Suite of 10 Principles Integrating Nutrition and the Environment in Food Systems
| Principle | Example(s) |
|---|---|
| 1.Be coherent with health-based dietary guidelines | Nutrient intake compared with age-, gender-, and health condition-based adequacy |
| 2.Maximize nutritional output per unit of input (energy, land, water, nutrients, labor) in production, post-harvest management, and processing | Nutrients produced per unit of input. High-quality seeds, life cycle analyses, and agricultural subsidies help maximize this metric |
| 3.Maximize biological diversity at different levels of the food system (in the landscape, the markets, and the diets) | Investment in local seed banks, changing consumer behavior, shared market space, and landscape preservation policies |
| 4.Minimize greenhouse gas emissions | Promote balanced meat consumption |
| 5.Minimize chemical pollution and water contamination | Responsible use of fertilizers and pesticides, farmer training programs |
| 6.Minimize waste and enhance recycling of nutrients throughout the food system | Percentage of food wasted along value chain |
| 7.Maximize food safety | Estimated risk for food contamination |
| 8.Ensure human rights, including rights to food and health, of food system workers are supported | Fair hours and wages; health risk exposure; tradeoffs between jobs created and divisions along socioeconomic lines |
| 9.Improve equity and affordability of healthy food items | Minimize cost of nutritious diets for low-income consumers |
| 10.Be adapted to local and changing conditions | Culturally relevant and acceptable diets |
Source: Remans et al. (2015).27