Organizers: Nordic Council of Ministers, Finland, the World Health Organization

Transforming our food systems is a strong lever to promote human health and climate action. 

Health, nutrition, and environmental sustainability need to be core, cross-cutting foundations to enable healthy and sustainable food systems. Our food consumption has vast environmental and climate impact and shows the need to promote healthy and sustainable diets as an important part of a food systems transformation, and to increase awareness about the interlinkages between health, food and climate. 

A healthy diet is a foundation for human health, well-being, optimal growth and development of the human body. It protects against all forms of malnutrition. Unhealthy diets are a leading risk for the global burden of disease, mainly for noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. 

Research shows that healthy diets are also more environmentally sustainable. The Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023 (NNR2023) is one of the globally leading scientific reports showing the interlinkages between healthy and sustainable diets, and the many synergies that exist. WHO has issued guidelines for healthy and sustainable diets, in line with the guidance of NNR2023, that show the imperative of taking action to include health perspectives in the climate agenda. 

Moderators:      

• Karen Ellemann, Secretary General, Nordic Council of Ministers
• Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition

Speakers:

• Rune Blomhoff, Professor, Oslo University, Project Leader of the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023 
• Madhuvanti Murphy, University of West Indies, Barbados
• Kai Mykkänen, Minister of Climate and the Environment, Finland  
• Claire Bury, Deputy Director-General for Food Sustainability, DG Sante, European Commission  
• Francesco Branca, Director, Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, World Health Organization  
• Lana Weidgenant, Youth representative, Coalition of Action on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems for Children and All