The spectre of the highly virulent H5N1 strain of avian flu exploded onto our horizon again in the last couple of weeks, when it was announced that some turkeys in a ‘farm’ in Suffolk had been found to have the virus.

After the initial announcement, the number of birds to be culled grew and grew until we now have had it confirmed that 160,000 turkeys have been killed. There is something almost Orwellian in this.

Although apparently just 2,600 of these birds were infected, the nature of the virus means that all poultry on this ‘farm’ needed to be slaughtered to comply with public safety regulations.

This is hardly surprising given the conditions the birds are housed in during their short lives. The ‘farm’ in Suffolk comprises 22 sheds where the turkeys are housed. Using some basic arithmetic, this means that there are over 7,000 birds in each shed. This sounds more like a huge industrial complex rather than a farm.

And this nightmare scenario gets worse. Reports this week suggest that turkey meat imported from Hungary was processed in Suffolk, not far from where the avian flu was detected and then exported back to Hungary.

Nor were the amounts insignificant – the unprocessed meat weighed 22 tonnes (six truckloads). And this is all within EU rules! At the weekend I heard Elliot Morley, one time Minister for the Environment say that because it was much easier to trace and track poultry movements, there were no analogies with BSE or foot and mouth FMD). I wish I could share his confidence.

So how does this relate to tourism in Scotland? Given the growing importance of secondary income streams, food and drink can certainly make a valuable contribution. And not just in financial terms - surely the food offer is an integral part of the overall visitor experience.

We are blessed to live in a country that has such excellent quality produce – fish, meat, cheese and so much more. Although many will already be using fresh, local produce, how can we make it easier for everyone to use this?

Already off the blocks is EatScotland which is the new quality assurance scheme from VisitScotland http://eatscotland.visitscotland.com/scottish_food/

It also has sections on natural Scottish produce with profiles on Scottish food producers and manufacturers.

Scottish Food & Drink http://www.scottishfoodanddrink.com is updated frequently with news items as well as links to accredited local suppliers. And if you don’t do so already, you can subscribe to their monthly newsletter via the website.

Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) are funding a project - ‘Food Tourism Product Development’ (FTPD). Initial research with both suppliers and the tourism industry suggests that we all want to see more of a traditional focus on our food.

Additionally, food producers would like better links to tourism businesses and we also know that tourism businesses don’t always know who their local producers are. The FTPD plans to address this by producing a toolkit (currently being developed) via a dedicated website which will include links to local producers and downloadable chef demonstrations for simple preparation and recipe tips. When this is piloted, you will be amongst the first to know.

Enhancing food links to local suppliers is not just important for altruistic reasons. Research suggests that for every £10 spent locally, 70 per cent stays in the local economy, helping to support and sustain other local jobs. That’s a sobering statistic. And in addition, good quality local food enhances the visitor experience – the USP for the local area.

It really all comes back to the basic tenet of economics, that of supply and demand. If we stop buying factory processed food, they eventually will have to stop production because of lack of demand.

Jamie Oliver successfully urged schools to stop selling ‘Turkey Twizzlers’ to children for their lunch. Tourism businesses might learn a lesson here. In terms of future sustainability, where would you prefer to be working – in tourism or in an industrial farm?

Eva McDiarmid