Public and corporate policymakers are accountable for feeding the world sustainably

In the recent PNAS publication: ‘Towards healthy and sustainable diets for the 21st century: importance of social-cultural and economic considerations’, Sander Biesbroek and Pieter van ‘t Veer of Wageningen University & Research summarize findings and recommendations from a high-level international expert meeting held in Amsterdam last year.

Lack of consensus

Four years ago, the EAT-Lancet report called for 'the great food system transformation’ towards healthy and environmentally sustainable diets. The 15 experts from five continents of the current publication stress that the transition is frustrated by lack of consensus and coordination between civil society, government, science and the food industry. They argue that transition strategies just can't work without engaging in local issues such as the price of food, taste and sensory aspects, and the accountability of governments and food companies.

Environmental sustainability and health

The publication summarises the evidence on environmental sustainability and health and argues that socio-cultural and economic aspects are underexposed in the debate. The discussion should therefore not be limited to a scientific definition of what a healthy and environmentally sustainable diet entails. Changing the food system will not be successful (or feasible) without addressing the accountability of citizens, policy makers and food companies. This makes sustainability a global challenge where local solutions need to be identified and best practices need to be scaled up. Public policymakers and large private companies need to use their regulatory and economic power to transform food production, processing and distribution to make sustainable choices widely available and affordable.

Key messages:

• The time to act is now. Promises alone will not suffice.
• There is not one global sustainable diet or food system, there is a multitude of individual diets and local food systems. The context is key.
• A counternarrative to the current one based on price, taste, and convenience is needed. Socio-cultural and ecological values need to be respected.
• Communication strategies alone are unlikely to substantially influence individuals’ food choices, the local food environment is essential.
• Food-based dietary guidelines can help governments shape their diet and nutrition agenda in a sustainable way
• A government-initiated structure is needed that holds all actors in the food supply chain accountable.