By Vicky Swales

Imagine going into your local supermarket to buy some essentials (milk, bread, eggs, butter, carrots, oats, potatoes) and a few treats (strawberries, raspberries, a couple of steaks and a bottle of whisky). All can be grown and produced in Scotland so wouldn’t it be brilliant if you could place them in your trolley knowing you were supporting Scottish farmers and, at the same time, buying climate-friendly products?

Scottish grown food and drink is renowned to be of a high quality but greater action is needed to reduce its environmental impact. Farming and other forms of rural land management emit nearly one quarter of all Scotland’s greenhouse gases. Farming also releases the majority of Scotland’s methane and nitrous oxide emissions; both are gases that are more harmful in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. How we grow, process, distribute and choose the food we eat has a big influence on whether we will meet our national greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

We need the next Scottish Government to help all farmers to move to low-carbon farming systems that include activities such as regularly testing soils, using less chemical fertiliser and applying it with precision, using manures and household food wastes more effectively as a fertiliser, planting trees and looking after carbon-rich peaty soils.

Farming isn’t an easy occupation and some will complain that these new ways of farming will bring an extra burden and red tape. But, where some see red tape, others see opportunities for lower costs. Many forward-thinking farmers are already regularly soil testing and reducing their dependence on chemical fertiliser because they know it isn’t just good for the planet; and it saves them money. Adopting these low-carbon farming measures is good for business.

This winter has been the wettest on record in Scotland. Farmers are on the front line of this onslaught and have suffered recently, some losing sheep and crops in the floods. Flooding is a problem exacerbated by global warming and that will only worsen and hit farmers year on year unless we all reduce emissions. So farmers must do their bit, along with the rest of us, to cut the emissions at the root cause of the flooding crisis.

Creating a better food system shouldn’t all be heaped on the shoulders of farmers. It also means food processors being energy efficient and greater effort being made throughout the food supply chain to reduce waste. As consumers, we can also do much to reduce food waste and adopt diets with a lower environmental impact. Eating more fruit and vegetables and reducing our consumption of meat and dairy products would not only help the planet but improve our own health at the same time.

Some food choices are harder to make. Let’s go back to our imaginary trolley full of Scottish food and drink. It would be great if we could be sure that, when we choose Scottish, we are choosing food that is healthy and low-carbon; good for our bodies and for the planet. Better labelling of food would help and make choices easier. We need farmers, processors, supermarkets and government to work together to introduce low-carbon techniques and systems throughout the food chain. This approach can contribute to making a better food system, one we can be confident is giving shoppers food and drink that is healthy and doesn’t harm the environment.

The Scottish Government has published a land use strategy, a requirement of Scotland’s Climate Change Act. It aims to encourage a step-change in agriculture to make it more environmentally friendly but it provides little detail about what will be required of farmers. One of the first tasks of the new Government after May’s Holyrood election will be to publish an action plan that will make these policies and requirements much clearer. Stop Climate Chaos Scotland wants a strong land use action plan to introduce low-carbon techniques and systems across the country. Clear leadership is needed to create a food system that provides healthy food, a better environment and a safer climate.

Vicki Swales, head of Land Use Policy at RSPB Scotland, for Stop Climate Chaos Scotland.