Food Commission member profiles

Uel Morton (Co Chair)

Born and bred on a mixed livestock farm and is graduated in Agricultural and Food Marketing from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He holds the Diploma in Marketing and graduated with an MBA from Edinburgh Business School in 1997 and in addition, he is a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies. Recently Chief Executive of Quality Meat Scotland.

Julie Fitzpatrick (Co Chair)

Scientific Director of Moredun Research Institute and Chief Executive of Moredun Foundation. Her research interests focus on livestock health and disease in the UK and developing countries. Julie is also Chair of Food Security in the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow.

Ally Dingwall

Responsibility for fish sourcing policy in line with their business commitment to sourcing with integrity.Sits on the Scottish Seafood Partnership Implementation Working Group.Previously worked at Huon Aquaculture in Australia as General Manager for Value Added Processing and Uniq plc, Pinneys of Scotland and Marine Harvest in a variety of production, technical and procurement roles.

Caroline Mockford

A Commissioner with the Poverty Truth Commission; a community activist with the Poverty Alliance; a member of the NHSHealth Reference Group; and also a volunteer with the Citizens Advice Bureau.

David Croft

Global Sustainable Development Director, Diageo and formerly Director of Quality and Technical at Waitrose. Previous experiencesKraft Foods, Cadbury and the Co-operative Group. Director of the Ethical Trading Initiative, and council member at the Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association.Contributed significantly to the development of the UK fair trade market, launching new products and ranges, and developing consumer awareness and marketing campaigns.Involved in initiatives to improve supply chain standards across the food sector, engaging extensively with government departments and NGOs.

Donnie Maclean

Board member of Scotland Food and Drink, and Founder of Eat Balanced, which has developed a range of nutritious pizzas where children can't tell the difference from the standard pizza offering.The products are being sold in public and private schools across Scotland, as well as family restaurants and leisure facilities. A strong advocate of health, sports and the development of businesses, Donnie speaks at many events and schools on topics such as health, nutrition and entrepreneurship.

Eleanor Cunningham

Owner and Director of the Edinburgh Larder.Having opened and run the business for seven years, it has grown from a small café to include a restaurant, a second café on Whitmuir organic farm and a successful catering business.The ethos of the business is built on supporting and promoting small ethical producers in Scotland.Eleanor is currently developing a Social Enterprise to make local food more accessible and develop training courses in how to best utilise local and seasonal produce.

Gillian Kynoch

Gillian is Head of Fareshare in Scotland; a leading UK charity working to ensure that no good food goes to waste but is redistributed to frontline organisations working to combat food poverty.A dietician by background, Gillian has worked in the NHS and with local authorities in Health Promotion and health improvement. As Scottish Food and Health Coordinator from 2000 to 2008, she led a broad programme across Government to improve the Scottish diet.She has worked in the food industry with primary producers, processors and major retailers in commercial and innovation roles.Her interest is the role of food as a fundamental building block for better lives and stronger communities.

Jackie Brock

Chief Executive of Children in Scotland, Jackie was previously responsible for overseeing the Curriculum for Excellence within the Scottish Government.

Jackie McCreery

Jackie is a partner in the McCreery family dairy and arable farm in East Lothian. She and her husband, Simon, also run Yester Farm Dairies Ltd, an artisan on-farm processing dairy, making a range of milk, cream, soft cheeses and cultured creams which is sold across the UK. Jackie practiced as a solicitor in commercial property and then rural public policy for a number of years until 2015, when she moved back home to help run the family businesses full time with her husband. She also operates a 4* self-catering cottage on the farm. She sits on Scottish Land and Estates National Policy Group and NFUS Legal and Technical Committee.

Ken Mackenzie

Retail career of almost 40 years.Held a number of senior management positions in Scotland with major food retailers, joining Scottish Co-operative in 1992 as Chief Officer responsible for more than 320 stores in UK and Manx.Strong advocate for the development of the Scottish retail industry, Scottish suppliers and quality Scottish products.Formerly a member of the National Executive of Scottish Grocers Federation.Vice Chair and latterly Chair of Skillsmart – the UK retail sector skills council.

Professor Peter Morgan

Director, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health.Peter is a member of the: BBSRC Basic Biosciences Underpinning Health Strategy Panel; Steering Group of BBSRC Diet andHealth Research Industry Club;and Scientific Committee of the Institute of Food and Health, University College, Dublin.

Pete Ritchie

Executive Director, Nourish, and has a background in community development and social policy. As executive director, Pete is responsible with the board and staff team for focusing Nourish Scotland’s work where it can be most effective.He is currently leading Nourish’s work on the 2014 to 2020 Common Agricultural Policy.As well as working at Nourish, Pete runs Whitmuir Organics with his partner Heather Anderson.

Robin Gourlay

Works with the Scottish Government, Scotland Food and Drink and leads on Public Sector Food and Drink Policy. Produced the report, Walking the Talk – Getting Government Right.He has produced a wide range of guidance and policy for industry for caterers and buyers in schools, hospitals and across the public sector. He has 30 years’ experience of catering and hospitality management through a career that spans hotels, universities, FE colleges, local and national government.