Caroline Orfila Jenkins’ Post

A week on since the launch EAT Lancet 2.0 report launch and I want to share my reflections of the plenary panel 'UPF under the microscope’. Alongside Lynnette Neufeld, Stella Nordhagen and Kevin Hall, we explored three main themes: evidence, innovation and food justice. My main messages and take aways: 🔬 Evidence o  Robust evidence must remain the basis for policy development, without this, there is a risk of causing unnecessary distrust, confusion, and ultimately policies to be counterproductive to achieving health and planetary goals at scale (see justice). o  mechanistic understanding of potential effect of food processing types/degrees and nutrition is still largely lacking. Addressing the gaps through human intervention trials will require significant funding, time and also a cooperation between actors in the food system to ensure that relevant hypotheses are being tested. 🔭 Innovation o  We must move away from the assumption that any processing that is not done within a domestic setting or at domestic scale leads to negative impacts on nutritional quality. o  Seed crops (cereals, legumes, oilseeds, nuts) are the foundation of the Planetary Health Diet and they require processing to make them safe and to unlock the nutritional value within them. o  Plant-based foods can contribute effectively to speed up dietary transition by providing nutrients from plants, most notably fiber & unsaturated fats, and these can be obtained through well planned diets and where necessary complemented with nutrients through responsible fortification, including those nutrients identified as being of concern (calcium, iron, zinc, iodine, vitamins B2, B12, D). Fortification technology is cost-effective in both high and low income settings. o  We must continue to innovate in food processing to reduce resource intensity, reduce loss and waste, optimise supply chains, etc.. Processing should be part of the solution. ⚖️ Justice o  We must acknowledge that processed foods contribute significantly to nutrient intake, and that brings food justice dimensions (e.g. accessibility, affordability, gender roles, etc..). o  Workable solutions must present clear paths for action for producers, consumers and regulators. We need cooperation to make progress at speed and scale. o  Food industries have the deepest knowledge of food processing, and there are responsible companies out there willing to engage. Technology is part of the solution! At Oatly we believe in dialogue, and we are ready to Engage and Act. So reach out to me or my wonderful colleagues to follow up Caroline Reid, Cecilia McAleavey, Matthijs Germs, Luise Hansen Explore the full Commission: http://bit.ly/432qPKa #EATLancet2025 #FoodSystems #PlanetaryHealth