A more plant-based diet is one of the most effective levers for making food systems more sustainable. However, it has hardly been part of federal policy strategies or measures so far. By 2023, the German government will adopt a nutrition strategy, which now offers the opportunity to launch a more plant-based diet with effective measures.

In this article, Julia Jägle from Ecologic Institute examines nutrition policy strategies and processes to promote plant-based diets in Germany and Europe and provides an international comparison. For example, the World Climate Report by the IPCC, the Farm-to-Fork Strategy of the European Commission, but also the Climate Protection Program 2030 of the German Federal Government or the Future Commission on Agriculture and finally, on a regional level, the nutrition strategies of various German states offer starting points, but also so far untapped potential to bring a more plant-based diet into implementation. The article also highlights the various policy approaches and instruments that promote such diets. Approaches that promote plant-based nutrition environments are promising, such as measures in communal catering, food retailing, but also corresponding public campaigns that focus on social norms instead of information-sharing.

Read Julia Jägle's full article in the latest issue (01 2023) of the magazine "Ernährung im Fokus".