Search

Scotland faces a significant societal challenge in increasing the production and use of fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy and affordable diet accessible to all. It is accompanied by the technical challenge of producing enough fruit and vegetables sustainably, and the economic challenges in creating innovative and profitable value supply chains.

There is growing recognition for increased domestic fruit and vegetable production, including the development of national food strategies for each of the devolved nations. While the need for a national food strategy was recognised before the Covid-19 pandemic there has been a greater focus on re-shaping policy decisions on local food production systems, especially around resilience, and nutrition.

Other key drivers for increasing fruit and vegetable production include:

• Addressing food production’s contribution to climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
• Enhancing food security at different scales and improve diets
• Creating secure and meaningful jobs and incomes for those working in the food supply chain.

The latter driver includes production (tackling value chain, local food systems and food justice); and the need to ensure access to markets for increased domestic production.

Achieving increased fruit and vegetable use and production for secure supply and healthy diets requires the uptake of social and technical innovations and stakeholder engagement across the supply chain, coupled with policy interventions to facilitate and support innovations and behaviour change from farm to fork. Addressing these holistic challenges and drivers requires a systems-led approach engaging all actors along the food supply chain, enabling contributions from scholars, food scientists, policymakers, civil society activists and environmentalists.

Scotland has cultivated a reputation as a producer of high-quality healthy food. Underpinning this reputation is accurate and reliable food safety testing to produce nutritious and safe food. Accurately identifying food and feedstuff ingredients contaminated with chemical or biological toxins is crucial to protect the public from harm and to reduce waste due to unsuitable foodstuffs being manufactured and then rejected.

Certain types of persistent organic pollutants are used in polymers, waterproofing agents, stain repellents, firefighting foams, and grease-proof food packaging materials. These pollutants resist breakdown, persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in blood, liver, and other organs. Drinking water can be a major source of contamination from production plants or recyclable food plastics inherent in the environment. Foods that contain high levels of these organic pollutants include fish, fish products, and meat offal.

Certain types of alkaloids, which are nitrogen-containing compounds produced in plants and fungi as defence components, can also be carried over into foods. These toxins are developed by several plant genera and can cause liver damage, acute narcosis, and paralysis. Food types containing them include honey, potatoes, cereals, herbal teas, supplements, herbs and spices, cereal grains, and even animal products, such as milk, eggs, and offal. Contamination can occur from weeds or via pollen. The prevalence of these contaminants in foods is not widely understood and sufficient evidence is required to reach a consensus on safe levels for legislative or regulatory purposes. Such information is timely and relevant as we transition from the settled alignment with the legal and regulatory frameworks with of the EU to post-EU Exit arrangements.

Scotland faces a significant and recalcitrant burden of diet-related disease caused in part by a diet too high in calories, fats, sugar, and salt. Two-thirds of the UK population is overweight and attempts to reduce this figure through dietary goals have failed for the last 17 years. This is a key challenge which requires new thinking and a multi-faceted and committed approach to drive change. Given the public’s resistance to changing their diet even in the face of major public health education efforts, reformulation of commonly eaten foods to reduce calories, fats, sugars, and salts may continue to be a valuable tool to provide dietary change. Innovation to provide new components that can aid such reformulation is therefore a potential novel area to bring about dietary change. The reformulation of commonly eaten foods can create innovative, healthier food products by providing specific dietary fibres, sugar substitutes and flavour components that allow for salt reduction.

Farm animals are a major source of key zoonotic pathogens of humans, including enteric disease-causing Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Clostridioides difficile. There are around 2.4 million cases of foodborne pathogen infections annually in Scotland, with a financial burden of £9 billion. Importantly, many gut bacteria carry antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG), some of which are located on mobile genetic elements with the potential to transfer to other bacteria (commensal or pathogenic). It is predicted that by 2050, deaths caused by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will exceed those caused by cancer and diabetes. Reducing the carriage of zoonotic pathogens within the gastrointestinal tract of farm animals has clear potential to reduce the incidence of human foodborne disease and the spread of AMR - both of which are real health crises.  

