NFU Scotland

Wonnacott, divisional QHSE manager at Almarai. “NSF has been hugely supportive throughout the whole process, which enabled us to setup up and aligned our animal welfare management system to the latest international standards.” GAWS aligns with Almarai’s sustainability strategy, Better Every Day, which focuses on caring for consumers, protecting the environment and producing responsible products.

NSF GAWS establish best practices by benchmarking against global animal welfare regulations and domestic animal welfare regulatory requirements, industry standards and codes of practices. Consistent with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Specifications 34700 and World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) guidelines.

A facility must create, document, and implement an animal welfare management system to achieve certification. There are three levels of conformance from baseline, assurance to certification, awarded to sites that demonstrate total commitment and compliance. All levels require independent audits to verify compliance and include zero tolerance for animal abuse, mistreatment or neglect.

NSF GAWS eliminates the need for food companies with global supply chains to navigate a range of different local and regional approaches to demonstrate their commitment to animal wellness by having one common, globally applicable solution.

NSF Global Animal Wellness Standards are one of a host of services provided by NSF International experts to help you verify food management systems, mitigate risk and protect your business.

FARMING SCOTLAND MAGAZINE

Next issue out July 2022 Subscription page 123

Governments and supermarkets need to waken up quick or they will be held responsible for the biggest food inflation rises in generations. The horrendous situation in Ukraine is deteriorating every day and the ramifications of this war will have long lasting impacts on NFU Scotland our ability to produce food.

The cost of production linked to fertiliser, fuel, energy and animal feed prices continue to rocket at a rate that makes business planning incredibly challenging.

Food inflation is deemed to be something the Government and the country is trying to avoid, but unless there is a significant rise in retail prices that recognises that unprecedented cost of production increase, farmers will scale back on production; our fragile food security position will be further undermined, and food inflation will be even greater long term.

UK Government Ministers telling us in March that we

Leadership is needed to protect our food prices and security By Martin Kennedy, President, NFU Scotland Martin Kennedy, President, NFU Scotland don’t need fertiliser, there’s sector which is also under enough manure and slurry pressure with greater energy to compensate for the loss costs and labour challenges. of artificial fertiliser shows The world has changed a real gulf in understanding beyond belief in a very short what is happening on the space of time – the reasons ground. Farmers will not driving that change are tragic produce food without seeing - and food security must a return, for far too long we now be our number one have been taken for granted priority. Climate change and and been rewarded poorly biodiversity must continue for our fantastic efforts to to be addressed through feed the country with high future policy change but right quality food. now we must have a reality From a livestock check and focus on what is perspective, my own costs the most important energy for fertiliser alone have risen source of all, food. from £3.00 per bale of silage Leadership and decision to £11.00 per bale. When making must come now you add in fuel and plastic from government and wrap, it looks like the only retailers. We must have a way forward is to reduce supply chain that works fairly numbers. across all sectors if farmers Multiply that across the and crofters are to continue country, add in difficulties to produce food rather than for some sectors sourcing scale back production and labour, and the effect on the the economic and social essential critical mass of consequences of potential Scottish farm output will be food shortages that would devastating. Any reduction in lead to. production will have a serious We must future-proof our impact on the viability of the supply chains and be able to Scottish food processing feed ourselves.