in Larbert near Mrs Tilly's traditional Scottish confectionary and Malcolm Allen The Butchers. With encouragement from the Scottish Government, Malcolm Allen's has produced a healthier burger and a lower calorie sausage, and it sells more than £1 million each year and more than £20 million on sausages, some of which I have to confess have been consumed by myself, but purely in the interests of supporting the local economy. The list of successful food and drink companies in Falkirk district goes on, and this is one of the most industrialised areas in Scotland, right in the middle of the central belt. The food and drink industry in Scotland is in a very healthy position, and those good news success stories of companies large, small, old and new are in no small part due to the support of the Scottish Government through initiatives like recipe for success and the forthcoming 2015 year of food and drink. However, there are challenges to overcome and more can and should be achieved. As a former wholesale and retail butcher, I know first hand that food and drink is an industry with a keen eye on price and profit margins can be small, which can be challenging, especially when manufacturing and supermarkets can negotiate ruthlessly and then take up to three months to pay out. However, as we move into 2015 and launch the year of food and drink, we must keep in mind that, by volume and value, Scotland has some of the largest protected food names in the EU, with high-value products such as Scotch beef and Scotch farm salmon accounting for around £700 million in sales. Sadly, revenue generated by Scotch beef and other Scottish red meat could be much greater if only Westminster Government could give Scotland a fair deal. Members will recall my motion last year and the on-going debate earlier this year regarding the red meat levy. It highlighted that the Prime Minister and the UK Government have refused to return the levy paid by Scotland's livestock producers, who have cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered in the rest of the UK. That is believed to cost quality meat Scotland £1.4 million a year. I thank the members who supported my motion, but I was disappointed that they did not receive cross-party support. Red meat is not the only area of food and drink for Scotland that would be better off if we could get a fair deal from Westminster. Scotland exports vast quantities of whisky around the world, and in particular to developing markets in the brick countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. Those exports of a product entirely made in Scotland with Scottish ingredients see more than £4.3 billion going to the Westminster Exchequer. That is a travesty that I am sure the Scottish Government will continue to work to correct. It is time for Scotland to stop hiding its light under a bushel and step forward to claim its rightful place as one of the world's best food and drink producers. Scotland's food and drink tourism industry is worth around £2.5 million per day, as we have heard earlier, and it is a market with great potential for growth. One that I am sure the year of food and drink and becoming a good food nation will greatly improve. Sadly, as I always have more to say, but as my time is running out, I will draw my comments to a close. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am also happy to support the motion and support the proposals that are contained within this document. I also rise to support the amendment in the name of Clare Baker. I hope that we can have unity in the chamber today, as the amendment adds to the motion and recognises the importance, as Alex Ferguson says, of a £13 billion industry employing almost 400,000 people. Therefore, there should be the opportunities for skills, training and apprenticeships. That is what the amendment highlights. Mr Riley, could I ask you to pull your microphone round slightly? I would like to highlight perhaps a few points. In terms of health and the importance of food and obesity, I did hear it saying recently that the impact on health is similar to that of the impact that smoking was having. As a Government in Scotland, it was agreed to take action and rightly so on smoking. Therefore, I think that we need to look carefully and this document starts to take us in that way. I should say that, as a food grower, someone who enjoys my allotment up in Kelty, it is important that we look right across Government. The community empowerment bill, for example, that is going through scrutiny just now, has a section on allotments. There is a lot more that can be done there. I certainly eat healthy for a big part of the year and grow it myself, as well as giving it away to many other people. Therefore, there is a need for joined up Government, and I like some of the ideas that are coming through. I read the briefing that came forward from the retailers, and there is no doubt that the retailers are employing a lot of people and doing a lot of work. I think that we need to look at food poverty. I was amazed to read that 3.9 million tonnes of food is wasted each year by the industry before it even gets near the shopping basket. At a time when we have food poverty in this country, and if you consider the poverty that exists across the world, that is quite scandalous. Scottish homes throw away 630,000 tonnes of food and drink every year, most of which could have been eaten. The waste costs us up to £1 billion a year, or £470 for an average household. Local authorities have to be a clear partner within the strategy, and local authorities are doing a lot of work. I know in Fife, in my constituency, you now have food waste bins, and that certainly brings it home to use an individual when you see the levels of waste that is taking place. However, we certainly have to do a lot more about that. We also need to recognise that in this day and age food poverty is something that has to be tackled. The Scottish Government's own figures show that, from April 2014 to June 2014, the Scottish welfare fund gave out £980,000 of grants for food. That is not relative poverty, that is absolute poverty. Somebody recently asked me what poverty is, and I said to them that absolute poverty is where you cannot meet your very basic needs. It is the very basic need of every human being to be able to feed themselves. If we look at the levels of waste that is taking place in Scotland, the levels of waste that is taking place through the large supermarkets before it even gets near the food baskets, and then we consider the level of waste that is happening within our own households, then we should not have food poverty. Food banks have not been mentioned yet, but the information that is coming from the Scottish Government is that almost 71,500 people, including almost 23,000 children, were provided with food from a food bank in the last year. Again, it does not add up that we see the levels of waste that is taking place. We see the levels of poverty in our own country, so we need to address those issues. The submission on poverty from the fair share highlighted that there is enough food surplus in the Scottish food industry to feed those who suffer from food poverty in Scotland, and they call for joined up government and being able to do that. I would also want to highlight some of the positives that can be done in the partnerships with local government. The Fife community food project operates in Fife and Moen constituency. There is a whole range of work with 16 plus low-income families, family learning, homeless groups, mental health groups, people with additional support needs, and there is an excellent project at the local level that will address some of the issues around food poverty. Moen constituency, one of the youth workers, Lorraine Mullan, is very actively involved in 10-week cooking skills programmes, working to ensure that people are able to get fresh produce, but to be able to use fresh produce. In conclusion, there are major issues and documents to be made welcome. We need to do more at a local level to ensure that we are healthy eating and encourage healthy grown, but we need to tackle the obscenity that we have, the levels of food waste that is taking place in Scotland, and elsewhere, while we have poverty at home and poverty abroad. I now call Mike McKenzie to be followed by Liam McArthur. I must start by complimenting the cabinet secretary for its thanks to his ambition and his drive in implementing our food and drink policy that this sector has undergone a revolution since 2008. That work has paid off beyond all reasonable expectations with growth in turnover of 14.4 per cent between 2008 and 2011, the strongest growth of any sector in Scotland, and targets on turnover in exports have been exceeded with 51 per cent growth between 2007 and 2013 and the value of food and drink exports. By any standards, that is a remarkable success story. I have had the opportunity of witnessing this amazing phenomenon first hand across the Highlands and Islands, and I have seen a huge improvement in both the variety and the quality of food and drink available. Allow me to take you on a brief culinary tour of the Highlands and Islands, a two-day whistle-stop food fest, arriving in Argyll via the gateway of Inverary. We could breakfast at Loughfine oysters and sample the amazing array of high-quality seafood and other foods available, and it might be best to fortify ourselves with a drama in Carmelton, where the Springbank distillery is the oldest family-owned distillery in Scotland, and the only one, as I understand, is still carrying out the full process on one site. We should also visit their sister distillery, the Glengyll distillery, the first of a number of new distilleries built in this millennium. Heading north, we could fortify ourselves further, if we needed it, with some fine Islay malks, and then on to open and lunch at the ISC. I just wondered about the wisdom of giving legislation we approved this week of visiting two distilleries and then continuing to travel north. Mike McKenzie? I was assuming that neither of us was driving, so we should lunch at the ISC restaurant with a selection of great local foods available, and prepared always to a very high and consistently high standard. Before leaving Oben, we should call in to speak to the inspirational John Furtyth, who has performed a remarkable service for local producers and local caterers alike, and helped to launch brands such as Argyll-Venison, as well as to organise local food and drink trade shows. Now, let's take the ferry across to Mullan, and sample some Islay malk cheese, some of the excellent biscuits produced by Islay Bakery, and some homemade chocolates at the Tovermorey chocolate company. At this point, being busy people, I suggest that we recruit the services of our friend and colleague Stuart Stevenson and ask him to fly us to Stormley and sample some of the world-famous black pudding, now granted protected status by the EU, and then onwards to Orkney, where we will be literally spoilt for choice of high-quality produce, from locally-made crisps, cheese, ice cream and oat cakes to the finest roast beef that I have ever tasted, and the best steak I've had since one I had in France a decade or so ago. Indeed, it's hard to find a butcher in Orkney that hasn't won a prestigious award for the quality of their meat, and after a evening meal perhaps in one of Orkney's many quality restaurants, we could take the overnight ferry for Shetland. Shetland is the place for fish at which it excels above all other parts of the Highlands and Islands, but also for Shetland's wonderful oat cakes and cheese. For breakfast, I would recommend the smoked, haddock and poached free range eggs. I've never tasted better, and before we head for home, lunch in Frankie's fishing chip shop in Bray, and then a quick trip up north to the island of Unst to visit the UK's most northerly brewery, the wonderfully named Valhalla brewery for some of sunny priests' heavenly beer. Presiding Officer, in the short time available, I have inevitably missed out more producers of excellent food and drink than I can possibly mention. There is much, much more to sample and to feast upon. Scotland's high-quality, locally produced food and drink adds greatly to the visitor experience, and therefore brings quality and added value to our important tourism industry. It adds to our exports. Scotland's exports are being vital in showing up the UK's balance of trade deficit. Local consumption of food and drink saves on food miles, helping to reduce our greenhouse gases. Our healthy food contributes to our health and to our wellbeing, and the provenance of our food and drink enhances Scotland's brand worldwide. There is no doubt, Presiding Officer, that food and drink is a success story for Scotland, but the really good news is that we have barely scratched the surface. There is much, much more to be discovered, and it's hard to think of a part of the islands or indeed the whole of Scotland where new producers are not emerging and recognising the added value in bringing their quality produce to markets both at home and abroad. For many years, we have failed to recognise the many opportunities afforded by our wonderful food and drink. It is thanks to this Government and this Cabinet Secretary that this is no longer the case. I am glad that I managed to fit in lunch today. This debate would be agony. Liam McArthur, to be followed by Maureen Watt. The chances of Mike Mackenzie keeping his waistline to listen to and choosing increase in the next few months are very limited, and the advisability of at least three dramas before lunchtime is open to question. I welcome this debate and I welcome the Cabinet Secretary's sentiments. I am pointing up the paradox between the natural resources that we have at our disposal but still the issues that we face in terms of diet, and I include myself very much in that. I think that he's right, and we are all right to acknowledge the success both of the Government and of the strategy. I think that it would be slightly disingenuous perhaps to adopt a year zero approach. I think that it is fair to acknowledge the work of my colleague and his predecessor Ross Finney in developing the strategy for agriculture, which was almost a necessary precursor before progressing with this very valuable strategy on food and drink. I might be touched on that later on. For those of us who were at the Visit Scotland reception last night, I think that it is a demonstration not just in terms of the interconnection between tourism and food and drink, but an indicator of the quality, the confidence and the success that characterises the food and drink sector. I see this very much on a local level as Mike Mackenzie was alluding to there. Again, I will come on to that later. At a national level, too, that is very evident. It is not difficult to see why others have commented on the briefing from the Bank of Scotland that illustrates the extent of that success against the backdrop of very challenging economic circumstances. We have seen the sector whether the storm, the growth to £13.1 billion last year, is in advance of what I think all would anticipate being a very successful year through 2014. It is the largest manufacturing sector, and looking ahead it is a sector that is clearly ambitious to grow further, not least through the export market. That is from the micro-businesses and SMEs right through to the largest manufacturers. All very good signals indeed. However, it is difficult to see how you would have a food and drink strategy without an agriculture strategy. The NFU and their briefing suggest that without farmers, a good food nation simply would not exist. I do not think that any of us would dispute that. Farmers and crofters across the country grow the crops of fruit and vegetable and raise the livestock, which underpin our food system. They are also working to improve the environmental and welfare standards. As Clare Baker was suggesting, there is a hope that increased awareness among consumers about those issues will translate into greater success for quality-issued produce, whether through the Scotch beef, Scotch lamb, the Red Tractor, Marks or whatever. However, there are challenges to, as you would expect. In tough economic times, it is perhaps not a surprise that consumers revert to buying on the basis of price. Alex Rowley made a number of pertinent points in that regard. One would hope that, in terms of real wages starting to rise, we will see that that issue begin to be addressed. I think that the NFU has pointed to some concerns around the Food Commission. I will wait to see some of the details. There are risks of potential duplication and overlap with other regulators and advisory bodies. However, there are challenges too for the retail sector. The action of our supermarkets, as NFU made clear, can influence consumer behaviour, diet profiles and also the sustainability of supply chain. A good food nation requires sustainable pricing to be embedded on fairness in the supply chain. It not just hurts businesses, but it also runs the risk of stifling investment. The initiative of setting up a grocery code of practice, appointing and adjudicator are welcome innovations at a UK level, not to promote a confrontational relationship between retailers and primary producers. I hope to encourage a more positive and constructive relationship. It would be wrong of us to lay all the blame at the door of the supermarkets. They help and promote and sell upwards of £10 billion of Scottish food and drink into the rest of the UK, which remains our largest market. If I could turn briefly to the local situation, it is a microcosm of what is happening on a national level. I commend the work of Orkney food and drink and, in particular, the personal efforts of Edgar Balfour. We have seen food and drink awards being initiated in Orkney, and I hope that we will continue to celebrate the success locally. There are exemplars of top quality beef, lamb, seafood, orkney cheese and ice cream to stockings, oat cakes, fudge and Orkney preserves. We have Highland Park in Scabawiski through to Orkney Brewery and Swansea Brewerys. All award winners are ambitious to grow and to meet the demand locally, nationally and internationally. The cabinet secretary was right to say that he would not be resting on his laurels and looking at what further support could be providing. I welcome that and perhaps could offer some examples. The high costs that were pointed out by the Bank of Scotland briefing are all too evident as challenges facing Isles-based businesses. They transport in energy as well as poor broadband connections come up repeatedly. In relation to ferry services, there are concerns that, in terms of Orkney producers, they are not entitled to access the RET in the way that, as Orkney food and drinks have pointed out, Western Isles. We do not benefit from RET and find it hard to understand why there is a distinction between island communities. On air services, we have seen cuts to the air discount scheme. Again, Orkney food and drink pointed out that the cost for Orkney food and drink businesses of doing business in the UK is expensive, in any case, without making the first leg of the journey even more expensive. Those are issues that the cabinet secretary may wish to reflect on and take on board. Postal services, we have seen warnings from the Royal Mail, which we need to take seriously. Skills and the amendment from Claire Baker points to some of the issues that we face, not least in terms of our young people or those of all ages attaining the skills to keep them in the sector to raise the quality, but skills that they may need to go off island in order to secure. On food labelling, an issue that, again, has been raised by the Bank of Scotland and perhaps I can follow up with the cabinet secretary in due course. In conclusion, locally and nationally, food and drink is a success story. It is one that we should recognise, celebrate, thank and support all those across the sector who are achieving that. In the year of food and drink in 2015 and following the fall of the cabinet secretary's own paradox, I very much look forward to it, particularly in the micro brewery month. Many thanks. I now call Maureen Watt to be followed by Cara Hylton. I, too, am pleased to be taking part in this debate this afternoon, following on as it does from the very successful Visit Scotland event last evening, which focused very much on 2015 Scotland's year of food and drink. That has already had a very good kickstart by the high-profile events this year in terms of the Commonwealth Games and the Rider Cup. Maureen Watt, can you pull your microphone up? I think that the importance of this document becoming a food nation to wider... I think that the importance of this document to the whole of Scotland is evidenced by the huge number of briefings that have been sent to MSPs in the last few days on this subject, and I thank all the organisations for these. Presiding Officer, by any measurement, the cabinet secretary and the Scottish Government are to be congratulated on the prominence that they have given to the food and drink sector in Scotland since coming to office in 2007 and publishing the recipe for success and now building on that. To many people, Aberdeen in the north-east is only known as the centre of oil and gas, but we are by no means a one-trick pony. Before oil and gas, agriculture and whisky were very much the mainstays of the economy, and even today the food and drink sector supports 22,000 jobs in the region and accounts for around one-fifth of Scotland's food and drink activity. Within the last year, Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce conducted a survey in the sector and found that 37 per cent of respondents reported export activity compared to only 29 per cent in 2011, with more than a third of the revenue coming from countries outside the UK. Encouragingly, 78 per cent of businesses expected to grow and expand, with more than 17 per cent expecting to retain their existing scale. However, 37 per cent reporting export activity shows that there is huge potential still for growth, and about 55 per cent of businesses are looking to invest for growth. Challenges exist in terms of recruiting senior managers, sales staff