FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AND AGRARIAN DEVELOPMENT National Secretariat for Food and Nutrition Security Department for Structuring and Integration of Public Food Systems Esplanada dos Ministérios – Bloco A – ZIP Code: 70.054-906 – Brasília – DF Phone: +55 61 2030-1633/1617 Fax: +55 61 2030-1578

Comments on the document “Nutrition and food systems”, produced by the Committee on World Food Security and Nutrition”- V0 Draft Report

1. APPROACH AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 1.1. Page 17: the document presents the concept of food environment (Caspi et al., 2012) and discusses the important role of governments in the promotion of access to healthy food. 1.1.1. We suggest the inclusion of food procurement as a governmental strategy to facilitate the access. In Brazil, there are successful initiatives in this area, such as the National School Feeding Program (PNAE, in the Portuguese acronym) and the Food Purchase Program (PAA, in the Portuguese acronym). 1.1.2.The PAA, created in 2003, uses mechanisms of trade that favor the direct purchase of products from family farmers or their organizations by the government. The products are then used for the creation of strategic stocks or distributed to the population in social vulnerability. The data from the program in 2015 show that R$ 576.9 million (USD 166.5 million) were spent, impacting 95,200 family farmers and benefiting 11,600 entities and 14.8 million people. The program acquired 241,300 tons of food, with vegetables representing 26% of that amount, milk and dairy representing 23% and fruits representing 17%. Through the Institutional Purchases modality of the PAA, R$ 44.4 million (USD 12.8 million) were spent on the direct purchase of products from family farming for other federal organizations in 2015.1,2 1.1.3. The PNAE established in 2009 that at least 30% of the federal budget for the school feeding program should be used for the direct purchase of products from family farmers. The data from 2014 shows that 82% of the administrations in

1 Food Purchase Program (PAA) http://www.mda.gov.br/sitemda/secretaria/saf-paa/sobre-o-programa. PAA Data. http://aplicacoes.mds.gov.br/sagi/paa/visi_paa_geral/pg_principal.php?url=abertura (in portuguese).

2 The amounts were converted to USD as per the Brazilian Central Bank’s conversion rate as of December 2nd 2016. http://www4.bcb.gov.br/pec/conversao/conversao.asp (in Portuguese). both states and municipalities actually reached the 30% minimum in that year, which amounted to R$ 662.1 million (USD 191.1 million), which represents 21.3% of the federal resources for school feeding. From the amount invested in family farming products, 28.1% was applied in the purchase of fruits, 21.8% in the purchase of vegetables, 15.3% in the purchase of dairy products, and 13% in the purchase of grains. The direct purchase from family farming accounted for 44.4% of the total amount of resources invested in the purchase of vegetables, 43.3% of the resources invested in the purchase of fruits, 32.5% of the resources invested in the purchase of beverages, 21.5% of the resources invested in the purchase of dairy, and 19.2% of the resources invested in the purchase of oilseeds.3 1.2. Page 18: the concept of “healthy food” (as it is presented on WHO documents) is inconsistent with the concepts of “food systems”, “sustainable food system” and “food environment” (page 11) that were initially presented. The concept of “healthy diet” is presented from a nutritional perspective, totally disconnected from the food system. 1.2.1.We understand that a minimum alignment of those concepts is required. The Brazilian government adopts the following concept of “adequate and healthy diet”, which was built with the participation of the civil society at the “III National Conference on Food and Nutrition Security”, in 2007. The Brazilian concept approaches the topic in a way that is both more comprehensive and more consistent with food and nutrition security issues. 1.2.2.“Adequate and healthy diet is a basic human right. This right implies ensuring permanent and regular access, in a socially fair manner, to food and ways of eating that satisfy the social and biological requirements of everyone. It also takes into account special dietary needs, and the need to be culturally appropriate, and allows for differences in gender, race, and ethnicity. An adequate and healthy diet should be accessible both physically and financially, and harmonious in quantity and quality, meeting the needs of variety, balance, moderation, and pleasure. Furthermore, it should derive from sustainable practices of production and distribution.”4

3 BRAZIL. Ministry of Education. National Fund for the Development of Education (FNDE). 2016. National School Feeding Program (PNAE). http://www.fnde.gov.br/programas/alimentacao-escolar/agricultura-familiar and http://www.fnde.gov.br/arquivos/category/116-alimentacao-escolar?download=10035:nota-tecnica-n-5003-2016.

