by Nutrilicious | Sep 25, 2024 | Hot Topics in nutrition, Thoughts, Education, Communications, Event Reports
Food is on the agenda at a number of events at this year’s labour party conference. Here is one of them.
We took part in an event hosted by PLMR in association with the The Vegan Society – Let Food Be Thy Medicine. Tanya Haffner, our CEO and founder, felt honoured to share the stage with Anna Taylor, Executive Director, The Food Foundation, Claire Ogley, Head of Campaigns, Policy and Research, The Vegan Society, Dr Simon Opher, MP, Simon Darby, Head of Public Affairs, PLMR and Jim Bligh, Director of Corporate Affairs and Packaging, Food and Drink Federation.
So why should and how can the government take advantage of the opportunity presented by diet change to deliver a preventative health revolution? Here are some of the highlights:
Why address the issue of diet change?
- Health: Our nation is suffering and dying from preventable diseases where unhealthy diets post a greater risk to morbidity (years living with disability) and mortality than unsafe sex, alcohol, drug and tobacco use combined. The least deprived are the most disadvantaged.
- Planet: At the same time the way we are eating is contributing to climate and ecological breakdown. Food is a major contributor and it is hardly recognised. It contributes to 1/3 of GHG emissions and is damaging all other planetary boundaries. The very systems we are using to nourish us are being damaged by our food system and as a consequence so too is our food security.
- Economics: we have a sick workforce. 2.8 million people are economically inactive because of long term sickness: it’s not sustainable. Recommendations by Henry Dimbleby in the National Food Strategy proposed 2021 focused on 4 dietary shifts towards a more plant based diet ( 30% increase in Fruit and Veg, 50% increase in fibre, 25% reduction in HFSS foods, 30% reduction in meat). When modelled against the Global Burden of Disease data if achieved these would see a 10% reduction in deaths and Years Living with Disability related to dietary risk factors. Yet, successive governments have overlooked the transformative potential of promoting a shift towards healthier plant-based diets in favour of encouraging “personal responsibility” when it comes to diet.
What has the Vegan Society’s recent research shown about the scale of the possible opportunity by plant-based diets?
- The vegan society’s recent research in partnership with the Office for Health Economics has for the first time put a figure on this opportunity cost and estimated that for every million people who take up a plant-based diet in England, this could unlock savings of £121 million for spending in our NHS from reduced spending on preventable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The scale of the opportunity is enormous. Link to the research is here
But are the benefits of healthy diets better understood than previously by health professionals?
- Treatment focused care is excellent. But there are lost opportunities for identifying early development of disease and modifiable risk factors such as diet which could unburden the NHS disease care system.
- Dietitians and nutritionists – plant-based sustainable diets knowledge and application is poor – training has only recently been added to pre-registration training. Yet, post registration dietitians are being called upon to help deliver on net zero targets are on catch up with knowledge confidence and application. MyNutriWeb training and tools supported by the British Dietetic Association and Association for Nutrition are helping to plug this gap. But dietitians and nutritionists often lack funding and time for training.
- Doctors, nurses and other health professionals receive little training – doctors as little as 1 hr in medical schools and lack knowledge confidence and useful trusted tools to support recommend and sign post in first line treatment. A huge opportunity to catalyse change is being lost.
- A joined up strategy to create a nourished healthcare culture that can help unburden the disease care system is needed which can include:
- More social prescribing.
- More dietitians.
- An NHS prescribed personalised prevention opportunities linked into the NHS app using digital tech may help to revolutionise this kind of preventative care.
- Plant-based by default strategies and campaigns such as those in New York City hospitals now being piloted in the UK can also contribute. A plant-based by default menu in healthcare is now being called upon by leading health professionals and organisations which outs plants first but doesn’t take away choice.
- Nutrition societies and health professionals are working with and being influenced by the food industry – but higher standards are needed to align with healthy and sustainable diets and to avoid green and health washing seen in recent years.
What has industry been doing to drive health improvements and how can they further work with government?
- Industry has focused and invested heavily in product reformulation and better labelling and will continue to do so.
- A number of players are undertaking public reporting of healthy and unhealthy sales.
- But industry needs more policy levers to create a level playing field for further change.
What policy changes will be needed by government, the health services, industry and individuals?
Many of the calls to action in the Food Foundations Election 24 Nourishing the Nation Manifesto were highlighted
- Making healthy and sustainable food affordable
- Stopping the junk food escalation
- Investing in children diets
- Making it easier to eat sustainably
- Creating a food bill for England
- Improving transparency by introducing mandatory public reporting by the food business
- Investing in and supporting innovation and R&D across the food and agriculture sector
Improving transparency by introducing mandatory public reporting of advertising was also highlighted when a 1/3 of advertising spend on food and drink goes towards confectionary, snacks, desserts and soft drinks compared to just 1% on fruit and vegetables.
Why are policy makers reluctant to talk about diet, especially plant-based diets?
- Subsidies that facilitate the production of cheap meat are not helping
- Farmers are trapped in a system that drives this and need more support to deliver on food provision centered around horticulture
- People need to be reassured and supported to transition and learn how to afford, access and go plant based
Embracing policy and funding action on diet change including the support for the NHS to be a champion of health, especially towards plant-based diets, is crucial for improving the nation’s health, protecting the planet, and strengthening the economy. What are your thoughts on the role of plant-based diets in creating a healthier future? Let us know in the comments below!
by Tanya HAFFNER | Jan 23, 2020 | Thoughts, Changing mindset, Event Reports
What’s going to have the most impact on reducing sugar consumption in the UK – educating consumers and encouraging them to change their habits, or changing the environment, reformulation and marketing? Is responsibility ultimately on the individual or industry?
