Sustainable food systems through healthy diets and improved nutrition

During a three-day visit to Brussels, Lynnette Neufeld, Director of the FAO Food and Nutrition Division, had meetings with a range of EU stakeholders active in the field of nutrition and healthy diets.

She took part in the 2022 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting, hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. During the meeting, participants reflected on challenges in global health that, if solved, could lead to major advances in control of infectious disease, malnutrition and other issues that affect low-income countries. The annual meeting supports a global community of academics, policy-makers, business leaders and other problem-solvers, who share the latest updates, and work together to set an innovative science-based agenda.

Neufeld had talks with a number of colleagues in the nutrition community to discuss areas of interest that would align with FAO’s work on healthy diets. She also met nutrition stakeholders in Brussels. A meeting took place with Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit of Sustainable Agri-Food systems and Fisheries at the European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships, and his team working on nutrition issues. Neufeld also met Member of the European Parliament and the European Parliamentary Alliance against Hunger and Malnutrition Isabel Carvalhais.

Throughout her visit, the FAO Food and Nutrition Director’s discussions centered on the need to focus on nutrition security, ensuring not only that efforts are made to tackle hunger, but also to ensure sustainable and nutritious agrifood systems.

Her mission concluded with an in-depth discussion with non-state actors interested in nutrition, including representatives from the European Food Information Council, the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and the Food Policy Coalition.

You can read more about FAO’s work on nutrition and healthy diets here.