The Conservatives yesterday set up a working group to look at the impending world food crisis, asking representatives from Holyrood, Westminster and Brussels to look at the issue.

Ayr MSP John Scott claimed yesterday that British families would pay out an average of £750 more in the coming year for their groceries. Although the Tory debate at Holyrood today has a green tinge to it, the Green Party is likely to be outraged as Mr Scott's views are firmly in favour of intensive farming with fertilisers, and not organic producers.

Mr Scott said yesterday that, after a decade of judging land on the basis of access, wildlife protection, wind farms and housing, it was time to "get back to seeing land as primarily for producing food".

He said the lead the Holyrood administration could take was on the 10% of food lost in transit, the 30% lost in fridges through waste, and the need for us all to start looking at growing vegetables again as was done in past crises.