Scottish Independence - Food For Thought
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Scottish Independence – Food For Thought
Susan Krueger, A&N Research
Overview
Whatever the outcome of the vote on 18 September, the uncertainty surrounding Scotland’s status
has already impacted to some degree on agricultural and nutritional research in the UK, with
researchers from institutions north and south of the border being dragged into the debate over
Scotland’s future. The independence issue has become a distraction at a time when the results of
the EU’s (€50bn) Framework 7 research program (FP7) are being disseminated and applied, and calls
are going out for applications for the €80bn Horizon 2020 program. Alongside funding, which has
become one of the key issues for scientists and researchers whether for or against independence,
there is an additional degree of uncertainty regarding the future links between research groups in
Scotland and the UK. In the field of nutritional research these links have become increasingly
important in recent years as specialists in metabolism and nutrition work together on technology to
tackle obesity. The future funding of research and building of multidisciplinary teams will be
essential as a foundation for the creation of start-ups and spin-outs to take this technology to the
market. Looking beyond 18 September there are wider issues, such as how the key strategic work in
the fields of agriculture and nutrition can be combined to improve the resilience and sustainability of
food chains.
The purpose of this paper is not to judge the relative merits of a yes or no decision on independence
but to assess the impact on agricultural and nutritional research in the UK of a number of scenarios
following the vote.Who is doing what, north and south of the border?
An extract from A&N Research’s analysis of the scope and structure of agritech and nutritional research in the UK.
Nutritional Research ‒ Scotland Agricultural Research – Scotland
Rowett Institute (Aberdeen University) James Hutton Institute (Aberdeen University)
Glasgow University Scotland’s Rural College
Queen Margaret University Stirling University (Aquaculture)
Heriot-Watt University Roslin Institute (University of Edinburgh)
Roslin Institute (University of Edinburgh)
Agricultural Research – Rest of UK
Nutritional Research – Rest of UK
Porter Institute
Institute of Food Research (IFR)
Imperial College
Medical Research Council (MRC)
John Innes Centre
Reading University
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research
Sainsbury Laboratory
NIAB
Cambridge University
Sainsbury Centre (Cambridge University)
Newcastle University
Aberystwyth University
Holloway University
York University
Exeter University
Reading University
Harper Adams University
East Malling Research
2Funding
The EU
The independence debate brings into question Scotland’s membership of the EU and, for research
institutions, continuity of EU funding. Within FP7 there were approximately 100 projects that could
be classified as having either an agricultural or nutritional research theme. Of the 20 nutrition
projects, Scottish institutes participated in four while English or Welsh institutes took part in 17.
There were three projects that had both English and Scottish partners. Of the 80 Agricultural
projects, Scottish institutions took part in eight and English or Welsh institutions in 58. There were
four projects that had both English and Scottish partners.
Of particular interest here were two projects funded as part of the nutritional research program.
Full4Health and NeuroFast, for which the EU contributed €9m and €6m respectively, examined food-
gut-brain mechanisms with the aim of controlling appetite. The ultimate aim of this branch of
research was to discover ways of managing consumers' food intake. In the medium term this
research could lead to the development of products that reduce obesity and the health issues
associated with it. Ultimately, it could see the emergence of technology used to better manage food
chains and reduce the pressure on land use. We would view this as strategic technology, both within
the food and agricultural industry as, no doubt, does Danone, the commercial partner in the
Full4Health project.
The coordinating partner in Full4Health was Aberdeen University’s Rowett Institute – one of the UK’s
leading nutritional research centres. The English partner was a research group within Cambridge
University’s School of Clinical Medicine. These two institutions also participated in the other joint
English and Scottish project, NeuroFast, again examining the link between neurology and food
consumption. Although different researchers were involved in each project there were strong links
between the teams. The Rowett Institute was also involved in the Satin-Satiety project, coordinated
by Liverpool University, and is currently a partner in the EU-funded Micronutrient and Human Health
Network (MICROGENNET).
In the agricultural sector, Dundee University has taken part in a project coordinated by York
University researching techniques for improving plant cell walls for use as a renewable industrial
feedstock. Stirling University’s Institute of Aquaculture coordinated the SEAT project, which in
conjunction with institutions in Asia examined the resilience and sustainability of fish supplies.
Other funding
Rowett Institute receives funding for projects from the BBSRC (a UK research council), from the
Technology Strategy Board (now Innovate UK), from international organisations such as the World
Cancer Research Fund and the Scottish Government ‒ as part of its Rural and Environment Science
and Analytical Services (RESAS) program. Aberdeen University itself funds some research; typically
universities in Scotland receive 51% of their funding from the public purse. In conjunction with
Imperial College and the Sanger Institute, Rowett Institute also received funding from the US-based
Broad Foundation, and from Kellogg’s for research into novel bioactives from wheat bran.
