CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

Young people call for a better food system

As part of the National Food Strategy published in 2021, The Food Foundation carried out a Youth Engagement report, Your Future, Your Food, asking young people aged nine to 22 to contribute their thoughts. These are their conclusions.

EDUCATION, ENVIRONMENT AND EQUALITY

1. Young people want more education about the food system and how it affects us and the world around us. The way food production and food waste impacts planetary health should be included in the curriculum, as well as healthy cooking skills and nutrition. There should also be more advertising of healthy foods and clearer consumer information on food in relation to this.

2. Young people want decision-makers in business and the government to transform our food system into one that does not harm the environment, as well as changes that enable a shift in consumer diets, such as more meat-free options and greener packaging.

3. Young people want healthy and sustainable diets to become accessible and affordable for all. They want to see action on the relative price of healthy and unhealthy food, investment in healthy food businesses and schemes to enable healthy eating for low-income households.

You can read the full report as well as the National Food Strategy recommendations at nationalfoodstrategy.org.