CALLS for an independent Food Commission in Scotland are being led by organisations including FareShare, WWF Scotland and the Trussell Trust.
In a joint letter sent to the First Minister, they have urged for the Commission to be established under the Good Food Nation Bill which is currently going through Parliament.
The groups believe this is necessary to ensure action on pressing issues facing the food system including health inequalities, avoidable waste, climate damage and food insecurity.
Director of WWF Scotland Lang Banks said: “The way we currently produce and consume food are some of the biggest drivers of the twin climate and nature crisis we face today.
“We need an independent body – a Food Commission – to navigate our progress towards a better, more integrated food system if we are to meet the needs of people in a nature and climate-friendly way.”
The calls have come after the release of a report by the Scottish Food Coalition, which revealed the country’s food system to be in a “broken state.”
It showed that a poor diet contributes to four of the top five risk factors for early death, ill-health and disability in Scotland.
It also highlighted that 103,000 people over the age of 65 in Scotland are currently suffering from malnutrition.
Impact and policy officer at elderly charity Food Train Tilly Robinson-Miles said: “Scotland cannot afford for the Good Food Nation Bill to become a missed opportunity
“An independent food commission would play a critical part in driving forward the change needed – to make the nation a world leader in how it addresses issues around food.”
The Scottish Food Coalition’s report also showed that avoidable food waste accounted for the equivalent of 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
They laid out a series of issues they felt needed to be tackled in order to improve food infrastructure in Scotland.
These included breeding less animals for the purposes of food production and encouraging locally produced and sustainable businesses.
Currently, 16% of UK households live in food deserts – areas where the choice of shops and products is very limited.
Other signatories of the letter include Scottish Care, OneKind, RSPB Scotland, STUC and Unite the Union.
The Good Food Nation Bill is currently at stage 3 in the Scottish Parliament.
