Who decides what you eat?
New findings show that consumer diets are heavily influenced by the food sector.
Illusion of Choice
A new report examines what secretly influences consumer diets.
The way food is presented and decisions are made must change in order to facilitate a sustainable, healthy diet .
A new report entitled «The Illusion of Choice – Why Someone Has Already Decided What You’re Having for Lunch», recently published, reveals that the purchase, preparation and consumption of food is largely the result of decisions made by the food industry rather than by consumers. The report calls on policy-makers to enable European consumers to adopt a healthy, more plant-based diet with «less and better» animal products.
This report coincides with the publication of a new «evidence report» by SAPEA, a consortium of independent scientists advising the European Commission, which confirms the powerful influences consumers are exposed to when making dietary choices.
The «food environment» determines people’s choices – a concept encompassing the food sector’s marketing and advertising, promotional offers, the availability and pricing of food, and even the spatial layout of shops and supermarkets. Currently, consumers are largely steered by the food environment towards unhealthy and unsustainable foods that are most frequently offered and advertised, and are often the cheapest.
The food environment must change
«European citizens want to eat food that supports the welfare of animals ensure. However, it is often not the more species-appropriate or plant-based foods that catch the eye on billboards or supermarket shelves, but unsustainable industrial animal products. This must change. Political decision-makers in the EU must take measures to enable consumers to switch to plant-based and more animal-friendly products.»
Reineke Hameleers, CEO of Eurogroup for Animals
Why does it often cost more to buy fruit than a bag of unhealthy snacks? Healthy and sustainable eating should become the normal choice, not a luxury. Supermarkets must stop making offers that push us towards foods and drinks we should consume less of, and instead run targeted price promotions to support a healthier and more environmentally friendly diet. Governments must also intervene to ensure that all consumers can afford to buy foods that are good for their health and our planet.
Our current food environment is designed to maximise nutritionally poor foods, leading to a long list of non-communicable diseases whose frequency and burden on society is increasing. Policy makers bear responsibility for reversing this situation, in which our food environment is making us ill. They must support people in choosing healthy and sustainable foods by making these the default option. More on the topic of vegan nutrition and animal rights.
| You can help all animals and our planet with compassion. Choose compassion on your plate and in your glass. Go vegan. |
