The Scottish Diet

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute analyzes the Ecological Footprint of the average Scottish diet compared to healthier, more sustainable alternatives. It finds that shifting toward a diet that is healthy, vegetarian, local, and organic can significantly reduce environmental pressure while improving public health outcomes.

• The average Scottish diet is characterized by insufficient intake of cereals, vegetables, and fruit, and excessive consumption of confectionery, fatty meats, sugary drinks, and alcohol. This contributes to high rates of overweight populations, with more than 65% of men and 59% of women, and 35% of primary school pupils being overweight.
• The food Ecological Footprint for the average person in Scotland is 0.75 global hectares (gha) per person, with meat consumption being the primary driver of this impact due to the land required for grazing and fodder, as well as energy used in production and distribution.
• Adopting a diet based on Scottish healthy eating recommendations can reduce the food Footprint by between 15% and 25% compared to the current average Scottish diet.
• A vegetarian diet that includes moderate amounts of milk and eggs can further reduce the Ecological Footprint by 23% when compared to a standard healthy eating recommendation diet.
• The source of food significantly impacts the Footprint; buying British food instead of imported food can reduce the food Footprint by 54% compared to a diet consisting entirely of imports. A healthy diet based solely on UK produce reduces the Footprint by 29% relative to the current Scottish average.
• The 'Best Diet'—defined as one that is simultaneously healthy, vegetarian, local, and organic—can reduce the Scottish food Footprint by approximately 40% (specifically 39% according to Table 2) compared to the average Scottish diet.
• Analysis of school meals in North Lanarkshire shows that the 'Hungry for Success' menu choice resulted in a 42% lower Ecological Footprint and 83% fewer added fats than the previous menu choice (cheese pizza and chips).

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). The Scottish Diet. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Future/scotland-diet.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. The Scottish Diet. n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Future/scotland-diet.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=The Scottish Diet |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Future/scotland-diet.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendscottish, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{The Scottish Diet}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Future/scotland-diet.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }