One of the Food SIG’s focus areas is the issue of sustainable food systems. The current food system – how our food is produced, processed, sold, consumed, and wasted – is unfit for purpose. During a climate emergency, it’s widely accepted that meat-heavy diets and food production are major contributing drivers of climate change. Food is also a major driver of inequalities in life expectancy and poor health; it is a central hub connecting spokes of the current health, environment, and poverty crises.
The Food SIG also hosts the Sustainable Diet Working Group, which brings together experts in food policy, sustainability, and population health with the sole focus of promoting action to bring about a substantial shift in what we eat in the UK, one that will make our food system more sustainable and healthier.
- Sustainable Food Systems for a Healthier UK: Discussion Paper (2019)
- Tackling Unsustainable Diets (2023)
Health professionals and sustainable diets: policy and understanding
A shift to low-carbon diets is essential for us to reach our net carbon goals. In the UK, doctors and civil society organisations are regularly rated within the top three groups most trusted by the public, and therefore play an important role in driving the required societal and cultural dietary shift. This role includes delivering messages on benefits of adopting sustainable diets and how to do so, and through leading by example through policies of their organisations.
Considering health professionals are key advocates for sustainable diets, the question then becomes: how informed and engaged are health organisations and professionals with the issue of sustainable diet? The Food SIG partnered with Eating Better and the UK Health Alliance for Climate Change to do a first look at this question. Through survey and interview, we explored the position on sustainable diets among health organisations that already prioritise action on climate and sustainability. The final report was published in May 2023.
- View the full report - Health professionals and sustainable diets: policy and understanding
- View this slide deck summary for a brief overview of the work
