by Nutrilicious | Jul 14, 2025 | Hot Topics in nutrition, Education
By Marta Buczkowska, Registered Dietitian
As the long-awaited NHS Plan is released, we took a moment – just ahead of publication – to ask ChatGPT for its predictions on what might be included. Some of those predictions made it into the final version, but others, disappointingly, did not. This comparison has helped highlight both the progress being made and the opportunities still to be seized.
In this blog, we unpack where the new NHS Plan gets it right, where it falls short, and what more is needed to truly move from treatment to prevention. Our analysis explores the latest commitments, what’s changing in policy and practice, and the crucial gaps that remain if we are to build a fairer, healthier, and more sustainable future
What’s next for the NHS? Moving from treatment to prevention – and where we go from here
The newly unveiled NHS Plan brings with it an increased focus on disease prevention and improving access to healthcare through shifting from analogue to digital and from hospital-based care to community centres. These changes reflect a growing recognition that reactive, hospital-centred treatment alone is no longer sustainable – we must address the root causes of ill health and make healthcare widely available to all.
While we welcome several positive steps outlined in the Plan, there remain key gaps that must be urgently addressed to create a truly equitable, sustainable and healthy society.
What’s continuing: positive momentum in policy
We’re encouraged by the government’s commitment to go ahead with restricting unhealthy food advertising to children. This move acknowledges the powerful role of familiarity in shaping dietary preferences from a young age. It’s one step in the right direction, but we urge policymakers to go further — extending advertising bans not only to public transport – like it’s already done in several areas of England which would further amplify the benefits, but to a blanket ban on advertising all HFSS foods like Norway. Similarly, updating the sugar tax to reflect inflation and extending it to all HFSS foods is a practical, evidence-based move that can further drive the decline in HFSS foods and beverages consumption.
What’s new – and what’s working
We welcome the broader recognition of the role of diet in preventing non-communicable diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Nutrition and lifestyle interventions must be at the centre of our prevention strategy, not an afterthought.
We applaud the introduction of mandatory healthy food sales reporting across major food businesses. Supermarkets account for 95% of grocery sales and more than 80% of calories consumed in the UK. It’s time we ensured those calories come from healthy nutritious foods. This data should be used not only for transparency but also to set bold national targets for healthier food sales as recommended by the Eating Better Alliance. We hope to see the reported data used in developing ambitious targets and policies for healthy food sales, and we will closely monitor the next steps following the standard’s implementation.
Another promising development is the proposal for an incentives-based system to encourage healthy eating and physical activity. While gift vouchers and other incentives can be an effective tool in shaping food choices, we hope to see this initiative accompanied by systemic changes to the food environment. These should include improving the availability and affordability of whole, plant-rich foods, and modifying the default food options in public and commercial settings.
We are also encouraged by plans to expand access to weight-loss medications through the NHS, particularly when their use is linked to measurable health outcomes. However, to create lasting change, we believe this must be accompanied by strong policies that prioritise whole, plant-rich diets and transform the wider food environment.
The Plan’s inclusion of new alcohol labelling standards and the emphasis on the no- and low-alcohol markets is another step forward. Yet, we believe stronger measures are needed. Restricting alcohol advertising and controlling sale hours could more effectively reduce harmful consumption and protect public health.
The introduction of neighbourhood health centres offers an exciting opportunity to decentralise care and bring support closer to communities. We hope to see registered dietitians and nutrition professionals and credible evidence-based programmes embedded within these centres to lead lifestyle-based disease prevention strategies.
What’s missing – and where we need to push further
Despite overwhelming scientific consensus on the benefits of plant-rich diets — for health, the environment, and the economy — a meaningful strategy aimed to promote healthy sustainable diets did not find a place in the new NHS Plan. Research shows that shifting towards the EAT-Lancet Planetary Diet can significantly reduce mortality, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, making it a cost-effective preventative tool. Beyond improved health outcomes, adopting whole food, plant-rich dietary patterns could also ease the burden on healthcare workers by reducing the prevalence and severity of diet-related chronic conditions. Public institutions leading the way with plant-forward menus could also bring enormous financial savings to the NHS – up to £55 million annually. We urge policymakers to recognise the potential of healthy sustainable plant-rich diets and embed them as a central pillar in future public health strategies.
