The initiators want the food industry to be obliged through regulations to process less salt, sugar and unhealthy fat in products. The petition, which receives broad support from healthcare, science and dozens of social organizations, was handed over to the House of Representatives this afternoon.
‘We are very happy that we have collected so many signatures in such a short time. It shows that the subject is alive in society. The Dutch want the new cabinet to give priority to healthy food. The shelves are now full of unhealthy food and drinks. And unhealthy food and drink makes people sick,” says Bernique Tool, director of the Maag Lever Bowel Foundation and chairman of the Alliance Nutrition for the Healthy Generation (AVGG). Previous research* shows that 8 out of 10 Dutch people consider it important that processed foods are made healthier. This way our children can grow up healthy.
Handing over petition
MPs Anne Kuik (CDA), Liane den Haan (Den Haan Group), Lisa Westerveld (GroenLinks), Eva van Esch (Party of the Animals), Maarten Hijink (SP) and Thom van Campen (VVD) received the petition online , say the activists. VWS committee chair Fleur Agema promised to include the subject in upcoming debates on nutrition and prevention. Members of parliament Caroline van der Plas (BBB), Jeanet van der Laan and Tjeerd de Groot (D66), Attje Kuiken (PvdA), Vicky Maeijer (PVV) and Jasper van Dijk (SP) also participated in a short product presentation on the Plein. quiz. By eating processed products, the amount of sugar, salt and unhealthy fat can quickly increase unnoticed. Even when it comes to apparently healthy products, such as breakfast cereals, soup or pasta sauce. The food industry and the government are now placing the responsibility entirely on the consumer.
broad support
It’s time for food and drink to become healthier. That is also the view of a group of Dutch people united in ‘Team Healthy Nutrition Now’. They took the initiative for the petition four weeks ago, because they see every day what unhealthy food can do. One of them is Petra Lammers, mother of two young children. Since her own mother died of cancer, Petra has become a lot more conscious about nutrition. ‘Most people shop out of habit and don’t know enough about the amount of junk that is for sale in the supermarket. Consumers must be able to trust that all the products they buy are healthy.’
According to the initiators, the petition received support from food scientist Jaap Seidell and pediatrician Anita Vreugdenhil at the start. More than 50 civil society organizations also support initiatives to make our food healthier.
‘Make our food healthy again’
According to the AVvdGG and TGVN, the Agreement on the Improvement of Product Composition between the Ministry of Health (VWS) and the food sector (duration 2014 to 2020) has achieved far too little due to non-binding agreements with the industry. ‘Recent research by the RIVM shows that with the steps that manufacturers have taken in recent years, the Dutch only consume a pinch of salt and two fewer sugar cubes. The effect of the agreements on saturated fat has not been calculated because too few agreements have been made. The shelves are therefore still full of unhealthy food and drinks. Unhealthy food is the second leading preventable cause of death after smoking, with nearly 13,000 deaths per year. About 350,000 children and 7 million adults in the Netherlands are overweight, many of whom are obese. Moreover, unhealthy food accounts for 6 billion euros in healthcare costs every year.’ More info is here.
(PvWK)
photo above: Carolien Martens (Heart Foundation), Martijn Ubbink (Kidney Foundation), Petra Lammers (Team Healthy Nutrition Now), Lara Schreuder (Diabetes Fund) and Roy van der Ploeg (Stomach Liver Bowel Foundation) of the Alliance Nutrition for the Healthy Generation / AP
Research source: Support research healthy food environment, Alliance Nutrition for the Healthy Generation – I&O Research (2021)
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