Food Systems Transformation in Scotland—The Journey to, Vision of, and Challenges Facing the New Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act
Gilg Andrew
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The communication is well organized although the abstract as well the introduction should better give the reader the opportunity to get into the topic and undertand the before and after. Same for the conclusions
Author Response
Thank you very much for your constructive review and comments. Here is my response to your main revision request below
Point 1: The communication is well organized although the abstract as well the introduction should better give the reader the opportunity to get into the topic and undertand the before and after. Same for the conclusions
Response 1: Thank you for your constructive and supportive reviewer comments. I have reworked the abstract, introduction and conclusion to help the reader get into the topic quickly and build a strong understanding of the before and after. I have also heavily edited the main text and added a new overview section of the Scottish Agriculture, Food and Drink sector to set the scene. These changes have made the narrative is consistent and complete throughout.
Reviewer 2 Report
Line 38-41 are cited with a different format (superscripts) than the rest of the manuscript.
I did not realize this paper was mostly a review of the policies and the timeline of the GFN Act. Though I am not an expert in the political pathways and progression of this Act, I reviewed it actively and thought it was well written and shares significant and important details with the reader.
Author Response
Thank you for the time and effort you have put into reviewing this manuscript and the constructive comments provided. Please see my responses to your comments below.
Point 1: Line 38-41 are cited with a different format (superscripts) than the rest of the manuscript.
Response 1: Thank you. This alternative format has been used to distinguish between references and footnotes. The superscripts(1, 2, 3) on lines 38-41 refer to the 3 footnotes listed at the bottom of the same page. After advice, I have reintegrated the content in the footnotes into the main text and removed the associated superscripts and footnotes. This content is now referenced as per the required style.
Point 2: I did not realize this paper was mostly a review of the policies and the timeline of the GFN Act. Though I am not an expert in the political pathways and progression of this Act, I reviewed it actively and thought it was well written and shares significant and important details with the reader.
Response 2: Thank you for this feedback. I am very glad you found the paper to be well written and sharing significant and important details regarding this groundbreaking piece of food systems legislation. I have further improved the paper by adding a new contextual section that presents an overview of the Scottish Agriculture, Food and Drink section and streamlined the descriptive section on the food policy journey and the passage of the bill through the Scottish Parliament.
Reviewer 3 Report
Dear authors,
The subject of food security is ver important and update. The reflection on this issue within specific national contexts, as it is the case, deserves attention as it is at the national scale that policies are defines, implemented and evaluated. The paper consists in a 'communication' (conference paper?) and consists in a synthesis/report of the political framework of food security in the case of Scotland. The authors should explain the importance of the approach adopted and transform the report into a paper.
Author Response
Thank you very much for the time and effort you have put into reviewing this manuscript and for the constructive comments provided. Please find my response below.
Point 1: The subject of food security is very important and update. The reflection on this issue within specific national contexts, as it is the case, deserves attention as it is at the national scale that policies are defines, implemented and evaluated. The paper consists in a 'communication' (conference paper?) and consists in a synthesis/report of the political framework of food security in the case of Scotland. The authors should explain the importance of the approach adopted and transform the report into a paper.
Response 1: Thank you for your acknowledgement of the importance of the topic under discussion and how relevant and upto date it is in terms of global and national food policy. After taking advice from the associate editor and the special issue editors, it was agreed that this paper would be written as a “Communications” paper, a format permitted by this journal and which is defined as short articles that present groundbreaking preliminary results or significant findings (including policy innovations). The structure for such articles is similar to an research article though new empirical research is not required. There is a suggested minimum word count of 2000 words.
This article style was adopted as this ground breaking legislation is in the very early days of its commencement and as such no evaluation of the legislation is yet possible. Notwithstanding it is early days, the journey to, and story of the, Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act offers very interesting political and policy reflections into how such food systems oriented legislation is developed, the responsibilities it places and on whom, the consultative and scrutiny mechanisms provided for and importantly what is left to do and what unresolved concerns and remaining tensions persist.
