Abstract
The environmental sustainability (ES) of food systems is a critical challenge for policy makers. This is a highly contested policy area with differing views among stakeholders. The aim of the study was to develop a better understanding of how ES considerations are addressed in Australian food and nutrition policies and the way that consultation processes affect final policy outcomes. A mixed-methods study design combined a detailed chronology of key policy developments (2009–2015), a content analysis of written submissions obtained during the NFP’s consultation period (2011–2013) and a frame analysis of the sustainability perspectives – efficiency, demand restraint, and system transformation – in the NFP’s Issues, Green, and White Papers. There were 555 written submissions responding to two consultation papers. Stakeholders represented all sectors of Australia’s food system including government, non-government organizations, the food supply chain, research and academic institutions, and members of the general public. Around 74% of submissions referred to ES considerations and ~65% supported their inclusion into the final policy. Efficiency frames were most dominant; emphasizing a production-oriented approach that regards the environment as a natural resource base for food production but overlooks consumption and equity concerns. Despite strong support for the inclusion of ES considerations in the NFP, the influence of Australia’s socio-political context, powerful, industry-dominated stakeholders, and a reliance on traditional production-oriented perspectives delivered a business-as-usual approach to food policy making. It has since been replaced by an agricultural strategy that provides only cursory attention to ES. Our findings indicate that Australia’s political environment is not sufficiently mature for ES considerations to be integrated into food and nutrition policies. We propose reforms to the current consultation process in Australia to better support this integration by promoting greater transparency and participation in the development of food and nutrition policy making.
Highlights
The promotion of healthy and sustainable diets is recognized as a priority for food and nutrition policy [1,2,3]
Several meetings were held between public health and food industry groups, resulting in the publication of key documents to better understand “the impacts of food production on environmental sustainability (ES) from a public health perspective” and establish “guiding principles for the implementation of a new whole of government National Food and Nutrition policy in Australia” [Items 1–5] [46, 47]
Our findings suggest that the majority of submissions called for policy action to address ES considerations in Australia’s food system and yet, this was not reflected in the final NFP
Summary
The promotion of healthy and sustainable diets is recognized as a priority for food and nutrition policy [1,2,3]. Estimates suggest that global food production will be required to double in order to support a global population of 9.7 billion by 2050 [5] This will place a substantial demand on the food system’s natural resource base and its ability to continuously provide sufficient food into the future. Particular ES criteria for food and nutrition policies to consider in redesigning food systems have been identified to help promote healthy and sustainable diets. These criteria include reducing excess food energy consumption; reducing intake of energy-dense, nutrient poor foods; reducing food waste; and promoting plant-based diets [9].
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