and competition with other industries in the region that pay higher wages is quite acute. I would really like to pay tribute to the many people from other parts of Europe who have come to work in this sector in the north-east, vital workers in a tight labour market and an example of why exit from the EU would be disastrous for Scotland. More growth potential is there, and that is why the upcoming inquiries by the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee on exports and my own committee, the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee on all forms of freight transport, will hopefully identify the opportunity and challenges for Scotland's businesses. Most freight is carried on scheduled passenger flights and much is exported through direct routes to the Middle East, Dubai and Doha. It is important when new routes are developed for passengers that we also think of the export potential for our products in the holds of these aircraft. Yes, of course. Claudia Beamish, so I could have your microphone up. Would the member agree with me that, also within Scotland, it is very important that we look at freight being moved increasingly from road on to rail, in view of the arguments that she will know as well as I do? Yes, of course, and that is of course one of the aspects that we will be looking at in our inquiry. The north-east is not just a food larder, it has a huge potential as a food destination. The Chamber of Commerce has joined together with the region's three destination marketing organisations, Visit Aberdeen Royal Decide and Bamshare Coast, Aberdeenshire Council and the regional tourism partnership and submitted a bid for funding to the Visit Scotland 2015 Food and Drink Growth Fund. I really hope that they are successful. Having had a meeting this morning with Philip Smith, the regional director of Visit Scotland for Aberdeen City and Shire, I sincerely hope that the initiative is successful as there is really much that can be built on, not just on the annual taste of Grampian event, which I am sure my colleague Christian Allard will speak about, but also the many agricultural shows and festivals that have a potential to be showcases for the region's food and drink. There is also still huge improvement that can be made in the hospitality sector and skills development in this area was the main subject of my conversation with Philip Smith this morning. Hospitality and the career potential and progression therein was previously much sought after and really needs to be so again. I welcome the fact that becoming a good food nation, the document, does not just concentrate entirely on food and drink production and food tourism but also the wider importance of food. I welcome the recent announcement, for example, on improving the standards of food in our hospitals. While there has been improvements in the food served up in schools, much still needs to be done in persuading our children. Unfortunately, the school group has left and their parents on the desirability for their long-term health of eating healthy nutritious food. There are still opportunities for councils and health boards to really look at their procurement practices. Bulk buying from a farm may not always be the most cost-effective and local producers can be competitive and more responsive to their needs. The need for families to have access to better food has been mentioned. It is very welcome that the NFU briefing in this debate said that the achievement of a good food nation requires a growing and sustainable economy that promotes growth of disposable incomes from all our citizens so that they can buy this food. I welcome the opportunity to speak in today's debate on food and drink in support of the motion and in support of Scottish Labour's amendment, which stresses the importance of an inclusive food policy—a food policy that puts accessibility, affordability and sustainability at its heart. It acknowledges every step of the food supply chain impact in our environment and considers how we produce, grow and catch our food and assesses the impact on wildlife, soil, oceans, air, resources and our climate. In Devfirmland and across Fife, we have certainly got a lot to be proud of in terms of local food and drink production and the promotion of good quality local produce. Last year, I had the pleasure of attending the opening weekend of Abbott Brew House, which is located right in Devfirmland's historical centre. Beers are brewed on-site to historic recipes, so you literally have the chance to enjoy a taste of history in Devfirmland in Scotland's ancient capital. I am not normally a beer fan, but I can confirm that I was impressed by what I sampled. I would strongly encourage anyone visiting Devfirmland to take some time to sample the local beers from this 17th century-style brew house. We have also got the privilege in Devfirmland of a monthly five farmers market on the second Saturday of every month at the Glen Gates, offering a wide range of fresh produce from Fife's finest producers. Last week, Devfirmland hosted the World Scotch Pie Championships, a competition that highlights the skill of bakers and butchers from across Scotland who create top-quality pastry products. Angus MacDonald should maybe have come along to sample the produce. Last week, too, we saw the launch of Devfirmland's exciting Venture Street initiative, and I was pleased to discover that one of the units, soup amen, which is trading from Bruce Street, will be selling quality soup that is made from fresh local products sour from local farmers. Back to beer again, Devfirmland's annual beer festival is another huge success with record attendance, allowing visitors the opportunity to sample more than 60 of the country's best ales and ciders. Just a few examples of how the local food and drink market is flourishing in Fife, albeit not all of them, the most nutritionally sound examples. There is no doubt that the food and drink sector across Scotland makes a huge contribution to our economy. All the briefings provided for the debate today have shown that, in terms of both targets and turnover, the sector is exceeding all expectations, supporting 360,000 jobs across Scotland right now and, hopefully, even more in the future. I am pleased, too, that the Scottish Government has made the decision to make 2015 the year of food and drink to celebrate and promote Scotland's produce, because we have certainly got the best natural produce in the world and we have got a lot to offer. It is pleased, too, to see that an explosion in the local food movement with 150 new local food initiatives and many more food education projects in our schools. Initiatives such as fruitful schools are a really welcome development, supporting schools and growing, maintaining and enjoying orchards. It is a great way not only of teaching children where food comes from, but of encouraging healthy eating at the same time, with aim of ensuring that every single child gets a chance to pick and eat straight from a tree. However, it is not enough just to celebrate our excellent local and Scottish produce or take comfort in the sector's strength. As the cabinet secretary has already acknowledged, everyone in Scotland needs to have access to high-quality, affordable and healthy food, yet, despite all the positive developments, Scotland still has some of the highest levels of diet-related poor health in the world. A report on the news this morning estimated that obesity cost the UK £47 billion a year, with the global costs the same as smoking and possibly having greater impact on the world than climate change. Closer to home, a report by NHS Fife revealed that one in five primary one children in Dunfermline is overweight or obese. The same report found that one in three adults in West Fife is obese and two thirds are overweight. We are all rightly proud of Scotland's food and drink. The reality is that, for many Scots, the products that we are rightly proud of and that Mike Mackenzie described so vividly are out of reach for many folk. Too many families rely on ready meals and takeaways, even because of the lack of time, lack of money or lack of confidence in cooking. The National Farmers Union has pointed out in its briefing that the cost of living crisis means that many of Scotland's agricultural products are out of reach for many Scots. The fact is that austerity is still the reality for too many consumers who have no choice but to focus on the cheapest deal and not the most ethical or sustainable one. With families and communities across Scotland struggling to make ends meet and to juggle the demands of working family, too many of us continue to rely on diets that contain too much sugar, too much fat and are accompanied by too little exercise. Health professionals have warned that children are being condemned to a lifetime of ill health, a generation destroyed by junk food and lack of exercise. It is a ticking time bomb that we just cannot ignore. We need concerted action to ensure that every family and every community across Scotland has access to high-quality, affordable and healthy food. We need more action from the UK and the Scottish Government, also at local level, to tackle food poverty and to end the scandal of children who are going to school hungry of mums who are going without their tea so that they can eat their homes. I read a report from Homestar recently that one in four adults in Scotland has skipped meals in the last year so that someone else in the household could eat. The same survey said that 30,000 children in Scotland live in families who cannot afford to eat properly at all. We all know constituents who have had no choice but to turn in desperation to food banks, but, as Alex Rowley pointed out earlier, families are going hungry across Scotland. Millions of tonnes of food have been wasted and thrown away every year. It is all very easy for us to blame the UK coalition Government for its welfare reforms. There is still a lot that we can do here in Scotland to tackle poverty and to make life better and healthier for families. I encourage the cabinet secretary and other members to have a look at Homestar's excellent manifesto for families in Scotland, which outlines the number of actions that the Scottish Government can take right now to make life better for our children and protect them from hunger and poor nutrition. In concluent, the RSPB provided us with a very helpful guide for today's debate, and I would endorse its view in that guide that we need a food system that provides environmentally sustainable, healthy and affordable food for all, rather than as an expensive exception. We need a food system that is not just environmentally sustainable but socially just, and only then, when we make that aspiration, could Scotland truly proclaim itself a good food nation. I know across the chamber that we all share that objective and, hopefully, in the new spirit of co-operation and unity, we can achieve that goal. Thank you. I now call Rob Gibson to be followed by Christian Allard. Well thank you, Presiding Officer. Many of the themes that have been led already are ones that, as Alex Ferguson said, might well