Despite a significant body of research globally on AMR in the environment, there are still many unknowns about transmission from the environment to humans. We need to improve our understanding of the routes of transmission of resistance including the impact of the environment and food. There is a lack of understanding of how differences in farming practices can drive AMR and pathogen transmission combined with a paucity of data quantifying antimicrobial gene load onto food crops. There are also challenges around identifying increased risk to farmers due to their proximity to antimicrobials and animals. There is also a limited understanding of how farmers perceive the link between antimicrobial use and AMR, and how this may influence behaviours. Lastly, there is a lack of a unifying model to predict future scenarios of hazards to food.

The interactions between livestock productivity, climate change and biodiversity are multi-factorial. Livestock certainly contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and uses a significant proportion of available land, but they are also an integral part of the solution to both the climate change and biodiversity crises. Improving livestock health is a key priority for important stakeholder groups. The control of endemic disease has frequently been shown to correlate with improved livestock productivity, in terms of improving reproductive success, optimising growth rates, and reducing waste and losses.

Helminth parasites (worms and fluke) are a major constraint on efficient livestock production worldwide. They are directly affected by changing climatic conditions and farm management practices and contribute to livestock’s carbon footprint through reduced biological efficiency and increased emissions. Helminth parasites influence many factors that directly affect methane emissions, including feed conversion efficiency and nutrient utilisation. Effective worm control in sheep has been shown to lead to a 10-33% reduction in GHG emissions intensity, whereas, in abattoir studies, liver fluke has been shown to increase emissions from beef cattle by a small but statistically significant 2%, which is likely an underestimate.

The benefits of ‘farming with nature’ have been advocated to help achieve climate change targets and redress biodiversity loss on farmland. While initiatives such as wetland creation, woodland expansion and peatland restoration help in this regard, they require livestock grazing to function optimally, bringing with them potential risks to animal health. In addition, improved pasture management strategies may help to increase grass production, improve livestock productivity, reduce disease incidence, and promote sustainability on pasture. When considering all these options, we need further evidence on how to achieve a balance between improving biodiversity, reducing climate impact, sustainable intensification and food security whilst maintaining a healthy and vibrant rural economy.

Helminth parasites (worms and fluke) are a major constraint on efficient and sustainable livestock production in Scotland, and beyond. Parasitic gastroenteritis as well as fluke and anthelmintic resistance featured prominently in a list of priority diseases and syndromes identified through a Ruminant Health and Welfare Group consultation with 600 UK stakeholders.

Most farmers attempt to control helminth infections in their stock by the routine administration of chemical (anthelmintic) treatments. However, this is not sustainable for several reasons, including the development and spread of anthelmintic resistance, rendering treatments ineffective. There is also increasing concern about the fate of such chemicals (wormers and flukicides) in the environment, when released in the dung and or urine of treated animals. Most, if not all, compounds used to treat or control pests and parasites have the potential to negatively impact important invertebrates, such as dung beetles, flies, and aquatic fauna. This can occur when the actives or their metabolites are excreted in the faeces and or urine of treated animals, or leach into the environment because of poor storage, application, or disposal. These factors have highlighted the need to integrate veterinary medicines with alternative control approaches, such as rotational or heather grazing, to reduce dependence on anthelmintic products and minimising environmental impacts.

The essential role that dungs beetles play in the breakdown and integration of faecal matter into the soil is well established. Recently, there has been some interest in the role of the phoretic mites carried by dung beetles; as these have been shown to be extremely effective in reducing the incidence of nuisance horn flies in Australia and the USA, by directly ingesting fly larvae in faecal pats. There is, however, little information on their potential role in reducing the number of helminth eggs and larvae and subsequent pasture contamination under Scottish and UK farming conditions.

Feeding on plants rich in plant secondary metabolites is an active area of research and can be included in sustainable parasite control strategies, to minimise the environmental impact of parasitic disease control. There are potential production and sustainability benefits from using these novel alternative approaches, as a healthy pasture invertebrate community is important for the structure and function of soils and grasslands. For example, soil invertebrates contribute to improving soil microbial composition and health, nutrient recycling, aerating soils and improving soil and plant environments as well as providing food sources for birds and mammals.  Very little is however known about the impacts of these alternative approaches on areas like parasite epidemiology, parasite longevity and life history traits or the interactions between host and environment.

There are significant gaps in our knowledge regarding the epidemiology and transmission of two foodborne pathogens: Campylobacter spp. and Toxoplasma gondii. These pathogens are some of the most important foodborne pathogens in Europe in terms of disease burden. Despite this, there remain gaps in our understanding, and have been identified as priorities for future research by food safety authorities:

• How certain animal reservoirs contribute to the overall burden of disease
• Information relating to the genetic diversity of strains circulating in livestock populations
• The role of the environment in their transmission

Campylobacter is a versatile foodborne pathogen with the ability to evolve rapidly. Foodborne Campylobacter spp., which includes Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, colonise the gut of a wide range of animal species and while some genotypes are associated with specific hosts, others have evolved to become more generalistic. While the major source of campylobacteriosis in Scotland is raw or undercooked poultry, studies have also highlighted livestock as an important reservoir. Furthermore, Campylobacter spp. may also play a role as a vehicle for antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) through the food supply chain. However, the role of antimicrobial selective pressure in the emergence of Campylobacter resistance in livestock is not well understood.

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite of global importance and can infect all warm-blooded animals, including humans. One of the most important transmission routes for people is through the consumption of undercooked meat from infected animals. Indeed, foodborne transmission is thought to be attributable to up to 50% of cases of toxoplasmosis. Despite this, there are still significant knowledge gaps surrounding the sources and epidemiology of foodborne toxoplasmosis. In particular, the role of livestock in transmission as well as the genetic diversity of strains circulating in food animals and the environment. Both the European Food Safety Authority and the UK Food Standards Agency have highlighted the urgent requirement for further studies to address these knowledge gaps.

Horticultural crop production in Scotland (and world-wide) faces unprecedented threats because of climate change, the UK no longer participating in the EU’s pesticide regulatory system and other EU exit challenges affecting supply routes and regulation of plant and seed imports/exports. In recent years, many pesticides and other chemicals have lost approval. Future sustainable use of pesticides will likely focus on a whole farm approach using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) with appropriate varieties playing a key role and co-construction of solutions with farmers. This necessitates the development of better more appropriate varieties suited to these new challenges - crops that have consistent yield and quality, as well as resistance to pests, diseases and other stresses, and a smaller environmental footprint.  

The identification and utilisation of available genetic diversity within crops are essential to identify those traits that will enable horticulture to be more sustainable and increase the biodiversity in crop production. The shift towards more complex traits that are likely to become increasingly important as climate change progresses and resources become more limited. This necessitates the need to develop new methods and approaches for rapid trait analysis and dissection. Plant imaging and physiological interpretation of those images will play a key role.  Genomic tools are constantly evolving, and these play a key role in linking genes to traits, so it is important to continue to develop the most sophisticated platforms for this purpose. More work is needed to develop the tools to allow rapid and meaningful exploitation of the genetic diversity available in horticultural crops to meet future challenges.

Scottish agriculture is facing significant challenges associated with changing policy and markets, environment, and technology. The sector needs to maintain and increase profitability by responding to changing market conditions while simultaneously contributing to Scottish Government commitments on greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity. These objectives must be achieved in an evolving natural environment leading to both risks and opportunities.

Technological advances are enabling proactive, preventative and resource use efficient crop management. Combined with new production technologies, these are opportunities to boost performance and profitability whilst maximising opportunities to support ecosystem services and reduce the environmental footprint of the agricultural sector. Underpinning these changes is a need to exploit genetic diversity and accelerate the efficient breeding of crop cultivars adapted to new growing technologies and environments.

This period of rapid change will have a profound impact on Scottish agriculture, affecting how we grow crops and what we grow. It will also affect how we use our land to deliver public goods, such as biodiversity and carbon sequestration. The sector covers a vast range of activity from small croft holdings to large arable and mixed farms with varying land and climate characteristics, capacity for innovation and access to capital. Farmers need to adapt to their specific growing environment, market need, capability, and capacity. Different actors will require different solutions and government policy will have different impacts across the sector. It is vital, therefore, that we understand the factors driving change in farming practice across scales and environments and identify the barriers preventing innovation.

There is a pressing need to establish an environmentally benign and sustainable supply of locally produced high-quality barley grain to safeguard the economically important premium food and drink (and feed) sectors. The sector is represented by the malting, brewing and distilling industries comprising 2,274 breweries (in 2018), 122 Scotch Whisky and 441 Gin distilleries (The Drinks Business, 2020). The national importance of the distillery sector is reflected in its estimated gross value added of £8.25 billion. The Scotch Whisky industry provides £5.5 billion with the majority exports that comprise 20% of all UK food and drink exports value. Barley destined for the feed market represents around two-thirds of the annual crop. The sector would benefit from more resilient and sustainable production.

The process of malting and distilling is energy intensive. The industry has already made enormous strides in reducing carbon outputs and has ambitious plans to bring the production of whisky towards net zero. However, only half of the carbon used to produce a bottle of whisky is derived from manufacturing. The remainder largely comes from the production of grain and malt – processes beyond the industries’ direct control.

In the UK, barley cultivars are generally bred from the narrow ‘cultivated’ gene pool and selected through a registration process operating under intensive agricultural systems. Such systems create potential vulnerabilities to pests and diseases, environmental sensitivity, and high input requirements. The use of crop diversity, adapted to low or no inputs, has long been discussed as an approach to tackle these vulnerabilities. However, greater crop diversity has been generally unattractive for use in plant breeding due to performance issues of early-generation genotypes and associated economic risks (for example, it is too tall or not adapted to northwest European conditions). Natural diversity is in fact a rich source of genes and alleles that, together or on their own, have great potential for improving resilience of the crop. More work is needed to actively exploit this variation to understand trait evolution at the genetic level towards ultimately developing more environmentally benign crop production.

Antimicrobials used in human and veterinary medicine end up in the environment where they have important impacts on agricultural and environmental ecosystems and may lead to the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria. Livestock farms may function as reservoirs where genetic material from environmental bacteria transfers to human- or animal-associated bacteria, including zoonotic pathogens. Antimicrobial resistance genes are often associated with mobile genetic elements (MGEs) which capture genetic material from the environment and transfer it between bacterial species. Horizontal gene transfer occurs frequently in the animal gut, but agricultural environments like soils can also function as hotspots for bacterial exchange of genetic material.

It has long been known that the use of low-dose antimicrobial drugs may drive the development of AMR. However, over the last decade, it has been shown that polluted environments with low levels of antimicrobials may contribute to the selection, enrichment, and maintenance of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Such selection pressure could be exerted by

• Antimicrobial residues from human sewage sludge
• Using antimicrobials in livestock selecting for antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in the animal’s intestinal microbiome
• The manure/slurry storage areas and when applied to land as fertiliser

Currently, our understanding of the spread of AMR is limited to small-scale environments, like the animal gut, wastewater treatment plant, manure storage, or soil in a field. Major gaps exist in our understanding of the spread of AMR from “farm to fork.” This includes surveillance and data sharing related to the emergence of AMR in foodborne bacteria and its potential impact on both animal and human health. Therefore, we need to understand and tackle antimicrobial resistance to include integrated studies on AMR bacteria, genes, and mobile genetic elements at the farm level, including livestock and surrounding farm environments. A detailed examination of farming practices in animal production could highlight optimal procedures and how they can be modified to minimise the enrichment and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.

• The key challenges driving this research are:
• Lack of knowledge and understanding of how anti-microbial resistant bacteria and resistance genes flow in a farm environment
• To improve understanding of the whole ecosystem involved in the spread of AMR using larger- scale studies.
• To develop best farming practices to tackle AMR, and AMR spread on the farm level
• Limited data regarding antimicrobial and heavy metal residues in farming systems and the risk of AMR selection and co-selection.
• Gaining insight into the mechanisms of AMR and understanding short and long-term persistence, and successful transmission. This knowledge is fundamental to the development of novel strategies to tackle AMR.