A STRIKING new campaign launched by Women For Independence (WFI) is gaining attention across the Yes movement, not least because it deals with a cause dear to Scottish hearts.
WFI are currently preparing a “Womanifesto for Scotland” and The National is highlighting the latest section on food and food policy.
WFI state: “Food is at the heart of so many issues for women in Scotland. For this reason, and in response to input from women all over Scotland, Women for Independence has identified food and food policy as one of the four pillars of our developing womanifesto.
“Our focus on food emerged from National Council meetings held all over Scotland. We invited women – members and non-members – to tell us about what matters to them, to their families and communities, and to independence for women. This reflects our commitment to listen first, to talk about what matters to women, and to do politics differently.”
WFI says food policy “should be framed as a human right.”
People should get enough food to eat, and the option to grow our own food, in urban as well as rural areas. WFI stated: “We need to break the hideous reliance on foodbanks that Austerity Britain has created for so many, especially women and children.
“In wide-ranging discussions and interactive meetings, the following outcomes were prioritised in no particular order: “Everyone can afford to give their children nutritious and tasty food (and for healthy and nutritious food to be affordable). All workers in food, from farmers to waitresses, earn the living wage. Our public kitchen uses local food and cooks from fresh.
“Food and drink companies have to pay fair trade prices for home-grown produce. Everyone who wants to grow some of her own food can get access to some land to do this. We produce more of what we eat and eat more of what we produce.
“We are restoring soil health and increasing soil carbon and there are more trees on farms, locking up carbon and providing shade and shelter for livestock and we have halved our use of antibiotics in livestock and pesticides in our food.
“When land changes hands, the would-be owners have to show how they will manage the land for public good. All children are educated about food citizenship and about how their food choices affect both the soil, their bodies and the planet. Our cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry are treated kindly and humanely.”
WFI concluded: “Above all, Scotland’s women must be able to provide nutritious and tasty food for ourselves and our families. Yes this food must be affordable, but not at the expense of farmers but through measures on supply, production availability, and universal incomes.”
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