Key Action Areas for Population and Planetary Health: Recommendations Arising From the Transforming the UK Food Systems Programme.

Abstract

The UK food system faces critical challenges at the intersection of public health, environmental sustainability, and economic resilience. Currently contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and freshwater use, the system also fails to ensure universal access to healthy diets-particularly for lower-income populations during a cost-of-living crisis. The Transforming UK Food Systems (TUKFS) Programme has brought together academia, industry, policymakers, and communities to co-produce solutions to these complex challenges. This paper highlights findings from the Programme, with a focus on improving nutrition and sustainability. It outlines four key action areas: (1) innovation in manufacturing and supply chains, including development of UK-grown pulses, fortified foods, and aquaculture systems; (2) transforming food environments, such as school meals and supermarkets, to make healthy food more accessible; (3) empowering communities through co-production and stakeholder engagement across the food system; and (4) reforming policy and governance by aligning national and local strategies and applying systems thinking to food policy. Collectively, these actions aim to drive coordinated, evidence-based transformation toward a healthier, more equitable, and sustainable UK food system.