Food policy

What we eat and drink affects our physical and mental health. Our work provides evidence of how harmful industries increase profit at the expense of human health.

Food systems transition in low-and middle-income countries is leading to double burden of malnutrition including diet related non-communicable diseases. Our work uses principles of nutrition epidemiology and food systems research to generate evidence that informs food and nutrition policies to address this challenge.

The ‘Food is Medicine’ movement acknowledges the pivotal role food plays in promoting health by prescribing food to people with diet-related disease and food insecurity. The evidence base we are developing includes how programs could be implemented at-scale as part of healthcare to ensure equitable access to foods that promote good health.

Nutrition interventions need to be tailored to the local context to be effective and efficient. Implementation research enables the adaptation and delivery of evidence-based nutrition approaches (like potassium-enriched salt substitution) to local contexts, with greater speed, fidelity, quality and coverage.

Law is a powerful tool to protect public health. To date, we have implemented widespread food safety regulation so that the food we eat doesn’t make us sick overnight. However, we are only scratching the surface in using law and policy to prevent things like heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes - it’s these forms of ‘long term food poisoning’ that currently kill the majority of Australians.

Our vision for FoodSwitch is an optimised food system for human health and the health of our planet. We will help achieve this by providing data and insights on the healthiness and environmental impact of the food supply that can impact consumer choice, government policy, and industry practice towards healthier and more sustainable foods