"Good Food for Germany” - the Food and Nutrition Strategy
We are making it easier to eat good food. This is the goal of the Food and Nutrition Strategy which was adopted on 17 January 2024.
On behalf of the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) worked with representatives from the scientific community, the food industry, environmental conservation, consumer protection, the federal states, municipalities, and civil society to draft the Food and Nutrition Strategy. The Food and Nutrition Strategy lays down food policy goals and guidelines, defines fields of action and pools around 90 planned and existing food policy measures.
The Food and Nutrition Strategy builds on and develops other strategies and action plans (e.g. recommendations made by the Scientific Advisory Board on Agricultural Policy, Food and Consumer Health Protection (WBAE) and the Commission on the Future of Agriculture (ZKL), and also the Strategy for Food Waste Reduction, the National Reduction and Innovation Strategy for Sugar, Fats and Salt in Convenience Foods and the IN FORM National Action Plan).
Key aspects of the Food and Nutrition Strategy
With the Food and Nutrition Strategy it shall be made easier for everyone in this country to eat good food.
Most people want good food. But in everyday life, in the places people eat or buy their food, it is often not easy to choose good food. People who want good food should have this choice. However, they often do not have this choice, whether in schools, canteens or supermarkets. Many also feel poorly informed by the wealth of sometimes contradictory statements and information they receive about the various aspects of eating.
And this is something that affects everyone's health: More than one in ten people in Germany suffer from (type 2) diabetes. 14 per cent of all deaths in Germany are attributed to an unhealthy diet. Healthy and sustainable food is central to good health and well-being. And it also helps to protect the environment and climate.
Participatory process
The process for drafting the Food and Nutrition Strategy was participatory, transparent and open-ended.
- On 17 January 2024, the Cabinet adopted the Food and Nutrition Strategy – Good Food for Germany.
- Interministerial coordination of the Food and Nutrition Strategy commenced on 10 November 2023.
- In eleven digital workshops held from January to late February 2023, measures in various subject areas were addressed and developed with the stakeholders. The concept paper “Pathway to the Federal Government’s Food and Nutrition Strategy” and the online survey, which all relevant stakeholders were invited to participate in, formed the basis for this. With 189 organisations taking part in the workshops, the participatory process met with a great response. The workshops' contributions and outcome were subsequently evaluated by the BMEL in order to be incorporated into the further internal drafting of this strategy.
- The "Citizens' Forum on the Federal Government’s Food and Nutrition Strategy" took place from 27.01.2023 to 29.01.2023. Around 30 invited citizens attended the event, discussing all aspects of the concept paper and providing key suggestions for the further development of the Food and Nutrition Strategy.
- In December 2022, a broad-based survey of the stakeholders was conducted in the fields of action and measures, in which around 180 participants took part.
- The concept paper entitled “Pathway to the Federal Government’s Food and Nutrition Strategy” was adopted by the Cabinet on 21 December 2022. The concept paper outlines the framework and structure of the Food and Nutrition Strategy to be drawn up, sets out strategic priorities, fields of action and targets to be achieved therein, and, as appropriate, first specific measures by way of example.
- In cooperation with the Federal Centre for Food and Nutrition (BZfE), an event was held on 25 October 2022 to bridge the gap between the subject area "The future of food - more plant-based diets" addressed by the National Dialogue on the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) and the Food and Nutrition Strategy. This event attracted more than 160 participants, including from politics, administration, science, civil society, the food industry and associations. The participants engaged in a lively debate on plant-based diets.
- Kick-off event on 29 June 2022: 150 participants, including from the fields of administration, science, industry, consumer representation, environmental conservation and civil society, delivered vital input for the drafting of the concept paper and the Food and Nutrition Strategy. Click here to view the list of participating organisations and institutions.
