2010 report card on nutrition policy for the UK
-Lots of action and commitment overall – nutrition is high on the agenda
-Focus on obesity remains strong
-Emphasis on work on key areas such as salt, saturated
Fats: industry reformulation, healthy choice initiatives;
Food labeling- all voluntary initiatives with industry
-Schools work seen as a success
-A growing awareness that less meat and dairy might become policy options
-Acknowledgement that nutrition policy is part of wider food policy
But…
-Lots of policy and policy promises-and repetition by multiple agencies
-Joined up action often missing e.g. schools can be funded from many sources or even different funds within the same department
-Regulation not favoured in many areas
-The reemergence of the food industry as key players aided by the sustainability agenda
-Little work on food poverty and welfare with lack of policy for the changing economy and credit crunch
-The lack of a public health(population) approach: much policy development left to charities and NGO to do and campaign for, huge variability across each country
Useful UK NGO/Charities to look at doing work around food,farming, nutritional standards:
-Sustain -The Caroline Walker Trust
-www.sustainweb.com -www.cwt.org.uk