Scenarios
1. Independence without EU Membership
The impact on some research programs if Scotland should find itself outside of the EU would be
immediate. The EU is a trading area and its agricultural research is focused on providing secure and
sustainable food chains for the benefit of citizens within member states. While research into the
3sustainability of fish supplies coordinated by Stirling University may give the appearance of being
altruistic, its strategic aim is to secure a food chain for the EU. Where Scotland was asked to partner
in such projects it would be regarded as being at the beginning of the food chain as a provider nation
(as Vietnam is within SEAT), not at the end as a consumer nation. It is unlikely funds would be
awarded to a state outside of the EU to coordinate such a project and collect and disseminate the
information gathered. The same would hold true of research into nutrition, which is primarily
concerned with improving the health of EU citizens.
In this scenario the disruption of links between research groups in Scotland and those in the rest of
the UK and Europe would be as damaging as the loss of EU funding itself. However, this is an unlikely
scenario and Scotland would no doubt apply for EU membership in its own right and, given its strong
links with other states, is likely to be admitted. If it was admitted, the impact on Scottish and UK
agricultural and nutritional research, while potentially damaging, would not be permanent or
irreversible.
2. Independence and retention of EU Membership
Separation from the rest of the UK would alone be disruptive as currently there is significant cross-
border funding of projects and strong links between institutions which, while not necessarily lost
completely, would need to be re-engineered. Scotland would no longer contribute to the UK’s
research councils and these councils would no longer fund research projects in Scottish institutions.
As an alternative, Scotland is likely to expand its own network of research councils. There would in
theory be the same amount of funding but the way it flows through the system would alter; in the
short term this could prove disruptive and give rise to a degree of uncertainty. Where there will be
long-term impact is in cases where research, previously regarded as strategic for the UK but after
independence no longer believed relevant to Scotland, would no longer be funded. This would
impact heavily on some institutions both north and south of the border and may be one reason why
attitudes to independence seem polarised within the research community.
At A&N Research we view this scenario from a narrow perspective. We see the need for stronger
links between nutritional and agricultural research, as without them food chains, made longer and
more complex by globalisation of the food market, will remain open loop systems that are both
difficult to manage and prone to periodic collapse. With this in mind we can look again at the two
research projects, Full4Health and NeuroFast, worked on jointly by the universities of Aberdeen and
Cambridge .
The research team at Cambridge University is highly experienced in the field of metabolic science,
while the work done by Aberdeen University’s Rowett Institute on nutrition provides the tools
needed to channel Cambridge's expertise into applications in the food industry. Full4Health,
NeuroFast and associated projects have attracted significant media attention, in most part because
the nutritional aspect of the work suggests the technology could have applications that improve
health and wellbeing of consumers.
Cambridge is home to a collection of fast growing technology hubs typical of those emerging around
universities. Closer integration of agricultural and nutritional research is something we would expect
to see happening in Cambridge, home of research centres such as the Sainsbury Centre, NIAB,
established biotech hub One Nucleus, and the recently launched Agri-Tech East cluster. However,
completing the bridge requires research teams with access to nutritional expertise working on joint
projects such as Full4Health and NeuroFast.
Aberdeen, like Cambridge, has technology hubs and spin-outs such as NovaBiotics and GT Biologic,
which are exploiting technology developed at the Rowett Institute.
4As with our first scenario, separation of Scotland and the UK would not necessarily end all hope of
bridging the gap between agricultural and nutritional research. The reworking of relationships
between institutions and flows of funding following independence would merely temporarily disrupt
rather than permanently end joint projects.
Scientific research, like the markets it serves, is global and UK universities now attract funding from
organisations around the world. If Scotland becomes an EU member in its own right, its institutions
may look further afield than the UK for funding and develop links with states such as France and
Germany, which both invest heavily in agritech research.
3. Nothing changes
The business as usual scenario sees Scotland remain part of the UK and by extension retain its
present links with the EU. While this appears to represent no change in the way the UK’s nutritional
and agricultural research institutions work together, researchers in Scottish institutions have been
caught up in the independence debate. This in itself has led to an examination of the way research is
funded in Scotland. A more independent minded approach to research could see a change in the
way institutions such as Rowett markets its research into nutrition, and while it would be good to
see the first agritech/nutrition start-up based in the UK this can no longer be regarded as a given.
A & N Research
Globalisation has created long and complex food chains that often obscure the obvious connection between agriculture and nutrition. Food is a
primary need but is marketed as tertiary need in developed countries where it is presented to the consumer as lifestyle choice. Malnutrition is
commonplace manifesting itself, in underdeveloped countries, as starvation and throughout the rest of the world as a major cause of heart
disease and obesity. The challenges for government policymakers and companies are numerous ranging from sustainable intensification in the
agricultural sector to producing affordable nutritious food for the retail sector. There also opportunities for companies with new technologies
that meet these challenges. We can provide the research and analysis to help you gain a greater understanding of a rapidly evolving market
that is key to global growth and stability.
20 Leaden Hill · Orwell · Royston · SG8 5QH · UK ++ 44(0) 1223 207859 www.aandnresearch.co.uk office@aandnresearch.co.uk
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