Part of the double bill: Imagining Bioproducts and Reimagining Food

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SEDA Land Conversations. Led by science. Inspired by art, tradition and innovation.

In Scotland we urgently need to change the way our natural and cultural resources are produced and consumed if we are to tackle climate change and reduce environmental impacts. Developing a bioeconomy using renewable biological resources from the land and the sea – including crops, forests, fish, animals and microorganisms - to produce food, materials and energy will be a key part of this.

A bioeconomy would bring new industries and jobs that would move Scotland to a more sustainable future. But it will need to be carefully managed, in ways that avoid resource depletion and environmental degradation. This double bill will look at the opportunities for bioproducts and the development of a much more nutritious food industry. A bioeconomy would enhance biodiversity, restore soil fertility and air and water quality while improving people's health and wellbeing and creating new jobs.

The two events will cover questions including: does Scotland produce enough food, fibre and timber for our needs, or are crucial commodities imported? Is the land managed sustainably or is it degrading? Do people and communities have a say in how the land around them is managed and what it produces? And does reliance on imports lead to ecological destruction in other parts of the world?

SEDA Land invites you to join a panel of experts who are committed to regeneration, innovation and self-sufficiency who will explore the range of positive developments which are either already underway or could be applied in Scotland. They will discuss the best ways of using land in a way that will create sustainable industries that work with rural communities, giving participants the opportunity to discover new and exciting possibilities from people who are already doing it.

Reimagining Food

While land has provided food for millenia, changes in farming over the last century have brought a disconnect between people and food. Science and technology have enabled a huge rise in productivity, but globalisation has encouraged cheap imports that disadvantage local producers. All civilisations rely on security of the staples – cereals, legume pulses, and vegetables. But today in Scotland crops for direct human consumption are grown on less than 5% of the agricultural land. While standards in Scotland remain high, soils are generally productive and yields good. Positive recent changes include the rise of community-growing though small farms, the reopening of supply chains for locally-grown foods and the pioneering of new food types. This SEDA Land Conversation will examine how Scotland can regenerate its farming and food production sectors so that most cereals, pulses, vegetables and livestock products are of a higher nutritional value and grown and respected locally. The panel will include people who have already started innovating with vertical farms, microalgae photobioreactors and other cutting edge developments as well as traditional bioproducts.