Global Contract to Improve All Food Systems

The consequences of malnutrition, obesity and climatic changes in the world, taken in isolation, reach the levels of pandemics. As the effects of these three pandemics increase temporally and locally, there is now a syndemic, an aggregation of several simultaneous problems. This was recently stated by The Lancet Commission on Global Health, which include 26 experts from 14 countries. They propose a global reform of food production and distribution to tackle the synergistic epidemic. By analogy with the contracted alliance against the drivers of climate change or tobacco control, a global contract promoting food systems that protect both health and the environment is urgently needed. The following aspects should be considered i.a.:

Establishment of internationally binding food standards to mobilize national measures for healthy, equitable and sustainable food systems and to limit the enormous influence of the food industry on government policy
Redirecting subsidies towards the production of healthy and sustainable food and energy
Create a $ 1 billion philanthropic global fund to support social movements calling for appropriate policies
Providing a 7-generation fund to research and apply indigenous and traditional knowledge and ideologies which contribute to preserving our health and the environment

BA Swinburn et al. The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change: The Lancet Commission report. The Lancet. Published January 27, 2019. Available at https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)32822-8/fulltext. Available in short form at https://www.foodpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/ObesityCommission_Policy-Brief_Lancet_19.pdf