Scotland's Food Future: Showcase at the Scottish Parliament

Scotland’s thriving food and drink industry is a major contributor to the economy, worth £14 billion each year. Ambition 2030, the new industry-led strategy, aims to increase the value of the sector in Scotland to £30 billion by 2030. This is to be achieved in the context of some significant challenges.

The global population continues to rise, there are fewer resources available, and we have a changing climate. We live in a period of geopolitical change, and we must ensure that economic growth is not at the expense of public health or our natural capital.

Show(case), not just tell...

By Annemarie Gibson, Film ProducerCircamedia

SEFARI think a lot about how to get their research out to the right people and in the right form. As filmmakers so do we. Obviously we think film is the strongest form of communication and has the potential to really grab the public’s interest - showing is always much better than just telling.

Dr Susan McCallum

I am a soft fruit researcher and blueberry breeder who has worked at the James Hutton Institute for 11 years. For the last eight years, I have focussed on developing a blueberry industry in the United Kingdom and gained a wealth of knowledge regarding cultivar performance, as well as management and environmental constraints. My current projects involve hyperspectral image analysis of plants for biotic and abiotic stresses, understanding yield instability in blueberries, mycorrhizae roles in plant establishment and enhancement of blueberry genetics.

Susan McCallum

James Hutton Institute
Errol Road
Dundee
Scotland
DD2 5DA

Professor Mike Hutchings

I am Head of Animal and Veterinary Sciences in the Central Faculty and lead the Disease Systems research team.

I have a background in ecology and developed my disease systems approach through a Scottish Senior Research fellowship. My main areas of research are identifying, characterising and quantifying the key biological processes that drive disease persistence and spread in livestock production; in particular those that are sensitive to manipulation for the purpose of disease control.

Mike Hutchings

SRUC,

Roslin Institute Building,

Easter Bush,

Midlothian

EH25 9RG