Webinar: Transforming food systems through Nordic sustainable diets

Current consumption patterns in the Nordic region do not meet national dietary guidelines, nor do they meet sustainability targets. Yet to help more people live healthy and sustainable lifestyles, changes to what we put on our plates are required. This will be no easy task. Knowledge sharing between nations and regions is therefore a significant part of transforming food systems.

The webinar will take place in the weeks before the United Nations Food Systems Summit, an international gathering discussing food-based solutions to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The From science and guidelines to food system transformation webinar will focus on the 2022 Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR) as a leading example of regional cooperation on guidelines for dietary composition and recommended intakes of nutrients. The NNR constitute the scientific basis for national nutrition recommendations and food-based dietary guidelines in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. 

The fifth edition of the upcoming NNR will build on the latest science from nutritional, health and environmental sciences. For the first time ever, the recommendations will incorporate sustainability criteria.  

“The 2022 revision of the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations will integrate sustainability based on consensus from the best and most up-to-date scientific evidence. It will serve as a roadmap that can influence the necessary transformation to a healthier and environmentally sustainable Nordic food system”, says Dr Annica Sohlström, Director-General, National Food Agency, Sweden.

National governments in the Nordic Region have also started to incorporate sustainability criteria into their dietary guidelines. In January 2021, the Danish government updated their food-based dietary guidelines not only guide Danes on how to eat healthier, but also on how to eat more climate-friendly.

The From science and guidelines to food system transformation webinar aims to cast the net wider and look beyond the development of guidelines. Healthy and sustainable public meals served in schools will be highlighted as one of the many ways to implement the required changes outlined in the NNR. Other examples of the implementation of the recommendations include the Nordic Keyhole, a popular labelling scheme that helps shoppers choose healthier options within product groups.
 

The webinar will occur in the lead up to the United Nations Food Systems Summit taking place in September 2021. The ministers of Fisheries, Aquaculture, Agriculture, Food and Forestry of the Nordic countries express full support for the UN Food Systems Summit and continue to work actively with the global community to reach a Summit leading to concrete action. 

“We – the Nordic countries – continue to strengthen the sustainability of our food systems at the local, national, regional and international levels. We are willing to share our experiences, innovations and best practices in transforming food systems into more sustainable ones. The 2022 Nordic Nutrition Recommendations are one of those examples”, says Jari Leppä, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Finland.

Read the ministers’ statement here

Do you want to learn more about the guidelines and tools that can address both nutrition and environmental sustainability? Join the Nordic Council of Ministers for this interactive discussion in the lead up to the UN Food Systems Summit 2021. At the webinar, you will meet:

• Jari Leppä, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Finland
• Rune Blomhoff, Project Leader, Nordic Nutrition Recommendations Committee
• Dr Helen Harwatt, Senior Research Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources Programme, Chatham House
• Dr Amanda Wood, Researcher, Stockholm Resilience Center
• Dr Annica Sohlström, Director-General, National Food Agency, Sweden
• Anne Pøhl Enevoldsen, Head of Unit, National Food Agency, Denmark
• Marjaana Manninen, Counsellor of Education, National Agency for Education, Finland
• Dr Kremlin Wickramasinghe, a.i. Programme Manager Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, WHO European Office for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases
• Dr Afton Halloran, Moderator, Independent Consultant in Sustainable Food Systems Transitions

Everyone is welcome!

Please note that the discussions will take place in English and spaces are limited. Sign up is required.

Watch the streaming live here from 1 pm CEST on the 2 of September: