For healthy and sustainable food for all through an in-depth transformation of France’s food policy – Open letter to Mrs. Elisabeth Borne, Prime Minister – Action UFC-Que Choisir

Madam Prime Minister,

The government will define its National Food, Nutrition and Climate Strategy this summer, which will guide France’s food policy for 2030. The stakes are immense: our food plays a major role in climate change, the collapse of biodiversity and the explosion of chronic non-communicable diseases (diabetes, obesity, cancers, etc.). These pathologies first strike the most precarious people, while it is estimated that at least 8 million people are today in a situation of food insecurity in France.

The causes of these problems are known: intensification of agricultural and livestock systems, multiplication of the supply of ultra-processed foods and products that are too fatty, too sweet and too salty, omnipresence of advertising and marketing for products of poor nutritional quality and for industrial meat, exposure to endocrine disruptors, difficulties of access to fresh fruits and vegetables and more broadly to organic, local and seasonal products… Yet, despite these systemic factors, public policies continue to be based on the “voluntary commitments” of companies in the food sector, and on the myth of the “responsible consumer” who alone would have the power to bring about in-depth changes in the practices of the giants of mass distribution and the food industry.

In this context, we, learned societies associations of consumers, families, patients and all users of the health system, farmers, health and medico-social professionals, protection of the environment and -being animal, and solidarity, urge the government to learn from the failure of past policies. In order not to be another missed opportunity, the National Food, Nutrition and Climate Strategy must apply the convergent recommendations issued by multiple independent bodies (ANSES, National Food Council, Court of Auditors, France Strategy, Public Health France, etc.) and integrate the demands of civil society made by 54 organisations.

This Strategy must first of all clearly set out ambitious and precise objectives for the transition of our food, concerning in particular:

• Increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts.
• The increase in the consumption of products from agroecology, in particular organic and seasonal products, grown and produced in France.
• The decline in the consumption of products that are too fatty, too sweet and too salty, as well as that of ultra-processed products.
• The decline in the overall consumption of meat (poultry included) and dairy products, primarily targeting products from intensive farming.

To achieve these objectives, it is essential that the National Food, Nutrition and Climate Strategy plans structural policies along the food value chain, from agricultural and agri-food production to consumption and distribution. and out-of-home catering. In particular, it must:

• Strengthen economic support for the collective catering sector and for farmers to support them in the transition.
• Program binding measures to make the food supply and environment compatible with a healthy and sustainable diet, including as a priority the ban on advertising for products harmful to health and the planet, the Nutri-score obligation , supervising the margins of large retailers and setting up genuine environmental labeling also indicating the breeding method.
• Increase the means dedicated to education (particularly in schools), to the training of health professionals and to raising the awareness of the entire population about healthy and sustainable food.
• Make access for all to healthy and sustainable food a priority and put in place concrete measures to achieve this objective, in particular by giving the power to act to the most socially precarious populations.

The necessary transition to sustainable food cannot be made without mobilizing and supporting citizens and all agricultural, agrifood and food distribution players. We therefore call on the government to resist pressure from certain agricultural and agri-food lobbies and to follow the recommendations shared by scientists and civil society so that the National Strategy for Food, Nutrition and Climate is up to the challenges. environmental issues, social justice and public health, in the interest of citizens and future generations.