The chief of Scotland’s farming union is calling on shoppers to vote with their feet and support local produce to avert future food shortages.
Speaking ahead of the local elections next week, NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy said food security should be at the forefront of voters minds.
He said surging costs – such as fertiliser, fuel, energy, animal feed and labour – were impacting the nation’s ability to produce food, and farmers and crofters needed “proper support and prices” for the quality food they produce.
“For far too long, we have not paid nearly enough attention as a nation to the most important energy source we rely on, which is food, and unless governments and supermarkets wake up soon, we will be looking at food security concerns that we haven’t seen since World War Two,” said Mr Kennedy, who farms near Aberfeldy.
“As we look ahead, we can plainly see that unless we act now and ensure our domestic production systems continue to deliver, we will see real food supply problems in the not-too-distant future.”
Tackling food security
He said the repercussions of the “perfect storm” facing agriculture – driven by Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine – would have repercussions for years to come.
“So what can we do?” added Mr Kennedy.
“Our local council elections give us all a chance to raise the serious issue of food security.”
He said the union was working with local authorities to promote local sourcing for public procurement, as well as lobbying supermarkets to support domestic production.
“I would also ask you to vote with your feet when it comes to purchasing food to ensure your are supporting Scottish and British products,” added Mr Kennedy.
“That way we might have a chance of not only retaining our own food supply, but by doing so, we will also maintain the environment and landscape we have here in Scotland that’s the envy of many across Scotland.”
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