European health groups make food policy plea
Health groups representing millions of patients, doctors and nutritionists across the continent have written an open letter to EU leaders calling on them to prioritise preventative policies to promote healthy and sustainable diets when formulating a food and agriculture vision for the bloc.
The groups, which include the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) and Caring Doctors in the Netherlands, also highlighted the lack of health representation in policy discussions around the future of food and agriculture in Europe.
They pointed in particular to their exclusion from the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture in the EU last summer. The European Commission launched the European Board on Agriculture and Food at the end of last week and the health groups are pressing to be included in the dialogue this time.
Dr Milka Sokolović, Director General of EPHA, said that health groups could bring scientific expertise to the policy debate and ensure a focus on essential policies and incentives to steer the food market towards healthier, more sustainable products for consumers.
From a public health perspective, our food system is a ticking time bomb - in addition to the enormous issue of unhealthy diets severely impacting people’s health, it remains the case that more than 60% of antibiotics are used in animal farming. We're not only accelerating antimicrobial resistance, but also creating the perfect conditions for future pandemic.
It would be short-sighted not to include health groups in the conversation about food and the risk of failing to prioritise prevention-focused policies threatens to deepen our existing health crisis. We need systemic change now.
The letter calls for EU institutions to focus on improving food environments through policy, instead of leaving patients, consumers, healthcare professionals and budgets to bear the burden of diet-related diseases.
Around €700 billion EU healthcare budget is spent on treating non-communicable diseases each year, the vast majority of which are influenced by unhealthy diets. Strategic preventive measures in the food market, such as a policy on ready-made meals, could be a better investment and a win-win-win for people, their pockets and the planet.
A Systemiq analysis commissioned by Madre Brava and Fern earlier this year, showed ready meals aligned with established health and sustainability standards could cut EU greenhouse gas emissions by 48m tonnes annually and save consumers €2.8bn.
“In the Netherlands, we're starting to witness the power of medical professionals and organisations uniting for preventive health and better food policies. Our strong support of this EU-wide initiative was the logical next step - we have the chance to reshape our food system into a healthy and sustainable one. But the voice of the health sector needs to be heard.”
Madre Brava fully supports this call.
We believe an essential step in creating a healthier, more sustainable EU food system is to rebalance protein production and consumption to include more plant-based and less animal-based protein.
We hope that health groups have made the first step towards their meaningful inclusion in food and farming policy-making in the EU.
The evidence linking diets to stroke and cardiovascular risks is overwhelming. The food system is a major contributor to the disease burden in the EU and a huge burden on national health budgets. There is no doubt that a diet shift must be part of European food and agricultural policy. Better emphasis on stroke prevention would save lives and money.
