Promoting Good Nutrition Represents ‘Shared Responsibility’ Among Consumers, Governments, Private Sector

Devex: Opinion: Eating for (global) health — whose responsibility is it?
Emmy Simmons, co-chair of AGree, senior adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies on food security, and member of the Global Panel on Agriculture, Food Systems and Nutrition

“…Without decisive actions to build food systems that promote good nutrition, and ensuring that the foods available provide affordable, appealing, and healthy eating choices, governments will pay a heavy price in terms of their populations’ mortality, physical health, mental well-being, economic losses, and degradation of the environment. To promote good nutrition, partnerships between governments, the private sector, and consumers are essential. … [P]romoting good nutrition — and healthy eating — is a shared responsibility. It is shared by consumers who are responsible for making nutritionally sound dietary choices from among the options provided within the food environment. Private sector actors who produce, process, and market foods as a matter of livelihood and business profit share the responsibility of ensuring food safety, quality, availability, and affordability. Governments must be concerned with ensuring the safety, health, and productivity of their populations. Healthy eating is an action that requires everyone to take action” (5/15).

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