As global leaders and scientists from across the globe gather in Azerbaijan for the second week of the United Nations Climate Change conference COP 29 to discuss progress towards the Paris agreement, we reflect on how the UK can achieve NetZero whilst ensuring everyone has access to nutritious food.

Net zero refers to a government commitment to ensure the UK reduces its greenhouse gas emissions by 100% from 1990 levels by 2050. If met, this would mean the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the UK would be equal to or less than the emissions removed by the UK from the environment.

Our current food system is leading to poor diets, health problems such as inadequate micronutrient intakes in some groups, and adverse health outcomes notably obesity and obesity-related disease, as well as damaging the environment.

The effects of unhealthy diets are not felt evenly across UK society. Stark diet and health inequalities exist with those living in the most deprived areas, ethnic minorities, older adults, children and pregnant women most vulnerable. Transformation is urgently needed, but it needs to be just and it needs to reduce and not widen inequalities.

Bringing together expertise from across the food chain

To discuss the issues of nutritional vulnerabilities and key population groups in the sustainable dietary transition the Quadram Institute and British Nutrition Foundation held an open multidisciplinary roundtable event in May 2024.

Academics and experts across the food chain, with expertise in sustainability, nutrition, vulnerable groups and agriculture were invited to participate. Professor Jessica Fanzo Professor of Climate and Director of the Food for Humanity Initiative at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University, New York chaired the event.

The roundtable participants considered key nutrients and populations of concern and discussed how we can address these social, nutritional and environmental challenges from consumer, policy and farm to fork perspectives.

To coincide with COP 2029 in Azerbaijan we look at some of the key responses needed from policymakers, industry stakeholders and consumers as suggested by the roundtable participants to avoid unintended consequences for vulnerable populations in the nutrition transition to NetZero.

Key highlights from the roundtable

Public health

Public health messages to eat more sustainably centre on adopting healthier dietary patterns, reducing amount of red and processed meat in the diet in high consumers and increasing the amount of plants- fruit, vegetables, nuts and wholegrains. However we know that in the UK on average, eating a healthier diet can be more expensive.

Policymakers

There’s a need for incentives to make healthier foods more accessible. Governments have power to drive successful change when they implement well designed, effective, mandatory, long term policies. This is crucial in transforming the food environment. The soft drinks industry levy on sugars sweetened beverages is an excellent example of how these policies can have impact.

Nutritionists and public health professionals

Nutritionists and public health professionals are encouraged to consider the opportunity to support improving the quality of people’s diets including the fibre, fruit and vegetable content whilst reducing saturated fat, salt and sugar through more plant-rich diets. However, the roundtable highlighted that it is important to consider unintended nutritional consequences in vulnerable groups of consuming less animal-based foods which are rich in iodine, vitamin B12 and iron.

Food industry

The roundtable suggested that supermarkets, food businesses and food manufacturers can contribute to healthier diets by reformulating existing products to align with dietary recommendations e.g. increasing vegetable and pulse content of ready meals, ensuring fortification of dairy/meat substitutions where needed e.g. Calcium and iodine fortification of plant based milk alternatives and creating offers or incentives to support consumers to purchase healthier foods.

Agriculture

The roundtable discussed how changing weather patterns and more frequent adverse weather events as a result of climate change can affect crop yields and damage the agricultural industry’s ability to produce food. Yet advances in science such as gene editing offers the opportunity for food producers to grow crops resistant to floods and droughts or even grow new varieties of crops which have been naturally fortified with extra nutrients. Funding must support innovation, and regulatory barriers should be considered.

Professor Fanzo added, “In order for the food system to achieve NetZero, and do this while nourishing the world’s population, it is critical for nutrition, food and climate communities to collaborate in both science and action.”

We need transdisciplinary collaboration that integrates climate, nutrition, social and agricultural sciences to develop innovative and large scale solutions to ensure everyone gets the nutrition they need as we transition to Net Zero.

Key to the success of this will be deciding on trade-offs, small compromises from climate, nutrition and agricultural disciplines for the overall benefit of improved sustainability.