Understanding Scotland’s Good Food Nation Plan: A Practical Guide (Part 1)

The Good Food Nation Plan – Overview and Guide

This Plan is one of two main policy developments that the Scottish Government intends to develop in 2026. The other policy is an update of the Diet and Health Weight Implementation Plan, highlighted in the Population Health Framework published in 2025.  

The Good Food Nation Plan is the product of policy and laws proposed by the current Scottish Government and passed by the Scottish Parliament. 

This blog post is intended as an overview and guide to the Plan for those primarily interested from a public health, diet and healthy weight perspective. The Plan is substantial, is itself a guide and map for policymakers, and an index of relevant policy and information. It has substantial reach and covers many policy areas.  

This document is not intended as a commentary. For any further detail, please consult the documents through the links below. 

The Plan - Architecture 

In December, the Government published The First National Good Food Nation Plan. 

The Plan has an introductory Foreword by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, followed by a section entitled Legislative Basis.  

Part One is titled What Will a Good Food Nation Look Like? It outlines what the nation looks like now, the policy context, the Vision and four ‘sub-visions’, a restatement of Outcomes and an extensive section on rights. 

Part Two is A Practical Approach to Implementation. It begins by underlining the importance of coherent cross-government work, setting out the ‘general duty on all policymakers to have regard for the Good Food Plan’ and what that means, lists the over-arching policy headings that encompass good food policy, intention to report and review at fixed points in time, and the role of the Scottish Food Commission. 

Part Three is titled Measuring Progress - Targets and Indicators and frames that work, referring to an ‘initial monitoring framework document’ that provides the detail. 

Part Four lists Food-Related Policies and cross links with all current and envisaged documents. 

The Conclusion is brief yet notable – the Plan ‘sets the scene for food system transformation.’ 

6 Annexes follow and have useful content – they include a glossary; targets and commitments (some are very familiar); footnotes with definitions and links to similar policies around the UK. 

Detail 

In its Introduction, the Plan sets out the context of food in Scotland – amongst them, its essential role in nourishment, and the social and economic, global supply and sustainability dimensions. 

In the third paragraph, it frames the health issues thus: 

‘Alongside this the health of the people of Scotland depends on improving our relationship with food. A key goal of our Good Food Nation is to encourage the creation of food environments that enable more people to eat healthy and nutritious foods, to improve health outcomes for the population of Scotland. We also need to recognise that food insecurity remains a key challenge for many individuals and families across Scotland; ensuring that all can have dignified access to food is part of our long term vision for a Good Food Nation.’ 

In the Cabinet Secretary’s (Mairi Gougeon) Foreword, she set out the essence of the Plan: 

‘Here in this Plan we have brought together all of the work that the Scottish Government intends to carry out in the coming years and set our ambitions for the future. Future iterations of the Plan will build on this foundation.’ 

In Part One – What Will a Good Food Nation Look Like?:

The section outlines the current state of Scotland’s food system and offers an honest appraisal of the weaknesses in that system – primarily health, food security and inequalities: 

‘These are some of the great strengths in Scotland’s food system. However, we must recognise that there are also still some deeply rooted flaws in that system. 

‘For example, there has been little progress towards meeting our Scottish Dietary Goals for the last 20 years and diets remain too high in calories, fats, free sugars and salt, and too low in fruit, vegetables, fibre and oily fish. A key aim of our work to be a Good Food Nation is to shift the dial and create a food system that enables and promotes a healthy population. 

‘There are significant inequalities in our food system that must be addressed. Many households in Scotland experience food insecurity on a regular basis or are intermittently worried about being able to access food. Diet-related conditions are also more pervasive in communities experiencing deprivation. In pursuing our goal to achieve Good Food Nation ambitions it is essential that we do not do so at the expense of any community. When creating future food policy that aligns with the overarching Outcomes consideration of such inequalities needs to be at the forefront to avoid unintended consequences. Some of the actions we have taken in recent years are already moving us in the right direction, such as the roll out of free school meals to all pupils in primary 1 to primary 5. 

‘It is important to acknowledge that making important and necessary long-term systemic changes to our food system and achieving ambitious food-related goals will take time.’  

It follows with comment on the devolved and reserved powers of respective Scottish and UK Governments. 

Next, there is a restatement of the original: 

‘The Vision “a Good Food Nation, where people from every walk of life take pride and pleasure in, and benefit from, the food they produce, buy, cook, serve, and eat each day”.’ 

There follows a series of four visions for Childhood, Adult life, Out of Home, Food Production and Processing. 

The following section goes into detail about Inequalities. It acknowledges the complexity of tackling the issue, focusses on labour market aspects, and that there are evidence gaps and more matters to develop. 

The document then returns to Outcomes – there are six of equal importance; they have not changed recently. The current Outcomes are stated below: 

• ‘Outcome 1: The food environment in Scotland enables people to eat well. Everyone benefits from reliable and dignified access to safe, nutritious, affordable, enjoyable, sustainable and age-appropriate food. 

• Outcome 2: Scotland’s food system is sustainable and contributes to a flourishing natural environment on our land and in our waters. It supports our net zero and climate adaptation ambitions and plays an important role in protecting and improving animal health and welfare and in restoring and regenerating biodiversity. 

• Outcome 3: Scotland’s food environment and wider food system enables and promotes a physically and mentally healthy population. This leads to the prevention of, and a reduction in, diet-related conditions. 

• Outcome 4: Our food and drink sector is prosperous, diverse, innovative, and vital to national and local economic and social wellbeing. It is key to making Scotland food secure and food resilient and creates and sustains jobs and businesses underpinned by fair work standards throughout food supply chains. 

• Outcome 5: People and communities are empowered to participate in, and shape, their food system. Scotland has a thriving food culture with a population who are educated about good and sustainable food. 

• Outcome 6: Decisions we make in Scotland contribute positively to local and global food systems transformation. Scotland actively engages in learning and exchanging knowledge and best practice internationally.’ 

There follows an extensive section on rights, and then a mapping study of how Good Food Nation Outcomes link to the National Performance Framework, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Right to Food. 

The framework of rights then lists several dimensions familiar to public health - accessibility, availability, acceptability, and quality of food. 

In Part Two – A Practical Approach to Implementation: 

The first section makes points about the need for coherent cross government work and collaboration; it lists the Directorates of the Scottish Government and their relevant respective policy areas.  

It states the continuation of: 

‘Cross Portfolio working through The Ministerial Working Group on Food’ 

and the intention to set up a mechanism for  

‘Cross Policy working, convening a working group on Good Food Nation, supported by the Good Food nation team’, a group of civil servants. 

Supporting that, there is emphasis on the need for collaboration with statutory authorities, namely local authorities and health boards. 

There is a general duty on all policymakers to have regard for the Good Food Plan and legislation – that encompasses policy, whether it receives a specific mention or not in the document. 

There follows a list of over-arching policies: 

• Human Rights 

• Child Poverty 

• Climate Change; Biodiversity; the Road to Net Zero; and a Just Transition 

• Land reform 

• Vision for Agriculture 

• Food Safety, Standards and Nutrition with reference to Dietary Goals 

• National Planning Framework 

• National Marine Plan 

• Wellbeing Economy 

• Community Wealth Building 

• Fair Work 

• Food Security 

• Population Health Framework, referring to the Diet and Healthy Weight Implementation Plan 

• Early Child Development Transformational Change Programme 

On progress with the process of achieving the Good Food Plan, there will be a report every 2 years and a review every 5 years. The same is expected of local plans. All will be subject to consultation, and the national plan will receive Parliamentary scrutiny. 

The Scottish Food Commission, a newly established body, will provide independent oversight, review the progress and effectiveness of plans, promote and support progress to achieving the Outcomes. The Commission ‘will be key in the continuous improvement process.’ 

In Part Three, Measuring Progress - Targets and Indicators: 

‘Indicators are drawn from a range of sources but are primarily from existing official statistics; ... they have been compiled alongside relevant supporting evidence drawn from a wider consideration of existing research.’ An initial monitoring framework document provides the detail. The baseline year is 2025. There follows a comprehensive listing of indicators to support each Outcome. 

In Part Four, Food-Related Policies: 

‘We have listed the Scottish Government’s food related policies and cross-referenced each individual policy area with the Outcome(s) that it contributes towards. We also provide links to relevant documents to simplify the task of finding detailed information. 

‘We have organised the policies and actions into three categories based around key groups in the food system: People and Communities; Providers and Places; and Farmers, Food Producers and Processers.’ 

The section on People and Communities begins: 

‘This section sets out policies that are helping people and communities enjoy a better food system. Policies in this section contribute to improving the food environment, which is a key objective in building a Good Food Nation, as we recognise that this is the best way to support everyone to eat in a healthy way. These include policies that focus on securing better access to healthy and sustainable food and making it easier to follow a healthy diet. 

‘Scotland can only become a Good Food Nation with the participation and co-operation of those who live and work here. The important role that third sector and community organisations are already playing in this has to be recognised. Many third sector organisations are valued partners in the delivery of policies across the Scottish Government. 

‘The ultimate aim is to help to make Scotland a better and more prosperous place for everyone: a place where people are happy, healthy, and secure.’ 

Following this introduction, there is a detailed list of policy supporting each part of the Plan across its scope, with hyper-links to all relevant policies. 

In the Conclusion, there is a short section that ends:  

‘The national Plan, alongside the first generation of relevant authority plans, sets the scene for food system transformation. Together, we can ensure that we are all working together to achieve our aim of Scotland becoming a Good Food Nation.’ 

There are several annexes. 

Annex A lists legislative requirements, contains an indication of the reach of legislation in and around the health sector – primarily focussed on the provision of health and social services. 

Annex B is a glossary 

Annex C lists targets and commitments  

Many are relevant to the fundamental causes of health and health inequalities, not least poverty and climate sustainability, also fair work and pay, employment levels etc. Those relevant specifically to diet and healthy weight are: 

Halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce associated diet-related inequalities 

• Reduce adult diet-related health inequalities 

• Increase levels of adult healthy weight 

• Reduce drop-off in breastfeeding rates at the 6 to 8 week point by 10% by 2031 

• Reduce the number of households facing moderate to severe food insecurity 

• Annexes D&E relate to Procurement legislation and guidance 

Finally, a section of footnotes (30 in all) contains some relevant definitions: 

• 1 Food system 

• 2 Food environment 

• 3, 7 & 22 Diet related conditions 

• 4, 5 & 6 Wales, Northern Ireland, UK policies and policy statements 

• 19 Systems thinking 

• 20 What ‘due regard’ means 

• 23 ‘The requirement for relevant authorities to publish good food nation plans... Relevant authorities must comply with this duty before the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which section 10 comes into force. Section 10 is currently not in force.’ 

This concludes a brief diet and healthy weight-focussed guide to the Scottish Good Food Plan published December 2025.