Health and nutrition policy | TableDebates

Plates, pyramids and planets

Plates, pyramids and planet – Developments in national healthy and sustainable dietary guidelines: a state of play assessment

This report evaluates government-issued food-based dietary guidelines from across the globe, looking in particular at whether they make links to environmental sustainability as well as personal health.

Plates, pyramids and planet – Developments in national healthy and sustainable dietary guidelines: a state of play assessment

Today sees the launch of a new report published jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Food Climate Research Network (FCRN) at the University of Oxford. Plates, pyramids and planet evaluates government-issued food-based dietary guidelines from across the globe, looking in particular at whether they make links to environmental sustainability as well as personal health.

The 2015 Dutch food-based dietary guidelines

The Health Council of the Netherlands (the Dutch Dietary Guidelines Committee 2015) has published an updated set of Dutch dietary guidelines.

Sustainability assessment from The Carbon Trust of new UK Eatwell Guide

The UK’s official dietary guidelines were updated in March 2016. The Carbon Trust has undertaken a useful analysis of the environmental implications of the new plate. FCRN member John Kazer (Footprint Certification Manager at The Carbon Trust) provides the following summary of the analysis here:

Food firms failing to tackle nutrition crisis

In a time of rising rates of obesity and ongoing malnutrition, this new report argues that the world’s largest food and beverage (F&B) companies are largely failing to be part of the solution.

FAO report "Designing Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Investments: Checklist and guidance for programme formulation”

FAO has released a step-by-step approach to situation appraisal and programme design for nutrition-sensitive agriculture. With its emphasis on operational questions and considerations, it is intended to provide programme planners with practical tools.

Climate Change, food security and the U.S. Food System

This report by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) represents a consensus of more than 30 authors from 19 institutions across four countries. The report brings together modelling and forecasting research on climate change to the year 2100, and explores how these changes will affect food and agricultural systems worldwide, and in particular in the US.

Eating better sustainable diets policy recommendations

This policy briefing by the Eating Better alliance, aimed at UK Government, Devolved Administrations and the EU, recommends that action be taken to shift eating patterns towards less and better quality meat, and more plant-based foods.

Simulating the impact on health of internalising the cost of carbon in food prices combined with a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages

This paper by researchers from the University of Oxford, British Heart Foundation and the University of Reading investigates the impact on both health and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) in the UK of introducing taxes on foods and drinks with high GHGEs, and/or on drinks with added sugar (sugar-sweetened beverages; SSBs).