find themselves being repeated. I would like to home in on this excellent proposal for becoming a good food nation. The Scottish Government's aim is at a 2025 horizon. That is at roughly three parliaments away from now. I think that that is something that shows vision and I believe that it is necessary to think in those terms in order to create the kind of policy that will be long-lasting and effective because a land of food and drink is not only what we produce but also what we buy, serve and eat ourselves. That is why I believe that becoming a good food nation is the key document for those next 10 years to achieve those aims. When it was launched in June, it sought to be able to add to the recipe for success. However, this policy hinges not on exports and lucrative niche markets but on a target for 2025 for people from every walk of life to take pride and pleasure in the food served day by day in Scotland. That comes as huge challenges in the financially challenging times that thousands of working poor families require food banks every month, as has been mentioned. It proposes in the policy nothing short of a food revolution. The ready availability of what constitutes good food requires all sections of Scottish life from schools to food manufacturers via hospitals, retailers and restaurants to commit to serving it. On that point, social justice and justice for food in this country requires that the producers of food get paid a fair amount of money for what they produce as well as being affordable to the people who go to buy it. The problem that we have with supermarkets is that they have always made sure that they get their profits first. We have to make sure that the grocery adjudicator that has been mentioned already is actually effective and that we finally see some of those supermarkets being hauled up. We can see, as times get tough, that they are losing custom at the top end. Indeed, that the leaders in all these of this world are making inroads, partly because they are serving things in a fashion that people can afford, but it does not seem to me that they are having as bad an effect on the producer. Indeed, they are always going for the apples that look the prettiest. The reason for the waste of food is because of the selection that supermarkets think people will wish to buy. While folk who go to farmers markets know that they get nobly potatoes and carrots and things like that, we have to get away from what the look of the thing is and what the taste of it is and finding a way towards that. Children's wellbeing and reducing the most intractable dietary-related diseases need an increasingly organic food industry, I would argue, for it to thrive in Scotland to base itself on our culinary heritage of the past. I see the Scottish Government's role in tackling climate change as a key driver. I see land reform and community empowerment as a means to reintroduce the ability for more Scots to own and control the land that supports their lives. In so doing, the vision of Scandinavian levels of fairness and social justice that have been debated in the independence referendum, particularly, can energise this nation if we apply those ideas here. Respect for our soils, plants and animals, the balance of nature are driving the arguments about returning to one planet living. Food for the mind and the body are the heart of a sustainable country, about sustainable lives, which Scots can make a recipe for success. We should see some of the good examples that there are in schools. I will be hosting Food for Life again next February, the last time that they were in from East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire, showing us what they produce in school meals was an eye-opener for many people. The cabinet secretary was there and many others, they are coming back. Crofting connections in the highlands are doing a great job, with thousands of youngsters from primary and now secondary schools learning how to grow things and then eat them. For Liam McArthur's benefit, he probably remembers the children from Sandy who grew the pigs from little piglets until they were big enough and then they were killed and they ate them and they were cheering when they said that at our reception in the main hall. That gives you a sense of where people are connected. It was a superb moment because everybody burst out laughing and I think that it underlines the fact that people were reconnected with the growing of food and, indeed, it is eating. Just a little moment at the end about exports. Be very careful, I think, about whisky. At the moment, we can see that there is a contraction in the markets for whisky. It is our largest food and drink export. We can see that in China, Singapore, the US, Brazil and Mexico it is being reducing. Those of us who remember a while back in the 1980s, when distilleries were being closed, we are not seeing anything like that. I am not being a scaremonger, but some of the expansion projects by Diagio, those multinational companies, are being put on hold. The ever-extension of exports for whisky are not necessarily the best basis for the kind of policy that we are talking about. Social justice is about making sure that our food policy fits what we need. As I said at the SNP conference last week, it is not just the fair that served in the excellent restaurants in Perth or Paris. It is what served on every dinner plate from Darnas to Dumfries so that every day, every day, can live healthier, fairer and greener lives. Many thanks. I now call on Cristian Allard to be followed by Margaret MacDougall. Six minutes, please. Thank you, officer. Yesterday afternoon sitting in this chamber, I realised how much this nation has changed since I came to this country. This parliament is responsible for a lot of those changes and we heard this afternoon how much this cabinet secretary is responsible for a lot of the good changes that happened in the food and drink sector. But going back to yesterday, the change of First Minister was really an historic day. We witnessed a modern leader taking charge of a modern Scotland. Scotland's new First Minister is a great community character. She's always seen with a mobile phone in hand and this First Minister might be able to help the cabinet secretary to promote the best of our local food. I saw yesterday that STV Aberdeen tweeted that our iconic northeast delicacy, the Rhaoi. Oh, buttery, if you don't know your loons from your coins. The Rhaoi is now available as a phone cover. The I Rhaoi is born and is enough a fine phone cover. A few warnings come with the I Rhaoi. Do not spread jam on this cover. Do not grill lightly. Do not eat. It will not taste good. This modern nation of ours is indeed very innovative when it comes to phone and drink and I started to discover its food tradition and all involved in food production adapting the fantastic food and drinks that you have to modern Scotland. We are becoming a good food nation. President officer, I spend most of my life in Scotland in the food industry and where better than to tell the best food you have if not in the northeast of Scotland. You will find many Rhaoi's at the taste of Grampian food festival held every year at the Thane Stone Centre in Inverry and more in what was right. I was going to talk about the taste of Grampian of course. At the seafood market at Jimmy Booken, the star of the BBC Trollerman documentary, a great star, a great TV star, cook Scottish langoustines this year. It was great to see Jimmy sharing his extensive knowledge of seafood with many young families living in the northeast. The seafood market attracts huge crowds and is incredibly popular. Food champions like Jimmy, skipper of the Amity Tour and like Peter Bruce, skipper of the Burning Rose, promote seafoods in schools under the Seafood in Schools programme of Seafood Scotland. Reaching tens of thousands of pupils every year, this is how we best promote the industry to future generations, President officer. Ask the fishermen, ask the farmers, the food processors, ask the experts and this government is doing just that. Despite my best efforts this year as the last few months to promote free-range Scottish chicken, we heard that the industry in Scotland is in trouble. We heard a few weeks ago that major retailers will not renew their contracts to buy free-range Scottish chicken. I thank you in a few Scotland for their briefing and I agree food producers are in a fairly disadvantage due to top-down imbalances in profit distribution from large retailers to producers. This is about social justice just like Rob Gibson stated earlier on. This is social justice for rural Scotland. When the best of Scottish produce cannot reach our local supermarket shelves, we'll all suffer. I would ask the Cabinet Secretary to do anything in his power to help chicken farmers in the northeast like Bob Hea from Telegraph. International demand for Scotland's food and drink is growing and we have a lot to thank Richard Lockead for this. Travelling the world with our food producers and opening new markets for Scottish produce. This modern nation of ours is not only rediscovering its food tradition but it's also passing it on to future generations. We are becoming a good food nation. We need to celebrate our food heritage and promote it as well. We need to promote our food and drink innovations. The food and drink sector is an integral part of our culture and of our identity. This I learned very young. In Bogondiz, the food and drink sector is celebrated every year as a foie gastronomical in my hometown of Dijon. As the Cabinet Secretary said earlier on, France is of course one of the most recognized good food nation. In my hometown of Dijon, it's the biggest event in the year for the region. We've more than 200,000 visitors. It is on the par with our own Royal Highland show. My lovely food will always be associated with the good family time spent as a food and drink fair. As a son of a farmer and as a seafood exporter for many years, I would love to see on shows the best food and drinks from Scotland in my Bogondiz in France. There is a way of presenting officer. Every year the show invites a country as a guest to not only sell and display the best food and drinks, but also to promote the country as a tourist destination showing off the best of its culture of its identity. And next year is of course Scotland year for food and drinks. So what a great opportunity for visit Scotland Cabinet Secretary, let's show the world that we are becoming a good food nation. South Africa, Spain, China, Portugal and many other countries came to Bogondiz as a country guest over the years. And before any one object, because of course we are not in independent nation, in 2001 Quebec was the guest of honour. I would like to finish on one part of the things about one local award-winning food producer, Gigi Ross in Inverury. When he won in the war earlier this year, he said a message to all politicians and he said politicians, if you want to know where the real and general rooms for the economy are and what will generate economic growth, look up your local family business. We are here, we employ, we invest. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and it is a great pleasure to speak in this debate today. As we have already heard, the food and drink industry is a huge part of Scotland's economy, generating £13.9 billion in 2012 and accounts for 13.2 per cent of Scotland's total exports, while the sector directly employs almost 118,000 people. With 2015 being Scotland's year of food and drink, there has never been a better time to work to promote Scotland's quality and unique products across the world. The industry is still growing and it is key that we nurture and support the industry to capitalise on the opportunities it presents. My speech today will look at two aspects, the local benefit that food and drink industry brings to Ayrshire and Arran and a few of the problems that face SMEs to grow their business in the sector. Ayrshire and Arran is an excellent example of the food and drink choices on offer in Scotland from farmers' markets to distilleries. It contributes around 16 per cent of total visitor spending, and in 2013, tourists spent more than £133 million in the local area. One example of good practice from the Ayrshire area is the collaboration between producers. For example, the North Ayrshire Food Network helps businesses to work together on issues such as distribution, marketing and export for their mutual benefit. Taste of Arran is a partnership that brings together 11 food and drink producers on the island, including specialist cheese, crunchy Arran otes and delicious dairy ice creams, providing a single point of contact for sales, marketing and distribution for members. It can be prohibitively expensive for a small business to export on its own because of costs of pallets and containers. Taste of Arran works collaboratively with its members by sharing containers and other costs, which keeps costs down, enabling their goods to reach wider markets, which they would not otherwise have been able to tap into. When I spoke to Alistair Dobson from Taste of Arran at the Visit Scotland event last night, he said that he had been exporting for years from Arran to the mainland, and it made business sense to extend that principle to the rest of the UK and further afield. He also felt that this collaboration should be replicated across Scotland. In fact, there is a pilot running just now with around 20 SMEs, and early figures are looking encouraging. I welcome the initiatives that the cabinet secretary mentioned today, but I am sure that many other small businesses could benefit from schemes like those. Although companies have said to me that they would not know how to go about it or who to contact to start the process, it would be beneficial if the Scottish Government would look into this and see if the North Ayrshire and Taste of Arran examples could be replicated across Scotland. In doing so, we would enable many more small businesses to export the products, and so help the Government reaches its target of a 50 per cent increase in exports by 2017. Another issue that came to my attention when the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee held workshops in Perth recently was that there is a lack of collaboration between Government departments. That led to other one company missing a massive opportunity to export their potatoes to Russia because the governmental process was too slow. We need to get better at supporting business by having more cohesiveness between the many Government departments involved in ensuring that our food and drinks industry is able to produce and transport their goods to a global market. While that is just one company, it begs the question how many more missed opportunities have been due to lack of collaboration between Government departments. In that respect, I welcome John Swinney's comments at the EET committee during budget scrutiny last week that new initiatives will be launched to assist and support companies to export. I do hope that the Government plans to streamline the process and make it quicker and easier for businesses to compete with competitors globally. Finally, there is an issue of logistics in terms of exports, not only in terms of global connectivity but making sure that within Scotland businesses can move their goods quickly and easily and all the modes of transport link up effectively. There is a noticeable problem the further north you go in Scotland. I welcome Maureen Watt's committee carrying out the inquiry of the R in two freight and logistics. When dealing with the perishable foodstuff, it is crucial that it can be transported quickly and in bulk and that the haulage and freight industry has the proper infrastructure to deal with capacity. According to the freight transport association, poor rail links mean weight limits and speed limits that put them beyond economic use. There are areas out with the central belt that are lacking in capacity to conclude presiding. Collaboration and connectivity are key to expanding our food and drink sector. If we wish to be world players in this industry, we need to focus on investing in our infrastructure and helping smaller businesses to expand into local and global markets. Finally, we need to work to make sure that the processes are clear cut, streamlined and joined up to stop any unnecessary delays to the trading process. Thank you. Now, Titer, for time, I call on Stuart Stevenson to be followed by Rhoda Grant up to six minutes now. Thank you, Presiding Officer. First, I apologise to colleagues as I have an engagement Glasgow in the means that I shall leave before the end of the debate. Can I congratulate Mike Mackenzie in particular for setting what may turn out to be a new record in that book, compiled by a well-known Irish stout manufacturer? The contribution to Parliament that achieves the greatest number of press releases. He is not alone in that particular endeavour, but I think that he trumps everyone else. To advise the chamber that I am ready to fly colleagues all over Scotland in pursuit of good food and drink, there is never a hardship to do that. To tell them, as Napoleon asked for lucky generals, you would be flying with a lucky pilot. I have come off a plane in an emergency on three occasions so far, and on 4 November 1975, experienced parachute failure. I can experience all those things. You can be with me, you will be perfectly safe if you do so. However, to the matter of food and drink, the important matter that is before us today is a couple of interesting things that Scotland is innovating in the matter of food and drink. It is not just simply that we are picking up the things that we find lying around and finding a way of exporting them. Did you know that we are now exporting garlic to France from Murray? We are exporting snails from Scotland to France and we are beginning to make serious inroads in the olive oil industry with our extra virgin cold-pressed oil seed rape oil, which was first produced, for commercial purposes, very close to Peterhead and is now produced in a couple of different places. It is much better oil for cooking than olive oil. It can be heated to a higher temperature before it starts to break down, and it is at least equal in flavour content to that long-standing Mediterranean material. We are doing some things that people are not necessarily aware of. The Back into Scotland survey tells us that 58 per cent of Scottish producers are planning to expand overseas in the next five years, and that is pretty good news. Almost two thirds did say that they would welcome assistance in marketing and in developing brand awareness. The business of brand is important. If you go around the world, you will find very big recognition for Scotch, for a wonderful whisky. Indeed, in India, as I have made reference in the chamber before, there is a huge shade in second-hand Johnny Walker bottles, which are not always refilled with Johnny Walker whisky before being resold, and that pattern is repeated around the world. Brands are precious things that need to be managed carefully. An industry expert said that a brand is the evidence of a claim or distinction that you make to your customers, and he continues that brands are promises. When they are kept, customers keep them, they stay loyal to you, but when they are broken, you lose these customers for a very long period indeed. Having international recognition for many of our products is important, but it is important that we live up to those international brands, and our food exports depend on them. The good example is in my constituency, as there are in others. One is Gumi's Choice, which is a family-run business in Port Soy. It exports smoked salmon. One exporter of the Year Award in 2009 smoked the salmon with the barrels from the whisky industry, and you can taste which whisky is when you taste the smoked salmon. That is an ideal combination of the best of Scotland, and I love having that in my plate. Indeed, the sales manager Henry Angus, commenting on that, said that, with the right skills and resources in place to succeed in a global marketplace and we have worked hard to develop relationships, that is what we all have to do. Salmon and fish, generally, are among the healthiest things that we could possibly eat. The budding rose has been mentioned. I was at a sea fish event last night that was held in Edinburgh, and the budding rose got mentioned three times. Well done, Peter Bruce. The Peter Bruce brand is doing well. I look forward to the day when our fish products have the skippers' photograph and signature on the packaging, because increasingly products are sold in packaging, creating an even stronger link between the person who is responsible for the first early part of the quality right through the supply chain to the customer. We want to see people saying that there is an extra value in buying Peter Bruce or many of the other skippers from Liam McArthur's constituency, as well as mine. I am generous in these matters. No, I am time-wise your turn, that is all I can say. There are a couple of things that we need to be aware of in health. One of them is perhaps the issue of trans fats, where I think that some recent research is showing that it can damage the memory. Clearly, I have avoided any of that trans fat thus far, or I cannot remember having had it. It is one or the other, I am not quite sure of which. The industry has expectations. The industry is going to create lots of new jobs over the next few years. Like a couple of others in here, I come from the age of rationing immediately post-war. Thank goodness that we are now in a position where the quality of our food enhances the stature and health of our people and creates a powerful economic driver for our economy. I very much welcome this debate on the year of food and drink 2015. I hope that this year will highlight what is best about Scottish products. We have got a lot to be proud of, as we have heard pretty much all afternoon. We have got high-quality produce that is recognised worldwide. We have producers that aspire to excellence, as well as to build on our traditional fae, and whisky, what is there not to like about whisky? I was proud to pursue the EU protected geographical indication