Another major omission is the lack of regulation in the baby and toddler food sector. Many commercial products in this space fail to meet basic nutritional standards, despite being marketed to the UK’s most vulnerable consumers. Stronger standards and transparency are urgently needed to protect child health.
Finally, true prevention must include support for food access and mental health. Many communities still live in food deserts with limited access to nutritious meals, and socio-economic inequality remains a major barrier to health equity. Digitalisation, genomics or AI utilisation will not bring meaningful changes to communities without access to basic rights – including healthy food, clean air or healthcare access, and these must be addressed if the NHS is serious about preventing disease and building a healthier nation.
At Nutrilicious, we welcome the growing shift towards creating healthier food environments and prioritising lifestyle-based interventions. We’re proud to bring together excellence in nutrition expertise, strategic insights, and effective communications to help businesses thrive. As leading specialists in nutrition, sustainability, and marketing consultancy, we empower businesses to:
- Understand the landscape through forecasts, quantitative and qualitative research, round tables and stakeholders mapping
- Engage the influencers of your target market through strategy creation, creative development, engagement across integrated marketing channels or post-activation measurement
- Create and deliver strategies and content across integrated marketing channels to engage needs-based customers
- Develop nutrition and health marketing strategies
- Communicate with audiences and stakeholders to bring awareness to the brand, business vision, mission and company values
- If you need help to grow and communicate your nutrition and health credentials lets have a chat: tanya@nutrilicious.co.uk.
Final thoughts
If we are serious about preventing disease, we must transform our food systems, reshape our environments, and empower professionals on the frontlines of public health. The NHS Plan is one step forward – but only a bold, united push forward will change the future of health in the UK.
by Nutrilicious | Nov 27, 2024 | Hot Topics in nutrition, Food category comment, The Nation’s Health
We commissioned Marta Buczkowska to attend the food related sessions at COP29 and report back to us. Here is what she had to say which makes for an enlightening read.
Marta Buczkowska – Registered Dietitian
The main purpose of COP29
For the past 19 years, government representatives, scientists, activists, and members of the private and non-governmental sectors have convened annually at the United Nations (UN) Conference of the Parties (COP) to assess global progress in addressing climate change1. This year, COP29 took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 21, with a spotlight on climate financing, climate mitigation and adaptation funds, and energy transition.
While last year’s COP28 placed a strong emphasis on agriculture, this year’s agenda—led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)—continued to highlight the pivotal role of transforming agri-food systems in combating the consequences of climate change. FAO organized a series of panels over the two weeks, with November 19 officially designated as Food, Agriculture, and Water Day.
But has this year’s COP delivered meaningful progress for agri-food systems worldwide? What are the most significant takeaways from the perspectives of agriculture and health? And, most importantly, will we see an acceleration in the transition towards sustainable food systems any time soon?
In this blog, I’ll provide a summary of the key discussions and insights about food systems shared during COP29 in Baku.
What role does the food system play in climate change discussions?
„The only way to reduce carbon emissions and restore nature on the path to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is to transform our agrifood systems” – the Director-General of FAO, QU Dongyu said in his opening remarks.
Even though the crucial role of agrifood systems in climate mitigation efforts is clear, this sector remains thoroughly underfunded. It is estimated that to meet the global net-zero targets, food systems would require even $1 trillion annually by 20302. However, currently, just over 4% of total climate finance is directed toward food systems. Of this, 65% is allocated to developed countries, while only 20% supports small-scale transformation projects in developing nations. Alarmingly, less than 1% reaches individual farmers3.
