04 Feb. Nutrition as prevention - it's time to act!

Together with my colleagues Laurent Castillo (EPP), Biljana Borzan (S&D) and Tilly Metz (The Greens/EFA), I had the great pleasure of hosting our event "Nutrition as prevention: How a healthier diet can prevent cardiovascular disease, AMR, diabetes and cancer" at the European Parliament today. The great interest in the event speaks volumes!

On World Cancer Day in particular, it was the right time to draw attention to the important role of nutrition in the prevention of diseases. An unhealthy diet contributes massively to the burden of disease in the EU - with dramatic consequences for public health and high costs for our healthcare system.

However, healthy eating should not be a private matter. As a politician and mother, I am committed to ensuring that healthy food is on the menu, especially in schools, canteens and kindergartens. We also need clear political measures to make healthy food affordable for everyone.

Empower consumers: We need clear, understandable and transparent food labeling to make healthy choices easier.
✅ Improve access to healthy food: Healthy eating must not be a privilege - it must be affordable and available to everyone.
✅ Protect children: Advertising for unhealthy foods, especially aimed at children, must finally be regulated.
✅ One Health approach: human health, food systems and the environment are inextricably linked.

We were able to attract experts from the WHO, DG SANTE, business and civil society to our event. The subsequent networking lunch provided valuable discussions and new impetus.

The discussion has shown: Europe must take nutrition seriously as the key to prevention - it's time to act! 🚀