On 5 May, Agora and IDDRI published a joint study entitled ‘Towards Food Policies that Support Healthy and Sustainable Consumption’. The analysis, published by the Berlin- and Paris-based research institutes, uses European examples to examine how a more equitable food environment could be created, thereby promoting the availability, affordability and appeal of healthy, sustainable diets.

The study identified best practices based on eleven case studies, including free school meals in Sweden and 0% VAT on fruit and vegetables in Spain.

According to the research, the EU can play an important role in supporting national strategies through the following measures:

  • Transforming food consumption patterns to address environmental and health challenges
  • Introducing demand-side regulations that encourage more sustainable and healthier choices
  • Improving public procurement practices
  • Extending national food strategies (e.g. Finland or Germany) to other Member States,
  • Strengthening the EU regulatory framework to support Member State policies (FoodServiceEurope).