The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – The journey so far and our pathway forward

Professor Mary Brennan completed her Bachelor of (Agricultural and Food) Engineering (BE) degree at University College Dublin (Ireland) in 1998, her MSc. in International Agricultural and Food Marketing from Newcastle University (UK) in 1999, and her PhD (by published work) from Newcastle University (UK) in 2011. Since September 1999, Mary has worked at Newcastle University (1999-2013) and the University of Edinburgh (2013-current) where she is currently Dean of Education for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and PI on the Wellcome Trust funded "Living Good Food Nation Lab" project.

Mary adopts an interdisciplinary, systems-based approach in her research drawing on, and working with, different disciplines to investigate complex food policy challenges in order to explore the complex, dynamic, unpredictable and often unstable relationships people have with food, how these shape everyday food practices, underpin contemporary food policy challenges and which are considered by many to be very resistant to change. She also explores the concept of food systems transformation with specific focus on public food. She has worked on multiple projects funded by external bodies including the European Union, the UK Economic and Social Research Council, UK Food Standards Agency, and the Wellcome Trust.

Mary co-covenes FRIED, the Food Researchers in Edinburgh Network, and chairs the Scottish Food Coalition (SFC) - a coalition of over 50 civil society organisations who have come together over the last decade to advocate for a fairer, healthier, more sustainable Scottish food system. She led the coalitions recent work campaigning for new legislation in Scotland entitled the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act. Building on this work, and the close partnerships developed, Mary is now leading a new Wellcome Trust-funded "Living Good Food Nation Lab", a project designed to support, pump prime and critique the implementation of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act.