Why do developing countries need more money to better cope with climate change?
As highlighted at various panels, this trend needs to drastically change if we want to have a chance to meet the Paris Agreement declarations4 and keep the global temperature raise below 1.5*C. Small scale farmers in developing countries receive the least financing, while experiencing the most drastic consequences of climate change and more often than not, being among 730mln people facing hunger today. In 2023 extreme weather conditions, such as floods and draughts, were the primary reason for experiencing hunger in 18 countries – home to over 77m people – most of them in Africa and South East Asia5. Beyond reduced yields, climate change has been shown to negatively impact nutritional quality of staple crops across Africa and South East Asia – including rice, wheat, barley or potatoes6. Raising temperatures can compromise cows’ ability to produce milk7, while increased carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and changing nitrogen and phosphorus balance may lead to a reduction in protein content by up to 10-15% and an increase in starches and free sugars8– negatively affecting already compromised food security across local communities. Increased financing is also desperately needed for innovation, better feed or animal vaccines. As discussed during the ‘Decarbonizing the Food Value Chains: Transformative Financing for Rice, Dairy & Beed Sectors to Reduce Methane’ session, currently, 80% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy sector comes from emerging markets. However, most existing programs designed to reduce these emissions are not only costly but are often tailored specifically to the needs and conditions of developed countries, making them less accessible or effective for emerging markets.
As wisely highlighted by one of the panelists – we need to have two separate discussions about sustainable food transformation in developed and developing countries – as the challenges we face are completely different; from increasing food security and nutrient adequacy for people living in the global South, to limiting meat and dairy consumption and shifting towards alternative protein sources in the global North.
Tools to accelerate sustainable transition proposed at COP29
Some of the most discussed solutions included:
- Digitalisation, such as using satellites, Artificial Intelligence- (AI) and machine learning-based solutions to better predict the weather conditions or measure soil quality.
- Incentivising the production of more climate-resilient crops – such as genetically modified rice, beans and legumes resilient to changing phosphorus and nitrogen balance in the soil & fortification and biofortification of staple foods to increase their nutritional adequacy.
- Including more plant-based and locally sourced foods in public procurement, such as school meals. Similar actions have already been taken both in higher- and lower-income countries – for example Brazil’s National School Feeding Program, requires 30% of its food procurement to be sourced from small, local farmers9, while Milan introduced green school canteen program prioritizing local and seasonal products and lower red meat consumption leading to a 43% reduction in CO2 emissions between 2015 and 202110-11
- Cultivated meat – development of this sector could bring benefits far beyond reducing agricultural GHG emission, including jobs or new technologies that could be applied to developing vaccines or developing synthetic materials like bioplastic from cultivated meat by-products.
- Voluntary carbon markets – markets where private actors (companies) buy and sell carbon credits that represent reduction or removals of GHG in the atmosphere12. In this context, it is the markets where companies invest in agrifood systems solutions – often based in developing countries – to offset their emissions. Although this method has the potential to drive innovation and profit, most of the money is invested in the export-oriented goods, such as almonds or pistachios rather than local staple foods like sorghum or millet, making it less profitable for local farmers to participate in such projects.
Although many panelists presented innovative solutions, some discussions were sadly very much focused on maintaining the current status quo. The panel titled “Is Net-Zero food within reach? Tackling Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Production” discussed ‘sustainable production intensification’ or using cow’s feed containing methane inhibitors to reduce livestock methane emissions in the developed countries. It did not mention the need to reduce meat and dairy consumption already thoroughly discussed in numerous esteemed publications worldwide13-14 – including in the British Dietetic Association’s One Blue Dot Reference Guide15.
Should the lack of discussions regarding limiting the consumption of animal-based products in favour of plant-based foods surprise us? At first glance – perhaps, but after looking closer at the COP attendee list, it becomes less shocking. According to The Guardian, more than 200 industrial farming lobbyist – including PepisiCo, Elanco or JBS – one of the biggest meat producers in the world, attended COP29. 40% of them travelled to Baku as part of countries’ delegations16 and presented among climate activists, scientists and world leaders. Their presence at the most important climate summit in the world raises significant concerns about the conflict of interest, as while studies unanimously conclude a drastic reduction in meat and dairy consumption in developed countries is desperately needed, the industry continues to lobby against tougher regulations and commitments.
Key COP29 outcomes
Throughout the last two weeks we have heard about a number of small to middle-scale agricultural projects introduced worldwide along with more and less innovative solutions to transform our food systems, but has COP29 brought about any specific commitments?
- On November 19 Climate and Clean Air Coalition consisting of COP29 presidency and United Nations Environment Programme launched the Reducing Methane from Organic Waste Declaration17 building up on the Global Methane Pledge launched at COP26.The declaration has been signed by 30 member states – including the United Kingdom, who together represent 47% global methane emissions from organic waste18.
- COP Presidency and FAO launched the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers17 – a platform to empower farmers and local communities to introduce change and to help politicians identify opportunities for future policies. It also seeks to strengthen rural communities, with a particular focus on women empowerment.
This year’s COP has shown us that hundreds of thousands of innovative projects are driving the transition toward more sustainable food systems worldwide. Yet, the greatest challenge lies in scaling these initiatives and ensuring they reach those who need them most. Achieving this requires significant financing and collaboration among diverse stakeholders – including farmers, politicians, local communities, scientists and activists, and the courage to confront powerful lobbying forces that continue to defend the status quo.
The question remains: will global leaders rise to the occasion, or will the opportunity to transform our food systems slip through our fingers? I guess we will learn the answer in the upcoming years. We’d love to hear your thoughts—what do you think needs to happen to drive meaningful change?
References
- United Nations Climate Change. Conference of the Parties (COP). https://unfccc.int/process/bodies/supreme-bodies/conference-of-the-parties-cop
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). COP29: FAO says agrifood systems transformation holds solutions for the climate crisis. https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/cop29–fao-says-agrifood-systems-transformation-holds-solutions-for-the-climate-crisis/en
- Barbara Buchner BN, Rajashree Padmanabhi, Sean Stout, Costanza Strinati, Dharshan Wignarajah, Gaoyi Miao, Jake Connolly and Nikita Marini. Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2023. Vol. 56. 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/global-landscape-of-climate-finance-2023/
- THE PARIS AGREEMENT. https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/parisagreement_publication.pdf
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Global Report on Food Crises: Acute hunger remains persistently high in 59 countries with 1 in 5 people assessed in need of critical urgent action. https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/global-report-on-food-crises—acute-hunger-remains-persistently-high-in-59-countries-with-1-in-5-people-assessed-in-need-of-critical-urgent-action/en
- Victor Owino CK, Beatrice Ekesa, Megan E. Parker, Laina Ewoldt, Nanna Roos, Warren T. Lee, Daniel Tome. The impact of climate change on food systems, diet quality, nutrition, and health outcomes: A narrative review. Front Clim. 2022;4doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.941842
- Gauly M, Ammer S. Review: Challenges for dairy cow production systems arising from climate changes. Animal. 2020/01/01/ 2020;14:s196-s203. doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731119003239
- Taub DR, Miller B, Allen H. Effects of elevated CO2 on the protein concentration of food crops: a meta-analysis. Global Change Biology. 2008;14(3):565-575. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01511.x
- Sidaner E, Balaban D, Burlandy L. The Brazilian school feeding programme: an example of an integrated programme in support of food and nutrition security. Public Health Nutr. Jun 2013;16(6):989-94. doi:10.1017/s1368980012005101
- SCHOOL MEALS – the transformative potential of urban food policies. 2024.
- Maryam Rezaei NM. Beyond nutrition: Can school feeding address climate and food system challenges? ODI Global2024.
