This publication presents a vast array of experience, insight and points of view on current issues in food and nutrition policy-making across Europe.

There is no one in this world who would deny the importance of access to adequate food for every human being. In fact, access to food has been declared a human right in 1948 with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In spite of the right to food to be more than half a century old, many are not aware, misunderstand or even marginalize this human right. This book serves two purposes and many audiences. First, it is meant for those who want to get a better understanding of the right to food and how this right has been developed in international law. Second, it also explains why this human right has been marginalized by one of the richest countries in the world: the Netherlands. As such this unique collection of articles provides an exciting view on the making of law and policy, with contributions from lawyers, sociologists and human rights defenders.

Schools play an important role in promoting healthy diets and good nutrition and can create an enabling environment for children. However, the school food environment is often not conducive to a healthy diet. To address this challenge, and to support Member States in implementing policy measures, as recommended by the Framework for Action from the 2014 Second International Conference on Nutrition, the World Health Organization (WHO) is in the process of developing evidence-informed policy guidelines on the food environment, including school food and nutrition interventions and policies with a focus on five interventions and policies that influence the school food environment. These five include nutrition standards or rules, direct food provision, marketing restrictions, nudging interventions and pricing policies. This review on contextual factors to be considered in the implementation of school food and nutrition policies was prepared as part of the required process for WHO guideline development.

This publication is a compendium of the main outcomes of the online stakeholder dialogue organized by the project “Developing Capacity for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Selected Countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia”, funded by the Russian Federation, in collaboration with the Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum). The publication presents an overview of the multiple topics that were discussed from 2017 onwards and provides the reader with a brief introduction to the main ideas and conclusions that emerged during these online consultations. In addition, this publication includes a series of short case studies that highlight good practices and lessons learned from school food and nutrition programmes and from the implementation of food security and nutrition policies in Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. This publication provides an entry point to the current thinking on the topics covered and allows reader to learn from what initiatives, project and actives are presently being implemented.

Despite food-related policies, the global food system struggles with ecological sustainability, public health and robustness. The situation is no different in the Netherlands which, though it can be considered a food nation because of its large agro-food sector, has serious issues with diet-related ill-health such as obesities, cardio-vascular diseases, and diabetes. Governments are seriously concerned with these issues, because diet-related ill-health results in high social costs. Food and nutrition are however complex issues that cut across many different policy domains. At the same time, the food-related policies are developed at different governance levels. This thesis analyses how the integration between the different food-related policy domains can be enhanced to establish a sustainable and health-inducing food system. The research question is: to what extent does the Netherlands have an integrated food policy and which factors could enhance this integration? This research is executed by means of a literature review, policy analysis, and semi-structured interviews with relevant actors in the food policy domain. In addition to reflecting on theories of cross-domain and cross-level interactions, boundaries, boundary work, and relationships in public administration, this research investigates the different food-related policies in force in the Netherlands. Although the Netherlands has a monocentric organized governance system with ministerial responsibility and hierarchic and stovepiped structured Ministeries, it increasingly has to deal with multidisciplinary policy issues like food and nutrition which demands interaction and cooperation between the involved actors. This thesis juxtaposes the monocentric approach to an interactive approach. The interactive approach is characterized by cross-domain and cross-level interactions, boundary work and relationships. Physical, social and mental boundary spanning can result in knowledge integration among the involved actors of the food system. The integration of knowledge could strengthen the separate food-related policies and prohibit contradictions, resulting in a more integrated food policy. To achieve integration of knowledge and policies, it is necessary to construct physical boundary objects that can build social connections. These social connection can enact strategies to enhance flows of information. Therein it is important to create co-authority and feelings of joined responsibility in order to develop a joined strategy and an integrated food policy that establishes a sustainable and health-inducing food system.