The paper has been heavily edited throughout and the Scottish Agricultural, Food and Drink sector has set in a much clearer context in order to explain why this legislation, in this policy and political context and with specific focus on food systems transformation is important and relevant to a wide body of readers globally.
Reviewer 4 Report
Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act
As a pioneer of research into quality and local food between 1993 and 2005 (see my papers with Battershill, Ilbery and Little et al) I was very interested to review this paper which analyses the journey to a Scottish Food Commission charged with altering the direction of Scottish food away from the global food industries hegemony.
However, I have some reservations about publication though the paper contributes a lot with its analysis of the Good Food Nation ideology.
First, I do not normally recommend publication of reviews of public policy based on the genesis of those policies unless there is original research based on the interaction between the key actors involved. But in this case maybe the policy is innovative enough to merit publication.
Second, the few paragraphs that record the passage of the Act could be cut as they add little as its merely this happened then that happened.
Third, presumably as a result of Brexit (NOT a fan!) the Scottish Parliament was able to enact this Act which I suspect otherwise would not have been possible if the UK was not in the CAP. Needs a few sentences to discuss Brexit impact on Scottish policy development.
Fourth, the UK ( I think) has been conducting trade deals with for example Australasia which commentators have in general criticised as these deals will allow just the sort of food into the UK that the Good Food Nation Act wants to reduce. So again a few sentences assuming these trade deals are UK wide.
Fifth, The UK is a major importer of food (approx 33%) and at the moment there are few if any checks on food imports (post-Brexit). I suspect Scotland has an even greater food import percentage and so a few sentences on how these food imports must undermine the Good Food Nation Act.
Sixth and related to my first point the paper only analyses what the Act might do and maybe it would be better to wait for say five years to research the impact if any. The Act is very worthy, but I doubt given the enormous power of the global food industry mega corporations and the supermarkets that the Scottish Food Commission will be able to have much impact. Consumers need to change and this will be difficult given the legendary poor diet in Scotland.
However, the paper does discuss these problems and I think on balance and because we so desperately need to address bad diet and the horror of over processed foods contributing to maybe a third or a half of NHS health problems that any paper and any Act that seeks to reverse even slowly at first needs to be in the public domain.
Every journey starts with a single step.
PS to Mary Brennan: I took many steps in Buccleuch Place as a Geography Undergraduate at Edinburgh in the 1960s and my best man studied Economics. Happy days.
OK but a few doubts. eg Afoot or a foot?
Author Response
Thank you very much for the time and effort you have put into reveiwing this manuscript and the excellent comments provided and suggested recommendations for revisions made. II (and my colleagues) have actively engaged with your work on quality local food over my career. It has always provided us with great intellectually inspiration as we navigate this complex and challenging area of work. The vision of the GFN (Scotland) Act is large and undoubtedly now that the legislation is in place its evolution will be fascinating to observe and evaluate as it tries to reoriented and transform Scotland’s relationship with food in the context of strong and at times overpowering global industrial forces.
Point 1: First, I do not normally recommend publication of reviews of public policy based on the genesis of those policies unless there is original research based on the interaction between the key actors involved. But in this case maybe the policy is innovative enough to merit publication.
Response 1: Thank you for your support with this short communication and recognising the innovativeness of this new legislation and the merit in publishing this critique at this time in its genesis. I believe the journey so far is worthy of critique and will given inspiration to others working in food systems transformation. It is far from perfect and there are many unresolved concerns and remaining tensions. In reviewing and editing the manuscript, I have worked to bring these out more strongly and to also set the legislation in a clearer sectoral and political context.
Point 2: The few paragraphs that record the passage of the Act could be cut as they add little as its merely this happened then that happened.
Response 2: Thank you this helpful advice. This section has been significantly edited and shortened as per your advice.
Point 3: Presumably as a result of Brexit (NOT a fan!) the Scottish Parliament was able to enact this Act which I suspect otherwise would not have been possible if the UK was not in the CAP. Needs a few sentences to discuss Brexit impact on Scottish policy development.
