CHAPTER ONE

Hunger, food insecurity, and unhealthy diets underpin many critical public health challenges, including all forms of malnutrition and diet-related noncommunicable diseases. These health outcomes, in turn, have short- and long-term impacts on the well-being and productivity of human populations worldwide. Amid these complex, interconnected challenges, the global focus on how to leverage food systems for nutrition has shifted toward sustainable healthy diets that promote well-being for both people and the planet. Sustainable healthy diets promote all dimensions of an individual’s health and well-being, and are accessible, affordable, safe, and equitable while being culturally acceptable and causing low environmental pressure and impact. Ensuring all of these characteristics is only possible if diets are considered within the wider context of the whole food system, from the farm to the consumer, and its links with numerous other sectors, from education to infrastructure.