- The Integrity Council of Voluntary Carbon Markets. https://icvcm.org/voluntary-carbon-market-explained/
- Hedenus F, Wirsenius S, Johansson DJA. The importance of reduced meat and dairy consumption for meeting stringent climate change targets. Climatic Change. 2014/05/01 2014;124(1):79-91. doi:10.1007/s10584-014-1104-5
- Willett W, Rockström J, Loken B, et al. Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–<em>Lancet</em> Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet. 2019;393(10170):447-492. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4
- British Dietetic Association (BDA). One Blue Dot. Eating patterns for health and environmental sustainability. Vol. 92. 2020. https://www.bda.uk.com/static/539e2268-7991-4d24-b9ee867c1b2808fc/a1283104-a0dd-476b-bda723452ae93870/one%20blue%20dot%20reference%20guide.pdf
- Sherrington R. Hundreds of lobbyists for industrial farming attend Cop29 climate summit. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/19/hundreds-of-lobbyists-for-industrial-farming-attend-cop29-climate-summit
- Countries Representing Nearly 50% of Global Methane Emissions From Organic Waste Pledge to Reduce Emissions From Sector | Day Nine – Food, Water and Agriculture Day. 2024. https://cop29.az/en/media-hub/news/countries-representing-nearly-50-of-global-methane-emissions-from-organic-waste-pledge-to-reduce-emissions-from-sector
- Action on Climate Change. COP29 – Transforming Agri-Food Systems. 2024.
by Tanya HAFFNER | Jun 19, 2017 | Hot Topics in nutrition, Healthcare
A new policy paper from the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) calls upon all European States to establish a statutory Sustainable Nutrition Task force to drive better integration of nutrition and sustainability food issues. This follows a report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Food Climate Research Network in 2016, Plates, Pyramids, Planet that found very limited integration of these issues thus far, in the development of food-based dietary guidelines.
As an umbrella group for over 70 public health associations and institutions across Europe, EUPHA are calling upon public health professionals to advocate for healthy diets that are also sustainable in a wider sense – incorporating the three pillars of economy, society and environment.
This new paper from the leading Not-For-Profit public health group in Europe adds further weight and drives momentum towards sustainable nutrition, which is already high on the global political agenda – recently reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development resolution, accepted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.
Sustainable Diets
The report defines sustainable diets as those that “diets are nutritionally adequate, safe, and healthy, while having low environmental impact. They are also culturally acceptable, accessible, equitable, economically fair and affordable, contributing to food and nutrition security and to healthy lifestyles for present and future generations”.
In a practical sense this means a shift towards more plant-based diets and a concomitant reduction in the consumption of animal-origin foods. As well as the avoidance of processed foods with added fats (particularly saturated and trans fats), sugar and salt.
Sustainable Nutrition Taskforce
To achieve their policy aim, EUPHA would like to see the establishment of Sustainable Nutrition Taskforces with national agendas to reframe policies, strategies and implementation programmes towards sustainable diets, away from the current food system, which is described as “low cost food at high cost to the environment”.
EUPHA prefers that through appropriate regulation, “the food industry would be required to produce healthy, nutritious (minimally processed) foods in a sustainable manner, which contain low contents of sugars, salt and additives that could adversely affect health; production and marketing should be honest and transparent, with consumer-friendly food labelling, and with restrictions on the marketing of junk food and sweet beverages, especially to children”.
Key Take Outs
– Sustainable nutrition is moving ever-further up the global political and policy agendas
– Expect to see more alignment of the dual issues of nutrition and sustainability in Government dietary guidelines, policies and programmes
– Food businesses should be actively reviewing their product portfolios and marketing strategies to align with the core tenets of sustainable nutrition
EUPHA’s report – Healthy and Sustainable Diets for European Countries is available here: https://eupha.org/repository/advocacy/EUPHA_report_on_healthy_and_sustainable_diets_20-05-2017.pdf