for storm away black pudding. When Brian Wilson discovered an Edinburgh butcher selling storm away style black pudding, something had to be done. It was not only misrepresentation, but it was a pretty shawty imitation, nothing like the real thing. The campaign took off, and I would like to pay tribute to the butchers who drew up the successful application for their hard work doing this. That means that the economic benefit of the high-quality product is kept for the good of the islands. They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, however, when it damages you economically, it can be a huge disadvantage, more so if it damages your reputation and the reputation of your product. The campaign attracted pretty much universal backing from the islands and beyond, as well as support from both the Scottish and UK Governments. It took a number of years and a great deal of hard work to apply and to have the application granted, but it was worthwhile and it is now protected. Products that are unique and excellent need to be protected from poor imitations. Lessons can be learned from this, and we see now that Dundee are following suit with their famous Dundee cake, and we have already had success with Orkney cheese and our broth smokey, and it is important that we recognise where we have excellence and protect it. We also have areas that revel in their pursuit of excellence, such as Orkney, and I mentioned Orkney cheese, but Orkney Island Gold is also a well-known brand that covers lamb and beef, but it also encapsulates how the Orcadians market their food and indeed their hospitality. They aspire together towards excellence, and that recognises that the impact that joint marketing can have. They are not competing against each other, but they are jointly competing against everybody else. Islands, while having many advantages, also have the natural disadvantage when it comes to communications. However, I would have to say that I am lucky that, in my region, island groups are blazing a trail to show how they can jointly market their excellent products to the benefit of the whole community. We need to learn from that for different products, including our wonderful shellfish, that are still exported to the continent when we should be using it at home. Many people come to Scotland hoping to experience it, so I think that, while we have done much, there is much to do. As a Highlands and Islands MSP, I cannot really speak on a debate about food and drink without mentioning whisky. Our region is home to the best whiskies in Scotland and whether your taste is the peaty malts from the west on the Argyll Islands, or indeed the mild honey of Astrasby, there is something in the region for everyone. They provide jobs throughout the Highlands and Islands, and those are well paid jobs when they are rare in this area. The export market provides income to the country, and the excise duty helps to provide our schools and hospitals. Indeed, that is an all-round success. In recent years, Scotch whisky has been much in demand, leading to even more jobs created in distilleries when they are working around the clock to try to meet demand. Maybe that expansion has peaked, but I would have to say that the jobs that it created were very welcome in some of the worst off areas in our country. We now have things like micro breweries growing all over the Highlands and Islands to great success. Following blazing a trail behind whisky as gin, who would have thought that the Highlands would become famous for gin? That is happening. In fact, even Brw Ychladdech is looking at marketing their own gin, so not only whisky but gin as well. We have a lot to celebrate in 2015, our year of food and drink, and it will provide huge marketing opportunities globally. However, as others have said in this debate, it would give us a real cause for celebration of next year that all Scots would have access to good-quality food. It is sad that, although those of us who can afford to celebrate the success, many of our constituents are living out of food banks, and even access to them is being rationed. It would be a real celebration next year if we could eradicate food banks from Scotland. To do that, we need to tackle the cause. We need to drive up skills and pay, especially in our food and drinks industry, but also in our hospitality industry, too. Often those who use food banks are working but earning low wages. It is important that we recognise that a fair day's work deserves a fair day's pay. We should aspire that every worker is earning the living wage. We are some way towards that in the public sector, but we have to find ways of increasing wages in the private sector and more so in our food industry. If we are to aspire to excellence, we need a motivated workforce who can afford to remain in the industry and build their skills and expertise. The year of food and drink gives us opportunities and challenges. To reach excellence, we not only need good produce but to market, and we need to ensure that we have access to a good diet. I believe that those challenges are something that we can meet if we work together. I am keen in being involved in this debate, not just as a consumer of food and drink, but also because the industry is worth £2.5 million per day to the Scottish economy, and that has an impact in every one of our constituencies in every area that we live because of the sheer volume of the size of the industry. The international demand for our products, Scottish Food and Drink, continues to grow and Scotland's youth food and drink export plan to capitalise on this by exporting food and drink by £5.4 billion a year. Scotland is a global brand and it is very successful at that, but we can always do more and we can always ensure that the Scottish Government pushes our products forward, because it is, after all, worth about an estimated 117,900 jobs to Scotland, and that in itself is quite a lot. One of the other things that has been mentioned is that food and drink exports in itself is a major part of the Scottish economy compared to the UK. For example, in 2013, it accounted for 30 per cent of our total exports, as opposed to the UK exports of only six. It is five times more important to us here in Scotland than it is to the rest of the UK. One of the things that the debate has brought up is that it is important that we welcome the Scottish Government's commitment to tackle our serious public health issue that we have as well. Alex Rowley mentioned some of the good work that is happening in Fife. When I was a councillor in Renfrewshire Council, we also had a lot of good schemes as well. One in particular was, from my licensing point of view, we ensured that mobile vans weren't near schools. It was quite difficult from a legal perspective, but it was our policy that we managed to get through and made sure that it wasn't easy for kids to be able to go out into school. We have all seen the scenes just outside at lunchtime in a school where the chick fans full of school students are just trying to get some, so that helped in some way as well. By our grandparents knew more, they were more food aware than what we are, because they knew how to buy healthily and what to do. I think that one of the programmes that we also did was to ensure that families, it wasn't so much about what they ate, but it was budgeting to make sure that they could all sit down as a family. There was a programme in Renfrewshire where they did that with some families, and they went on record by saying that that made a big difference to them, because something as simple as sitting down to a meal, talking to one another as a family, having a meal that was made for them and actually doing it in a way that was cost-effective and good for them. That was one of the programmes, and that's something that we have to look at as well. I think that I've mentioned before, Presiding Officer, that Murden FC and Engage Renfrewshire also had a programme where they taught fathers to go to corporate hospitality in St Murden and to learn to use the facilities to cook. Now, it's more likely that fathers are going to go to a place like St Murden than they would be to a community hall to learn to cook as well. It's about how we do those things, and then it ended up with the fathers with their children having the meal as well. Education is a major part of that as well for people in Scotland to ensure that we look at it differently what we eat as well. Every one of us has to look at it and know where the world's worst is when we look at some of the things that are in the canteen and some of our own diets so that we can possibly look at ourselves the eye for one that I've been watching recently what I eat as well. People say that they're losing weight. It's an on-going struggle for myself to make sure that I keep that discipline as well. It's important that, as we go to a good food nation, we make sure that we have that kind of education and ensure that we engage with people in such a way that it can make a difference in their lives, and it's not just condescending, it's something that is of value for them as well. I'm looking at you now and I can see in your eyes—I can see from here—but you're thinking why I've not mentioned the great town of Paisley at this stage. There is more in the food and drink than the Sherwood chip shop in East End Tandoori in the town of Paisley, because we have a company called Pirelli's Ice Cream, which is an Italian Scots family who came over in 1925. Usually, for Paisley, they come from San Biagio as opposed to Bargar, because nearly every Italian Scots family comes from the most Scottish town in Italy, which is Bargar itself, which incidentally Mr Natini, who owns a Castle Veatchee chip shop in Paisley, is famous as an entertainer. They've made such a big difference. Obviously, it's ice cream that we're talking about in this scenario. They do all types of ice creams from budget ice cream right through to the more expensive ones, but the difficulty that they have—and it has been mentioned here—is that they've invested in a state-of-the-art facility. The problems that they have are dealing with the big shops to try to get into that market as a small business, and that is something that is on-going for companies like that. We also have the bottling plant from Chivisbrillers in Paisley, and they export across the world. Recently, they invested in 2012 in a new bottling plant to ensure that they could increase the number of their specialised brands and their larger brands, which is all about going to the international markets. When you look at some of the things that we've done there, we also have the largest beer festival in Scotland, which is the real ale festival in Paisley town hall, where there's a whole Scottish hall and there's a foreign beers hall as well. It's always popular that people come from all over to see Scottish products that are available there at real ale. One of them is from Orkney, the Isles of Orkney. It's quite popular, the one called Skull Splitter in particular, but everyone's only allowed a half pint of that. We have many challenges, Presiding Officer, but I think that it's what we do, and we've got good stories to tell in food and drink that it's going to be difficult, and there's things for us to do. I look forward to the 2015 year of food and drink, not just because I like both, but because it gives us an opportunity to see what we can actually deliver. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to the Cabinet Secretary too for bringing this debate. I'd like to pay tribute to everyone who works in the food production industries, and fishermen and farmers and crofters, and that we acknowledge some of the difficulties that they face in bringing some of the products that have been highlighted today as being superb of their kind, and also the difficulties just in feeding the nation, and having an ambition that Scotland might be able to feed herself would be a fantastic target to reach. There are a number of areas that reflect and create issues around our food and drink industries, such as land reform, communications, transport, legislation, tourism and so on. Land reform is much as particularly in the area that I cover of Highlands and Islands as I travel across that whole area. There are undoubtedly land masses where the owners are absent, and they are a barrier to people who would like to work that very land. Communications, I think, is becoming really important. As we know, there's a massive investment being made by both Governments and British Telecom carrying out work at the moment. Just to get a real feel for how important that is, particularly for some of the smaller producers, there's a small chocolate company in Darnis called Coco Mountain. I think that, without good broadband, which they don't have, they struggle, but they export to over 30 countries around the world. They've done that pretty much single-handedly. They have a superb product, and we need to recognise some of the difficulties that they have of distribution and exporting. Transport is the same. If we perhaps hadn't had the real Klondike, the macro Klondike in the 70s and 80s on the west coast, when would our roads ever have moved from a single track all the way from the east coast right up the north-west coast to Darnis? So I think that these are issues. Education, I've got a lovely story from a primary school of the primary school teacher whose young eight-year-old pupil arrived late in the class with the excuse that he had to teach his granny how to use her iPhone. The teacher did have a light bulb moment and set up a class indeed where many grannies came in to learn how to use their new technology from eight and nine-year-olds, but the payback, which I think is one that might interest you, minister, is that, cabinet secretary, is that they in turn showed the children how to kipr a herring, make a ham hoch and other traditional delights. So the cookery class run by the over 70s is still continuing, I may say, in teaching our children how to perhaps renew skills that they otherwise wouldn't have. And finally, I think there's a couple of issues that I think are kind of threats to our industry. As environment secretary, Orrin Patterson called in the EU to relax its stance on GM crops. And we're proud in this country, I think, that we do try and produce quite a lot of organic food now and certainly have a good reputation for a clean environment and generally fresh, good produce. A new environment secretary, Elizabeth Truss, has not made her view clear, but in February this year the EU licensed the GM maze variety pioneer 1507 and the first new GM crop licence in 15 years. 19 states opposed the licence but were overruled by larger countries with more voting power led by the United Kingdom and Spain, so we're not hopeful. The Scottish Government is opposed to GM crops stating that the cultivation of GM crops could damage Scotland's rich environment and I would certainly endorse that and I think that we have to take as firm a stance as we can. I mean there's presently no commercial cultivation GM crops in Scotland, certainly. I'm very grateful to Gina for taking intervention. She'll be aware that the former scientific adviser at the Scottish Government and up until recently scientific adviser to the European Commission, Professor Anne Glover, has had her services dispensed with in large part because of the position she took on GM. Does she support that decision or does she regret it? I'm sorry, I didn't hear the last, just the last phrase, the question you asked me. Sorry, does she regret the decision to dispense with the chief scientific adviser to the European Commission largely on the basis of the stance she took in relation to GM? Remaining 40 seconds all thereby. Sorry, well I do think that the evidence is large against the case of GM and I think we're right for the moment to continue that stance in this country. The other issue that I will find just finally in my last few minutes is one that's raised by the NFUS and the supply chain where farmers and growers are often unfairly disadvantaged due to top down imbalances in profit distribution from large retailers to producers and I think that one of the front pages of the Shetland Times that will stay with me was the local dairy co-operative pouring milk down the drain when the sales have imported and much cheaper milk and I think there is a real difficulty, I'm not saying this is easy, we can't just dictate products in supermarkets but I do think that there has to be a balance struck and I think these are some of the issues that face our food and drink industry but mostly and finally just to say on the tourism front, there's no doubt that our produce is highly prized and loved by people who come here. I would like to praise Flyby for always offering you either Stoats tonnocks or walkers produce and criticise ScotRail for offering neither or none of these. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Thank you. I'm now calling Nigel Don. Six minutes please and after which we'll move to closing speeches. Thank you very much Presiding Officer. This has been a long afternoon but I am going to join the list of colleagues who have taken us around our constituencies and I hope that we will find that we not only have a little lesson in geography but I might actually go somewhere interesting as well. If I were to take a tour around Angus North and Mearns, I could start actually with oatmeal of Aford which sounds strange because Aford is not in my constituency but apparently that business which produces organic materials and cereals and foods took its name from the fact that Aford is the nearest or was the nearest railway station. There is now one in Lawrence Kirk, strange things that we find. I pop into Brichin and Ella Drinks, the bouverage, raspberry, blueberry and strawberry drinks and reiterate the point that the Cabinet Secretary has earlier made, of course, that we produce berries. We produce lots of berries and they're actually very good for us and if we don't want to eat them as berries we can drink them as juice. My colleague Graham Day is the MSP for Angus South and he's not able to be with us this afternoon and I know that he would have picked up on Angus growers who again produce soft fruits across the whole area including Angus, Persia and Thife. Mackie who produce jams and marmalades in Arbroath from those very fruits of course and I'm sure that Graham would also have wanted to point out the Arbroath Smoky and in particular RR Spinks and Sons established in 1715 who produce Arbroath Smokies. Now if I came back into my own constituency and back into Brichin I would get to the Glen Cadm Distillery. We have many of those of course I don't think anybody's yet mentioned of course that a distillery is where it is because of its water which is the bit that you tend not to transport although in this particular case they do have nine miles of pipe bringing it from the springs of the moorans. But water is also exported from forfer. The Strathmore water bottling plant in forfer makes use of the fact that the spring is quite literally at the bottom of what months upon a time have been the garden and it's fascinating this pipe this appears out of there and that of course is is where they bottle it. Now those local businesses employ people produce products which we enjoy and which we export. When I speak to those businesses one of the things that they do pick up is in fact one of the things that the Labour Party picked up in in their amendments and that is the need for skills because the food industry uses a very wide range of skills which are not necessarily ones which have been taught at home and not necessarily taught in school. Actually I as a chemical engineer and probably have the best qualification for working in the food industry because process development and chemistry on a decent scale is actually exactly what that's about and exactly what I was taught to do. I also note when it comes to skills and other colleagues have mentioned this George Adam and Jean Urquitt in particular of course that we don't by and large as a generation know how to cook it was our parents who were probably the last cookers our children frequently have no idea how to cook and that is one of the issues which we do have to address if we're going to deal with obesity and fresh food because we're now really have a dependency on processed food. For coming to obesity as an issue which is what I'd like to major on I would like to pick up on an issue which nobody else has picked up on yet which is that of pollinators. We have received a briefing from Buglife pointing out that bees and their like are an extraordinarily important part of our food system and I do want to suggest to the cabinet secretary that he might just want to consider whether counting bees is actually one of those national indicators that we should consider formally or otherwise. We count birds as a surrogate for biodiversity we count fish as a measure of sea health and I wonder whether actually pollinators are because they're relatively big and relatively countable. It's actually something that we should consider counting on a national basis and at least estimating of course we're not going to count everyone as a national indicator of agricultural health but lastly I'd like to come to the issue of obesity others have mentioned it I took the advice of one of our national experts on the Scottish diet members will know I do that fairly frequently the difficulty we have is that the diet really hasn't changed much despite our best efforts it's still far too easy for us to be overweight and obese it's far too easy for us to eat too many calories and incidentally too much salt and whilst perhaps the figures might have stabilised they're certainly not getting better now the Scottish Government is clearly trying is clearly ambitious and I do want to commend cabinet secretary for raising the issue not only in the report but actually in some detail this afternoon because I think it's very easy to talk about our exports and our products and actually to ignore the issue which is central to the health of the nation references previously made to the fact that it's now probably as important as smoking in the costs to our nation I therefore commend him for taking