France’s 2030 food, nutrition and climate strategy promotes fiber and locally grown foods
Key takeaways
- France’s new nutrition strategy directly targets low fiber intake by encouraging more fruits, vegetables, and legumes, while aiming to reduce meat consumption.
- It emphasizes increasing locally grown and seasonal foods to strengthen France’s agricultural independence and reduce the carbon footprint of imports.
- The plan links human health with environmental health through measures like setting maximum thresholds for salt/sugar and mandating transparency in food sourcing.
France has introduced its 2030 national strategy for healthy, sustainable food by combining food, nutrition, and climate. Alongside promoting fiber-forward diets, it encourages consuming more locally grown and seasonal plant-based foods and limiting meat consumption, especially processed meat and imported meat.
The National Food and Nutrition Strategy (SNANC) emphasizes the need to improve access to healthy foods while calling for more local sourcing, with the aim of strengthening the country’s agricultural and food sovereignty.
“Prevention is at the heart of our action to sustainably improve the health of the French people,” comments Stéphanie Rist, Minister of Health, Families, Autonomy, and Persons with Disabilities. “Addressing the determinants of health means taking action to prevent the onset of disease.”
“Diet, physical activity, and combating sedentary lifestyles are powerful tools for reducing the risk of chronic diseases and preserving independence throughout life. With SNANC, we are affirming our ambition: to enable everyone to adopt behaviors that promote their health while protecting our environment. Prevention means empowering every citizen to be an active participant in their own health and that of future generations.”
The strategy underscores that diet-related illnesses are killing people, accounting for 80% of premature deaths from non-communicable diseases in France. Salt, sugar, and alcohol consumption are too high, while consumption of fruit, vegetables, and fiber is too low.
Additionally, folate deficiency is increasing while malnutrition, especially among the elderly, remains high.
SNANC notes the public is increasingly concerned about health, well-being, the environment, and ethics, prompting the focus on food sustainability.
It outlines that French diets have become richer in calories, animal products, and processed foods. Although healthy, sustainable diets containing fruits, vegetables, and legumes have progressed, strong inequalities in the food system remain.
The strategy also notes that sustainable food systems are multidimensional, linking human health, animal health and welfare, and ecosystem health with economic, social, territorial, and participatory dimensions. To transform food structures, a systematic approach is required.
Therefore, it aligns with a “One Health” approach that is collaborative across sectors and transdisciplinary.
14 key objectives
Some of SNANC’s key objectives include increasing awareness of healthy, sustainable foods, boosting local food projects, and mandating transparency in food sourcing. It was created with citizens and sector stakeholders.
It also seeks to set maximum daily intake thresholds for salt, sugars, and fats and minimum levels for fiber, while setting nutritional standards for meals in children’s facilities and nursing homes and reducing certain foods’ advertisements.
Additionally, SNANC encourages physical activity at various locations and for young people while improving food aid quality and combating food waste.
“Eating better means taking action for the planet, our health, and supporting quality agriculture: by choosing local and sustainable products, we reduce our carbon footprint, protect biodiversity, and value the work of our farmers. With this strategy, ecology is concretely present on our plates,” comments Monique Barbut, Minister for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, and International Climate and Nature Negotiations.
Previous research has found that vegan diets reduce carbon footprints by up to 46–51%, while also lowering land and water use. Experts say shifting from meat-heavy to plant-based diets cuts noncommunicable disease risk and improves population health outcomes.
Meanwhile, the US also recently updated its dietary guidelines, promoting a “food-first” approach but with higher animal-based saturated fat intake, raising concerns among nutrition experts. Critics also highlighted transparency issues, noting that the final guidance departs from the advisory committee’s scientific review process, which they argue undermines trust in nutrition science.
