Food: Sustainability, Health, Heritage and Tourism

This Arts & Humanities Partnership Catalyst takes the interdisciplinary subject of food and asks how rigorous academic research into food can benefit the wider food and tourism industry within Scotland and further afield. We are interested in the representation of Scottish food, both in history and the present day, and how that influences wider areas like sustainability, tourism, and health. The Catalyst activity will connect researchers with Scottish food providers, heritage organisations and others in the food industry to identify the key challenges in this area, with a view to facilitating new research relationships that improve the quality authenticity of Scottish food culture and its representation to the public.

Explore the blogs below to discover the research, insights and challenges facing the ever-evolving landscape. To get in touch about this Catalyst or any of the content you find in this blog, please email fraser.rowan@glasgow.ac.uk

Traditional lobster pots

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Opportunity: The Scottish Food Library

Throughout the lifespan of the Catalyst, the network has voiced the need for a deeper understanding of food research being undertaken in Scotland. Our awareness of academic research done in HEIs, research happening at non-HE institutions, government research, press coverage, third sector work and commercial projects is disjointed. This lack of connectedness makes it difficult to know where projects should be undertaken, and by whom, as ‘we don’t know what we don’t know’. In order to start mapping the current knowledge landscape around Scottish Food, the Catalyst team have hired a research assistant, Gina Lyle, to begin populating the ‘Scottish Food Library’.   

Those of you who attended the 2C show-and-tell event will have met Gina, and she has since been in touch with the wider network to reach out for useful information you may have. Gina is collecting the details of food-related research being carried out around and about Scotland over the past ten years. While this is just the first step, the Scottish Food Library will be of use both within and beyond the Catalyst network and we are enthusiastic about the value it will have for those interested in Scottish food. It will outline current research strengths and gaps in our knowledge about Scottish food, allowing us to proactively move towards addressing key. 

We are excited to present the Scottish Food Library to the Food Catalyst network at an in-person event on Monday 4 September. At this event, Gina will talk through her findings, and you will have another opportunity to contribute your knowledge and help with the co-creation of the resource. We will use discussions about the contents of the Scottish Food Library to outline targeted gaps that we can address with collaborative project development, in line with partner interests. 

To allow us to gauge interest and levels of participation for this event, please get in touch by emailing: lindsay.middleton@glasgow.ac.uk

Opportunity: ‘Local Food for Everyone’: Scottish Government Consultation

The Food Catalyst team are delighted to announce an exciting opportunity for the Catalyst network to input on the Scottish Government’s ‘Local Food For Everyone’ initiative. In August 2021, the Scottish Government published 'Local Food for everyone: a discussion'. The document set out a  ‘comprehensive programme of actions the Scottish Government are taking to support local food’, and following responses, have made a commitment to engage with academic research on Scottish food as a means of informing policy.   

The Scottish Government have particular interest in three areas:   

  • Connecting people with food  
  • Connecting Scottish producers with buyers  
  • Harnessing Public Sector Procurement  

Given the overlap between these themes and the sectoral challenges identified through the Catalyst, we are excited to run an event later in the year in collaboration with the Scottish Government where Catalyst partners will have a chance to contribute their expertise in these areas. This an exciting opportunity to input on government policy, share ideas of best practice, and collaboratively discuss ‘what more could be done to create a future where all can enjoy locally produced food’. More information will follow. 

To allow us to gauge interest and levels of participation for this event, please get in touch by emailing: lindsay.middleton@glasgow.ac.uk

Opportunity: Celebrating Scottish Food at Heritage Centres

At the 2C Food Catalyst event, there was a marked appetite for celebrating Scottish food, including the stories and history behind it. The project ideas that came out of the event reflect the interdisciplinary and cross-sector aspects of food history:    

  • A creative writing event formed around food in heritage spaces  
  • Heritage menus featuring Scottish produce in historical properties  
  • A Food History Festival   
  • Literature and food education at Ellisland   
  • Food Education at the Crannog Centre  

The idea of using heritage sites as centres to raise the profile of Scottish food has come up several times throughout Catalyst meetings. Because of this, we are keen to support the development of heritage projects between Catalyst partners. We invite expressions of interest from those engaged in creative or historical work within research and heritage sector who would like to co-create projects. This could perhaps be achieved through the use of IAA mobility funding to embed a researcher within a heritage organisation, or vice versa.   

To allow us to gauge interest and levels of participation for this activity, please get in touch by emailing: lindsay.middleton@glasgow.ac.uk

Food Catalyst Blog

Splash format image of raw veg
Splash format image of raw veg

Reflections on Food Consciousness and Japanese Culinary Practice

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 10:33:00 GMT

The workshop explored attitudes towards food consciousness and food waste. A wonderfully reflective, participatory workshop, it introduced the topics of food waste and unhealthy eating as contributors to planetary health.

Image of one of the Catalyst posters from 2A Aug 22
Image of one of the Catalyst posters from 2A Aug 22

Food Catalyst: Reflections so Far

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 12:22:00 BST

The pathfinding Catalyst relating to Food illuminated just how provocative and nuanced the topic of Scottish food can be. Rich conversations were had around all angles of food in Scotland – conversations that we hope to turn into fruitful collaborations. On the 27th of October, participants will regroup at the ARC, UofG, to discuss taking forward some of these exciting proposals.

