What Role Can or Should the State Play in Enabling its Citizens to Eat Fairly and Well Key goals for food and nutrition policies - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... To a large extent, these growing problems can be attributed to the consumption of fast food and typically junk food. The fast food and junk food industries have thrived over the past few decades (Kalaidis, 2013). This imparts the need for the state to intervene and provide the citizens with adequate food security. The definition of food security, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is “secure access [of all individuals] to adequate safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy life” (FAO, 1996). The government, with all its powers and channels, can play a very important role in providing people with high quality food. This paper looks into the different ways in which the governments can provide the people with better access to good quality food. Key goals for food and nutrition policies A Europe-wide research project called EATWELL has recommended the government ways to tackle the challenges associated with unhealthy diets (University of Reading, 2012). ...
To start information campaigns as they are cost-effective and yet have a positive impact on healthy food consumption. These information campaigns should be long-term initiatives in order for them to generate optimal results. To restrict the advertisement of unhealthy foods on different forms of media. To make the nutrition education a necessary component of curriculum in schools across all countries. To display the labeling of food nutrition over the front of the packs with a consistent positioning and format. To introduce the nutrition labeling in the food restaurant chains. To foster negotiation with the manufacturers of food, and retail industries to establish agreements for the reduction of salt. Such agreements should also include reduction of sugar content, saturated fat, and portion size. Other key goals that need to be achieved to provide the consumers with better access to good quality food are: To design the foods for specific groups of consumers like busy professionals and children. To design the foods or supplements like pills to compensate for the inadequate patterns of food as well as to compensate for the manufacturing and processing. To use latest biotechnology to develop new seeds that can enhance specific qualities in the plants or animals so that their resistance to pests, diseases, and chemicals is enhanced and their ability to sustain themselves in harsh conditions is improved. Types and examples of intervention to achieve the goals Free market plays an important role in structuring the economies, thus allowing the government to impose its decisions (Matterhorn, 2013). Governments’ interventions in the economies are directed at ...Download file to see next pagesRead More