That’s one of the key questions that came out of a panel discussion I was part of at an Action on Sugar event held at Parliament for Sugar Awareness Week.
Campaigners, government officials, health experts and industry experts came together for a networking opportunity all wanting to make a difference, before sitting down to hear from our host Andrew Selous MP, who’s served on the Health Select Committee; Katherine Severi, Chief Executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies; Professor Graham MacGregor, Chairman of Action on Sugar; and me, asked to speak about how sugar reduction can improve the health of the most vulnerable and what’s our view on industry’s role.
The theme of this year’s Sugar Awareness Week is ‘What’s in your drink’. Action on Sugar have done an excellent job at highlighting a loophole in regulations whereby alcoholic drinks are not obliged to label any nutritional information about their products – even though the calorific and sugar levels are often alarming.
There was universal agreement in the room that something must be done – and everyone can play their part by emailing their local MP to demand change. You can find lots more information on the Action on Sugar website, and I highly recommend you do so.
What, though, will be the ultimate impact of labelling? As Professor MacGregor said yesterday, although labelling and education are a vital step, it’s the environment, formulation of products and marketing that will truly have an impact.
As a nation we are consuming too much sugar on average, which can often mean too many calories, leading to weight gain and obesity. Children, our most vulnerable group, are consuming more than double their maximum recommended allowance of sugar.
In England, around 1 in 4 children have tooth decay and 1 in 3 are overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school.
What’s more, as a 4-5 year old, you’re three times more likely to be overweight or obese if you’re in the most deprived socio-economic group compared to the least deprived: 27.2% vs 17.3%. The results are even worse for 10-11 year olds.
Andrew Selous shared what he discovered on a learning visit to Amsterdam, where the mayor was inspired to do more to reduce child obesity after seeing a girl in a playground who was too overweight to do a forward roll. As the mayor pointed out, if one third of children were suffering from tuberculosis, there would be no avoiding the issue. Action would be taken. The army would be out on the streets helping.
Yet the with obesity comes the complex problem of stigma, shaming and how best to deal with the issue in a ‘publicly correct’ way that’s not going to impact mental health.
What is the role of the wide food industry, retail and out-of-home sectors?
Of course, consumers should make their own choices – and of course we want to encourage them to make good, informed choices benefiting their health and the planet where support for this must continue.
But numerous reports, behavioural change groups and experts globally all concur that if we leave things to individual choice alone, we will not achieve the behavioural change we need to see. We live in environments that are swamped with foods that are high in calories, fat, salt and sugar which are also low in protective nutrients and are heavily promoted to us. Industry has a crucial role to play in providing and marketing healthier choices. Industry can no longer blame poor eating habits on the consumer and their personal choice. It’s especially important for the vulnerable groups, who need the most help.
Examples of positive action for change
An inspiring example from Amsterdam was a supermarket who decided that they didn’t want their consumers to eat unhealthy foods. They changed their environment, made healthier food more accessible, reduced the amount of unhealthy products and made sure the labelling was clear. They had a profit to make but – led by the top – decided that the health of the public was their responsibility too.
Katherine Severi pointed to the action in Scotland to price alcoholic beverages based on the number of units they contained. A 3-litre bottle of cider that previously cost £3.50 went up to over £11 when the law was introduced in May 2018, making it far less accessible to the most deprived.
While it’s too early for full data analysis of the impact, early signs are extremely positive on the positive impact the pricing can have.
What are our recommendations to industry?
1. Stick with the sugar reduction despite the challenges (and ultimately you may have no choice). It makes sense and it’s vitally important to continue to see small subtle incremental reductions in sugar and calories. Reformulation takes time but it IS achievable – we have a precedent with salt reductions.
2. Have a nutrition and health strategy with teeth. It must be:
- Led from the top
- Long-term
- Multi-faceted
- Consistent and joined up across departments and suppliers
- Measured
- Aligned to both health and sustainability
- Communicated and understood right across the business – from CEO to porter
Marketing and external communications should focus on healthier choices, and for optimum impact should incorporate smart partnerships.
We can’t ignore that change has its challenges:
- Industry has to make money. We can’t impact on jobs in these vulnerable times
- There will be growing pains and these need to be listened to, carefully considered and supported
- Change takes time, goodwill and, crucially, support from the top
But there is reason to believe that now, perhaps, there are colliding drivers to move us in the right direction:
- The health of the nation and its impact on socio-economics is stark
- More and more consumer groups are demanding action, for both health and environmental issues
- The financial necessity to change is on the horizon. The likes of Share Action, amongst others, are telling investors that if business don’t change, they will be at risk.
Getting the government to take action
The government said they wanted to half childhood obesity by 2030. That is not going to happen with their current plan.
If our new Government doesn’t have the foresight to act and create the level playing field that industry says it needs, industry needs to get together and lobby for it to be implemented over a reasonable period of time, which at the very least:
- Ensures only healthy products (not high in fat, salt and sugar) to be marketed, promoted and advertised
- Makes uniform colour-coded labelling on front of pack mandatory on all products sold in retail and out-of-home
At the moment, despite all the health and economic imperatives, obesity simply isn’t the top of the agenda.
As each member of yesterday’s panel said, for the sake of our nation’s health and the planet, it’s going to take us all coming together to create a powerful voice and movement for change.