Image of Japanese food
Image of Japanese food

Bringing Everybody’s Wisdom Together

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 12:22:00 BST

The Japanese expression Mottainai, often translated as "what a waste" in English gained an international currency amongst environmentalists who were trying to encourage people to have a more sustainable way of life. It isn’t just about avoiding wastefulness, it is also about showing respect and thinking about how we as human beings can co-live with other forms of being.

A collection of WWII recipe cards from NLS
A collection of WWII recipe cards from NLS

Guest blog: The Ministry of Food and Digging for Victory

Fri, 02 Sep 2022 09:58:49 BST

With the current cost of living crisis, how far away are we from the government publishing materials aimed at educating how to eat better and how to 'grow your own'? In our second guest blog in the Food Catalyst, NLS Curator Sarah Thomson takes us back to WWII, Potato Pete, and the 'Dig for Victory' campaign.

Splash format of girl carrying wheat
Splash format of girl carrying wheat

Guest Blog: Common Misgivings About Scottish and Irish Food Cultures

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 15:48:00 BST

I’ve encountered claims that Scottish (and Irish) food is plain and simple at best, and unimaginative at worst. However, a cursory search for oats in both Scottish and Irish food literature reveals a multitude of applications and preparations—breads and cakes, fermented liquids, and pottages to name but a few—suggesting the creative manipulation of a staple crop rather than unimaginative resignation to monotony.

Splash format bread
Splash format bread

Food as a Powerful Cultural Medium

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 15:54:00 BST

Food is a window into the history of trade and politics across nations. The Ark of Taste is one aspect of Slow Food’s work. The project’s aim is to create a demand for “traditional products” from specific regions that struggle to get on the market.

A weavers cottage NTS
A weavers cottage NTS

Into History Through Food

Sun, 24 Jul 2022 12:34:00 BST

Food, says Antonia, is a fantastic way to access history in an authentic, engaging way. Because eating, drinking, sleeping, etc. are things that everybody experiences, they can be used as points for connection between visitors and the people who inhabited historical properties in the past.

Murray Pittock in splash format
Murray Pittock in splash format

A Clear Alignment of Culture and Produce

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 13:31:00 BST

France publishes data which shows that 95% of Parisians live within a five-minute walk to a bakery, and this data is intended to show that France is a culinary nation. This correlation between food, culture, and tourism is a vital part of Paris’s appeal. Scotland needs to improve these relationships to improve its tourism.

Image of a loaf of bread in splash format
Image of a loaf of bread in splash format

The Issue of Scottish Bread

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 13:23:00 BST

Changes in the food system – the grains that we grow, how we grow them, the way we mill them and turn them into bread, have contributed to bread that is less delicious and less nutritious.

Splash format of wheat in a field
Splash format of wheat in a field

The Mathematics of Soil

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 14:01:00 BST

Intensive farming around the world has short-circuited the nutrient cycle in soil and robbed it of vital energy. This loss of energy in the systems leads to degradation: 40% of the agricultural soils in the world are moderately or severely degraded. If we want to address food and water insecurity, along with the climate, and biodiversity crises that are now playing out, we need to fix soil.

Image of a man smoking fish next to water
Image of a man smoking fish next to water

A Taste of Place

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 16:59:00 BST

Scotland’s food and drink sector was hit hard by Brexit, then the COVID-19 pandemic. and now, rising food costs. Scotland Food & Drink want to get more Scottish produce on plates, but this becomes harder in the cost-of-living crisis.

Rachel McCormack in splash format
Rachel McCormack in splash format

Taking Scottish Food Seriously

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 14:49:11 BST

When people take the history and the culture of food seriously, it helps make a case for the other things food links into – agriculture and the environment, for instance.

Image of head and thought bubbles
Image of head and thought bubbles

An Interconnected Approach to Food

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 11:19:00 BST

At a time where food is becoming more homogenised, one of the challenges to the industry is driving demand for Scottish food, particularly from small producers who will have felt the brunt of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. This is where academic research can play a role.

Highland scene splash by Aonghas
Highland scene splash by Aonghas

The Food of the Clans

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 11:24:00 BST

The Early Modern diet in Scotland was not just cattle, oats, and beer, but the wealthy were using spices like saffron and pepper as early as the sixteenth century. Fish were exported in exchange for wine, salt and other commodities.

Picture of tenement kitchen splash format
Picture of tenement kitchen splash format

Bringing Food History onto Today’s Plates

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 10:54:00 BST

Through her research into culinary history and the texts that construct it, Lindsay has established a deep appreciation for the stories woven around food in the past and present, and how they bring people together in surprising ways.

Traditional lobster pots
Traditional lobster pots

The Importance of Food to Scottish Cultural Heritage, and Beyond

Tue, 31 May 2022 05:35:00 BST

Food has always been important, and it brings together a number of seemingly disparate threads, including health, story telling, cultural identity, sustainability and our understanding of heritage. What are the most important aspects of food to you?

Image of a busy day at the ARC
Image of a busy day at the ARC

Arts Lab: Purposeful playgrounds for research

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 13:42:00 BST

ArtsLab Labs and Teams collaborated on their first ArtsLab Showcase event wherein the goal was to present their independent research practices, outline the scope and aim of ArtsLab, and inform people about available opportunities for contribution, upcoming events as well as membership.