Response 3: The Scottish Parliament had the devolved powers to develop, pass and enact such an act prior to Brexit despite Scotland (and the rest of the UK) being within the CAP. Whilst there were some restrictions on what could be done in terms of trade, prioritising local procurement and enhancing standards of production, other European jurisdictions (i.e. regions of Italy) have regional legislation in place that allows municipalities to exert some local and regional control over agriculture and food. A new section has been added at the start of the paper under the heading – Scotland’s Agriculture, Food and Drink Sector – An Overview – which provides a synthesis of the Agriculture, Food and Drink sector in Scotland and critiques the impact of Brexit (and the diverging political positions between Scotland and the UK parliament on EU alignment) on the development, and forthcoming implementation of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act.
Point 4: Fourth, the UK ( I think) has been conducting trade deals with for example Australasia which commentators have in general criticised as these deals will allow just the sort of food into the UK that the Good Food Nation Act wants to reduce. So again a few sentences assuming these trade deals are UK wide.
Response 4: Excellent Point. As per Point 3, a new section has been added that includes details on how trade deals are managed in the UK in particular post brexit and the challenges these pose specifically (though not exclusively) to the Scottish Government and in particular the Agricultural, Food and Drink sector in Scotland (and the UK).
Point 5: The UK is a major importer of food (approx 33%) and at the moment there are few if any checks on food imports (post-Brexit). I suspect Scotland has an even greater food import percentage and so a few sentences on how these food imports must undermine the Good Food Nation Act.
Response 5: Excellent Point. As per Point 3, a new section has been added that includes details on Scottish food and drink imports and exports and how the new Internal Market Act 2020 threatens to undermine the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act and Scotland’s food system transformaiton ambitions.
Point 6: Sixth and related to my first point, the paper only analyses what the Act might do and maybe it would be better to wait for say five years to research the impact if any. The Act is very worthy, but I doubt given the enormous power of the global food industry mega corporations and the supermarkets that the Scottish Food Commission will be able to have much impact. Consumers need to change and this will be difficult given the legendary poor diet in Scotland.
Response 6: This is a very important point. We have recently been awarded Wellcome Trust funding to establish a new “Living Good Food Nation Lab” (3 year funded project) in Scotland and will use this (and the wide network of partners involved) to support the 1st round of national and local plans, help foster a food systems transformation community of practice throughout Scotland, inspire the development, and prioritisation, of the new Scottish Food Commission, and track progress towards the agreed outcomes at a local and national level. We are very mindful of the restricted powers of the Act and that responsibilities are currently only placed on national government and relevant authorities. That said it is a very strong and transformative step in the right direction and I look forward over the next years to observing, evaluating and critiquing the impact this legislation has and how, over time, it can evolve, to address the knotty, complex and fraught power dynamics within our global industrialised food system. Whilst I am optimistic that this legislation is the start of a transformative period for food in Scotland, I also have my eyes wide open to the unresolved issues, remaining tensions, vested interests, political fear and unequal power dynamics at play and will use our new Living Good Food Nation Lab to engage critically with the limits of, and opportunities offered by, the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act. I look forward to updating this paper in 5-7 years time after the GFN (Scotland) Act has had time to bed in and work through its first full cycle of national and local plans.
Point 7: English Language OK but a few doubts. eg Afoot or a foot?
Response 7: Thank you for your assessment of the english language quality of this submission. I comprehensive proofread has been completed to ensure it is as high a quality as possible.
CONCLUDING COMMENTS: However, the paper does discuss these problems and I think on balance and because we so desperately need to address bad diet and the horror of over processed foods contributing to maybe a third or a half of NHS health problems that any paper and any Act that seeks to reverse even slowly at first needs to be in the public domain.
Every journey starts with a single step.
Response 9: Thank you for your very comprehensive, supportive yet critical review. It has helped improve the quality, structure, framing, content and emphasis of the paper. I was also inspired by your sentiments at the end that every journey starts with a single step and will keep this advice close to mind as we engage with, support, and critique the implementation of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act over the coming years and decades.
Round 2
Reviewer 3 Report
Dear authors,
I confirm the importance of the subject.
