Child-centered food systems: Reorienting food systems towards healthy diets for children

Balancing the social, economic and environmental priorities for public health is at the core of the United Nations (UN) approaches to sustainable development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The four dimensions of sustainable diets are often presented as health, society, economics, and the environment. Although sustainable diet research has focused on health and the environment, the social and economic dimensions of sustainable diets and food systems should not be forgotten. Some research priorities and sociocultural indicators for sustainable healthy diets and food systems are outlined in this report. The present goal is to improve integration of the social dimension into research on food and nutrition security.

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Legal and human rights-based approaches to healthy diets and sustainable food systems

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.896 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

D W Patterson ◽

K Buse ◽

R Magnusson ◽

B C A Toebes

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Civil Society ◽

Global Health ◽

Food Systems ◽

Business Models ◽

Sustainable Food Systems ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Healthy Diets ◽

Health And Development ◽

The Right

Abstract Issue Malnutrition in all its forms poses daunting challenges to global health and development. The agriculture sector is a significant contributor to global warming. COVID-19 has pushed many people into poverty, including food poverty. A radical rethink of business models, food systems, civil society involvement, and national and international governance is required to address the interlinked crises of COVID-19, obesity, undernutrition, and climate change. International human rights law, institutions and mechanisms provide important opportunities for norm setting, advocacy and accountability. Yet these pathways are under-utilised by both governments and civil society. Description The global AIDS response demonstrated the power of a human rights-based approach. United Nations' HIV/AIDS and Human Rights Guidelines greatly influenced the global consensus for effective, evidence-based approaches. The Guidelines also informed resolutions of the UN General Assembly and its Human Rights Council, contributing to more affordable medicines, an unprecedented increase in people on treatment, less stigmatising health services, the empowerment of marginalised groups, and the institutionalisation of norms, including “no one left behind.” Human rights-based approaches have also been successfully utilised in tobacco control. Results In 2019, 180 experts from 38 countries published an open call on WHO and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to initiate an inclusive process to develop guidelines on human rights, healthy diets and sustainable food systems. Most signatories were from the health and development sectors, demonstrating the increasingly broad interest in using human rights mechanisms to address global health challenges. Lessons Opportunities exist to transform food systems and create healthier food environments and a healthier planet by clarifying existing international obligations to progressively realise the right to food and the right to health. Key messages Market forces, alone, are failing to deliver healthy diets and sustainable food systems. International legal frameworks and accountability mechanisms provide opportunities for engagement and action. Human rights guidelines can help mobilize multisectoral action, strengthen State and private sector accountability, and deepen community engagement in the urgent task of achieving Agenda 2030.

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Healthy Diets and Reduced Land Pressure: Towards a Double Gain for Future Food Systems in Nigeria

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11030835 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 835 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zuzana Smeets-Kristkova ◽

Thom Achterbosch ◽

Marijke Kuiper

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Global Economy ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Production Systems ◽

Leverage Points ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Healthy Diets ◽

The Impact

Nigeria is one of the most dynamic economies in Africa. Strong GDP and population growth coupled with urbanization trends place tremendous pressures on natural resources and the food systems that are dependent on them. Understanding the impact of these “mega trends” is important to identify key leverage points for navigating towards improved nutrition and food security in Nigeria. This paper contributes to the Foresight Project of the Food Systems for Healthier Diets which aims to analyse how the food system in Nigeria is expected to transform in the next decades, and to identify the leverage points for making sure that the transformation contributes to balanced consumer diets. For the food systems foresight, a well-established global economy-wide model, MAGNET, is applied that enables to capture the interlinkages among different food industry players in one consistent framework. By linking MAGNET to the GENUS nutritional database, it is further possible to relate the developments occurring on a macro-level with detailed macro and micronutrient consumption. Model projections suggest that a process of intensification of agriculture in combination with land substitution appears critical for the evolution of food and nutrition security, and for shifts towards healthy diets for the population. Intensification results in greater diversity of the production systems, which in turn cascades into positive effects on the diversity in the food supply and better food security outcomes.

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Healthy diets and sustainable food systems

The Lancet ◽

10.1016/s0140-6736(19)31130-4 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 394 (10194) ◽

pp. 214-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Edward Archer ◽

Carl J Lavie

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Sustainable Food Systems ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Healthy Diets

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Healthy diets as a guide to responsible food systems

Rethinking Food and Agriculture ◽

10.1016/b978-0-12-816410-5.00015-3 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 323-352

Author(s):

Shireen Kassam ◽

David Jenkins ◽

Doug Bristor ◽

Zahra Kassam

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Healthy Diets

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COVID-19 and Sustainable Food Systems: What Should We Learn Before the Next Emergency

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems ◽

10.3389/fsufs.2021.650987 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Author(s):

Stefano Bisoffi ◽

Lilia Ahrné ◽

Jessica Aschemann-Witzel ◽

András Báldi ◽

Kerstin Cuhls ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Common Good ◽

Food Systems ◽

Business Models ◽

Food System ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Central Element ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Use Of Resources ◽

The Social ◽

Healthy Diets

Three key transitions leading to a “safe and just” operating space, with a focus on food systems, emerged during the development of a Foresight study promoted by SCAR (Standing Committee on Agricultural Research1): (a) sustainable and healthy diets for all; (b) full circularity in the use of resources; (c) diversity as a key component of stable systems. As consequence of COVID-19, food emerged again as a central element of life, along with health, after decades in which food security was taken for granted, at least in most developed countries. The COVID-19 outbreak offered the opportunity for a reflection on the importance of resilience in emergencies. Sustainable and healthy diets for all, was shown, during the pandemic, to depend much more on social and economic conditions than on technical aspects of food production and processing. Agriculture and the agro-industry have now a potential to absorb, at least temporarily, workers laid out in other sectors; the pandemic could be an opportunity to re-think and re-value labor relationships in the sector as well as local productions and supply chains. A full circularity in food systems also would benefit from stronger links established at the territorial level and increase the attention on the quality of the environment, leading to the adoption of benign practices, regenerating rather than impoverishing natural resources. Diversity is a key component of a resilient system, both in the biophysical sphere and in the social sphere: new business models, new knowledge-sharing networks, new markets. The three transitions would operate in synergy and contribute to the resilience of the whole food system and its preparation for a possible next emergency. Science can support policy making; however, science needs to be better embedded in society, to have a clear direction toward the grand challenges, to address the social, economic, behavioral spheres, to aim clearly at the common good. We need to re-think the conundrum between competition and cooperation in research, devising ways to boost the latter without sacrificing excellence. We need to improve the way knowledge is generated and shared and we need to ensure that information is accessible and unbiased by vested interests.

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