it seriously I commend him for producing a standard for responsible marketing for food and drink the industry will not like what we're trying to tell them but they will have to get on board this is a problem we do have to sort it might need taxation it clearly does need work on portion sizes which is already going on it does need work on formulation which is already going on it does need work on education which is already going on they will all play their part but it's going to be an extraordinarily difficult one to crack it needs everybody to get involved including the industry and the profit motive is clearly not on our side we need to find ways of persuading our food businesses to go the extra mile to look after the health of the nation and on occasion to forego that profit thank you thank you excellent are we now move the winding up speeches and I call on Jamie McGregor six minutes please mr McGregor I always welcome the opportunity to promote Scotland's world-class food and drink not least the vast majority of whisky production Scotland's leading food and drink export which is so valuable to our balance of payments the branding of Scotland internationally and our economy the whisky industry is to be congratulated for growing the value of exports by 90 percent over the last decade its planned capital spend of two billion over the next three four years and the fact that around 30 distillery projects are being brought forward by new entrants in addition to the 109 existing distilleries demonstrates the potential for significant further growth in the years ahead and delighted that work has begun on a new distillery on Harris and I commend the efforts of Burr Bakewell the founder and chairman of Isle of Harris distillers limited and I'd also recommend the Kilhoman distillery on Isle which I visited last year and the Artisanal Red River distillery on Lewis now we have without doubt the finest hardshelled prawns lobsters scallops and other sorts of shellfish of anywhere in the world and of course Orkney has been marvellous about marketing its crab meat we also have wonderful game and venison which is high protein local astral and delicious also wonderful fruit and vegetables and we now have a rapidly growing number of restaurants all over Scotland which make use of these indigenous ingredients and earn a great reputation for themselves and Scotland in doing so let's not forget our excellent smoke Scottish smoke houses like Inveror and Loc Fine in Argyll at the Stonaway smoke house and Hebridean smoke in the western Isles and the high quality of our farm Scottish salmon which supplies these places now we've had a very good and constructed debate today which has allowed members to highlight the many successes but there are challenges too these include the impacts of climate change changes to agricultural support payments skills shortages and the impact of trade sanctions internationally something we've witnessed recently in terms of the Russian ban on imports which has hit our pelagic fisherman in particular who have lost important Russian export export markets from mackerel i was in contact with the Scottish pelagic process association before today and i was pleased they informed me that after the Russian ban targets and strategies were identified and some progress has been made in finding new markets and expanding sales to existing markets Russia took a larger grade of mackerel and it's been challenging to find another outlet for that size Ukraine takes the same size but problems existed obtaining credit insurance cover in the present circumstances in Ukraine and i'm pleased that insurance cover is being made available through the UK government's UK export finance organisation and shipments have since been made to Ukraine using this facility which is again another tangible benefit for our food export sector of being part of the UK seafish have helped with trade exhibitions and sdi's global network has given new sales leads in the far east and the person in Tokyo did a great job recently by getting promotion a promotion of Scottish mackerel in a major Japanese retail chain aeon while the industry is making progress they face major competition from Norway whose pelagic industry has spent as a spend of seven million per year for promoting their pelagic products Scottish suppliers have been displaced in Russia by Iceland and Ferries as they are not affected by the sanctions and it may be hard to get that market back I agree with members who have argued that providing local food and delicacies to home consumers and tourists in Scotland is extremely important and potentially lucrative for local businesses as research indicates visitors spend about a fifth of their holiday budget on food and are willing to pay up to 15 per cent more for food of Scottish or regional origin examples of delicacies in Argyll that have not already been mentioned can be found at the seafood cabinet and skip nests the open seafood hut and I want to commend the work of co-operatives which are working to support local food producers in my region such as food from Argyll which promotes Argyll and Bute's fantastic game drink meat and seafood and organises farmers markets and local food stands at major events such as musical music festivals all over Scotland I can highly recommend the truly delicious Real Mackay Stovies company home roasted lamb stovies made from the farmers own blackfish sheep reared on his own hill farm in Argyll and I would commend the Scottish crossing federation for helping to launch earlier this year the Scottish website crofting enterprise which showcases some of the tremendous crofting produce such as the heather fed hebrady and mutton and native shetland nan nothing is more succulent and I hope many more crofters can become involved in this welcome initiative as time goes on as species champion from the marsh fertility butterfly the charity buglife Scotland asked me to highlight that our fruit industry in Scotland retires entirely entirely on pollination by insects it said that out of every three mouthfuls of food weed one is pollinated by insects the value of this free service is estimated at 12.6 billion a year now presiding officer how am I doing for time virtually out of it oh right so to conclude we welcome the opportunity to debating food and drink policy in this chamber the transatlantic trade and investment partnership uh can further increase the successes of Scottish food and drink a good ttip deal could bring an additional 1.7 billion to the Scottish economy and a large proportion will be thanks to include with thanks to increased food and drink exports and we might hopefully see a lifting of the current us import ban on scotch beef all thanks to a good ttip agreement we look forward to the Scottish government to put in place policies that are pro business and support our primary producers like farmers fishmen and crofters thank you thank you much an advantage speech and no call on claudia bimish eight minutes will thereby thank you presiding officer i'm very glad that the cabinet secretary has called this debate today as many members have pointed out as we move towards the year of food and drink in 2015 members from all sides of the chamber have highlighted the huge importance of food and drink and this whole sector in scotland having as we have some of the highest quality products from shellfish to scotch whiskey which are exported all over the world from spring bank to valhalla mic mackenzie's tour is certainly enticing and there has been a wee bit of competition between the different constituencies not least paisley of course uh as to where the where the best tours might be but i would simply suggest that members ask visit scotland to put all the tours in all the constituencies onto their website as i'm sure that tourists and people within scotland would much enjoy that i would like to take this opportunity to welcome the becoming of a good food nation as a cabinet secretary said in his ministerial forward of the document it is vital and i believe this is key that we address the paradox of having such high quality food products but at the same time also having a generally unhealthy relationship with food in scotland we must acknowledge and tackle fuel fuel food poverty and fuel poverty indeed as this is a challenging issue for many families as rhoda grant said food banks must be a thing of the past and we must make this happen in 2015 and this is the responsibility of us all across the chamber and far beyond this is as a cabinet secretary says unfinished business in the good food nation the cabinet secretary stressed the need and i quote for a commitment from all to change and stressing public food local food and of course children's food liam mccarthur highlighted the contribution of the previous scottish executive to the agriculture strategy it is of course important to focus on how we produce food in the first place our farmers do do us a great service by growing crops and raising animals on a commercial scale and the new cap arrangements must allow them to continue to do this but in an increasingly sustainable way many farmers have taken on the climate challenge in the next period leading up to the cap review in 2017 it is essential that all farmers work to reduce their emissions with 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions coming from agriculture the use of public money through cap payments means there is an expectation that the public good is equally important as production itself this can be voluntary with the right government support however it is my view that it will need to become mandatory if results aren't seen rapidly there are some models which i would like to highlight of smaller scale production which other members have discussed today as well which can yield positive results in many ways community growing projects can have a significant benefit for communities not just in terms of the food produced but also by creating enjoyable spaces for local people to congregate and improving biodiversity indeed biodiversity can be greatly improved by organic fruit and vegetable growing without potentially harmful pesticides such as neonicotinoids meaning bees and other pollinators are able to thrive as mentioned by Jamie McGregor and also Nigel Don i'm pleased to say that organic production has been supported by the Scottish Government in the latest srdp particularly i would like to point out as Scotland is at the moment bottom of the European label table for organic consumption and near the bottom with production as well and with the organic market flourishing in countries such as france which has doubled in the last five years i'm sure members will agree there are some catching up to do one organisation my own region of south scotland whitmure organics has led the way with their commitment to organic produce and the cabinet secretary was at the launch of the community shared farm offer whitmure has been able to develop living learning space as a resource to encourage school children farmers and the general public in learning about sustainable food and farming people's can is another group in south scotland th