Sus-Health. Sustainable and Healthy diets for all.

Lead Research Organisation: Newcastle University
Department Name: Sch of Natural & Environmental Sciences

Abstract

major transformation of the food system is required, which is focused on the production and consumption of healthy and sustainable food. Change will need to be facilitated through a number of means, both direct and indirect. The Sus-Health project will establish and demonstrate a blueprint of a system that incentivises both directly and indirectly the consumption of sustainable and healthy food. The project will demonstrate to stakeholders how the use of a codesigned, combined measure of environmental impact and nutritive value (the Sus-Health Index) of foods, meals and ingredients can be used to influence the future direction of our food system and the stakeholders within it. Sus-Health will co-create a systemic strategy and innovative solution for influencing food choices and consumption, so that they better align with planetary boundaries and nutritional guidelines. The resulting consumer preferences (obtained through living lab experiments and through simulation) will feed back down the entire food chain driving the processes and raw materials used, towards more sustainable and health-inducing foods and diets. Comprising two academic partners and a range of stakeholder involvement Sus-Health will demonstrate a range of stakeholder focused communication vehicles, in a range of interventions in Northern Ireland followed by upscaling activities in the rest of the UK. The consortium comprises a mix of academic, and food industry partners with expertise in consumer behaviour, sustainability, nutrition, agri-economics, software design, agriculture, food service, and food systems. Key outputs of the project will be:

- The develpment, validation and demonstration of the use and applicability of a combined measure for assessing sustainability and nutritive value in real settings (restaurants, fast food outlets, canteens and related supply chains)

- A range of communication tools and approaches aimed at influencing change in consumer food choices

- Interventions focused on food affordability including economic assessments of direct policy interventions that would make healthy sustainable food more affordable.

- Stakeholder guidelines for using the Sus-Health index and related communication tools together with extensive stakeholder focused communication and dissemination activities

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description Collaborative workshop with an increasing range of stakeholders 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Codesign of food system with stakeholders: Food and Drink Federation; Spoon Guru; Derry City & Strabane (District Council); Ards and North Down (Borough Council); Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs; Department of Health; Food NI; Food Standards Agency; Seafish; Apex Community Supermarket; McDonald's; Devenish; Moy park; Fish City; Eurofir - QUADRAM; QUADRAM; Omniaction; Restore nutrition
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022