Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good morning, cabinet secretary. I think that you have already answered my question, because you have said that discussions, or dialogue, are on-going with the UK Government, and that they will continue until votes are taken and decisions are made about the bill going through the UK Parliament and the bill in the Scottish Parliament. I am just interested to hear a wee bit more about the discussions that have taken place and how things will proceed until decisions are made here in Scotland and then again at Westminster.

Thanks.

I have loads of questions, but I will kick off with these. Are you aware of any health impact assessments that have been carried out in relation to policies covered by the climate change plan? If so, what were the findings? If not, what do you think such assessments could or would tell us?

I have a quick question. We have been talking about population health. This evidence session is about emissions reduction and the things that we can do. Professor Sir Gregor Smith gave evidence to the committee about the climate change impacts of pandemic planning for the NHS. We know that people with disabilities and health inequalities may suffer more disproportionately from climate impacts. I am also thinking about disease management, such as for mosquito-borne or avian influenza—I am not saying that avian influenza is mosquito-borne—and other such diseases. Climate change is causing issues with zoonotic diseases and there may be an impact on humans, too. Are those part of the planning for the future impact of climate and disease management?

I am interested in finding out what we need in the rural support plan that supports actions that the Government wants to take in the climate change plan. What specific information in the rural support plan would make you confident that agricultural policy will provide agriculture with a clear direction of travel and support a just transition to low-carbon farming?

A lot of farms out there are achieving a lot. There are anaerobic digestion plants on dairy farms in the south-west of Scotland that are using their own digestate, creating biogas and using it as part of achieving their net zero goals. I am interested in hearing specifically what we need to see in the rural support plan.

The evidence has been very interesting, but I want to pick up on what Beatrice Wishart was saying about Food Standards Scotland and its latest dietary intake in Scotland’s children—or DISH—survey. When the Health, Sport and Social Care Committee scrutinised the climate change draft plan yesterday, we heard that, according to research, people in Scotland already eat less than 70g of red meat a day. The worry was that Food Standards Scotland’s information was being misinterpreted and that, if people in Scotland were already eating less meat to that extent, they would be facing a micronutrient deficit. I would also note that we are trying to get more people to eat venison in Scotland, which is quite lean red meat.

I am interested in issues such as food miles, food production and all of the supply chain aspects, because I do not want a reduction in our animals in Scotland if they can allow us to meet our dietary targets with fewer food miles. Do we need to make people more aware of this? It is all about food supply and food production, and it kind of links with Ariane Burgess’s question about supermarkets, too.

I have a quick supplementary question. We are talking about fertiliser, and there is an opportunity for fertiliser that is natural digestate from anaerobic digestion processes. If a dairy farm, for instance, used its farm digestate, that would be a circular economy. Does that need to be pushed, researched or engaged with more?

I will not take long. It has been interesting to hear about all the work that is being done and about what other countries are doing. Our draft climate change plan does not mention diet specifically. Does it need to, or is it enough for it to point to the population health framework and the good food nation plan?

The plan mentions healthier food, which I think links to the need to avoid ultra-processed food, which may or may not contribute to climate emissions, because of everything that it involves, from supply chains and the movement of products to wrapping and packaging and so on. Our food system is really complex.

We have 180,000 dairy cows in Scotland, but there are 300 million sacred cattle in India and an estimated 11 to 14 million dairy cows in China. Therefore, rather than reducing the size of our herd, we need to look at what is happening with regard to technology, genetics and so on.

It is hard to ask questions when you are participating in a meeting remotely, but I would be interested to hear whether you think that our climate change plan should contain diet-specific info or whether we should focus on the population health framework and the good food nation plan.

I am not talking about food waste in anaerobic digestion; I mean the digestate from slurry, for instance—which is already going on the fields. That is another opportunity. I am not thinking about food waste on land.

I am thinking about—