Leaders: ‘Parents might be willing to pay more’

How much do we really know about what we are buying, where it comes from and how good it might be for us?

Of course, there are fine judgements to be made about price and quality, and where we draw the line. For each of us, the answer will be different.

But what about the food that our children eat when they are at school?

Many parents already go for the safe option and make packed lunches, so they know exactly what their children are eating.

Yet those who prefer a hot meal must wonder quite how nutritional a meal can be when it is made for just 71p.

Part of the answer surely is not as nutritional as it would be if we spent twice as much.

But that would mean parents typically paying £2.50 or £3.00, instead of £1.75 and £2.25, per meal.

Many might well be willing to do just that if they were assured all the extra money would go on buying better quality ingredients.

If there is one good thing that has come out of the current food fiasco, it is that we are all taking time now to think about better ways of feeding ourselves and our children.

Ones for the future

Who would become a politician these days? Our elected representatives are under more scrutiny than ever before, to the extent that they cannot put a foot or a tweet wrong without bringing down the scorn of the  masses.

Quite right, many would say, especially on the back of endless high-profile scandals, from MPs expenses down.

But it certainly does make politics a less attractive career option.

Not so for the group of youngsters we report on today who are aiming to take their first step on the political pole.

The Scottish Youth Parliament elections are upon us and they are vying for the right to represent different areas of the city, taking their task just as seriously as those at Holyrood or Westminster.

It is great to see so many youngsters willing to get involved and expressing themselves so eloquently in the process.

Well done to all the candidates involved, they are an impressive bunch who should be proud of their achievement already.

And remember the names – they just might be the MPs and MSPs of the future.