4 BRAZIL. Ministry of Health of Brazil. Secretariat of Health Care. Primary Health Care Department. 2014. Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian population. Translated by Carlos Augusto Monteiro. Brasília: Ministry of Health of Brazil, http://189.28.128.100/dab/docs/portaldab/publicacoes/guia_alimentar_populacao_ingles.pdf. 2. THE BURDEN 2.1. Page 30: the subchapter on “overweight and obesity and its causes and consequences” does not link the current setting of the food systems with the outcomes in terms of inadequate food practices, which result in overweight and obesity. 2.1.1.We understand that unfavorable nutritional outcomes, characterized by the condition of malnutrition, constitute violations to the human right to adequate and healthy food and have, among their causes, the shape of the food systems of the countries, i.e., the way food is produced, processed, traded and consumed. As a consequence, these outcomes are also a responsibility of the actors that control these food systems. 5,6,7 2.1.2.The food systems have never been so concentrated and controlled by so few players: the thirteen largest industrial food conglomerates in the world8 own 26% of the global market and 100 direct retail chains control 40% of the food retail sector.9 Given this concentration of economic power and, as a consequence, political power, it is much too often the transnational enterprises, instead of the governments, that define and implement the strategic macro policies of food supply.2

BRAZIL. National Food and Nutritional Security Council (CONSEA). 2007. Relatório da III Conferência Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional. http://www4.planalto.gov.br/consea/publicacoes/3deg-conferencia-nacional- de-seguranca-alimentar-e-nutricional/relatorio-final-iii-conferencia-nacional-de-seguranca-alimentar-e-nutricional

5 STEDILE & CARVALHO. 2011. Soberania Alimentar: uma necessidade dos povos. https://www.ecodebate.com.br/2011/03/25/soberania-alimentar-uma-necessidade-dos-povos-artigo-de-joao- pedro-stedile-e-horacio-martins-de-carvalho.

6 STUCKLER D, NESTLE M. 2012. Big Food, Food Systems, and Global Health. PLoS Med 9(6): e1001242. http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001242.

7 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), 2014. Conference Outcome Document: Rome Declaration on Nutrition. Rome: FAO/WHO. http://www.fao.org/3/a- ml542e.pdf

8 Nestlé, Monsanto, Bungue, Dreyfuss, Kraft Foods, Pepsi-Cola, Coca Cola, Unilever, Tyson Foods, Cargill, Marte, ADM, Danone.

9 RIBEIRO, S. 2008. Los que se quieren comer el mundo. http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2008/12/06/index.php? section=opinion&article=029a1eco. 2.1.3. As we face this scenario, we need a faster and more assertive global answer, directed not only to tackling the different types of malnutrition, but especially to the analysis of its determinants, with a view to protecting the human right to adequate food of the populations of the world and guaranteeing the food sovereignty of the countries.

3. DIETARY CHANGES AND THEIR DRIVERS 3.1.1. No comments.

4. GARNERINGS QUALITY DIETS FROM SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS

4.1. Page 73: there is a box about Brazil with information about governance. Page 104: Discusses national experiences on nutrition and multi-sector coordination. The Brazilian experience in the Interministerial Chamber for Food and Nutrition Security (CAISAN, in the Portuguese acronym) is a successful example. Suggestions for improvement may be found below. 4.1.1.Brazil´s public system of Food and Nutrition Security is based on social participation through a cross-sector approach. Governance, Transparency, and the Society´s Active Participation as a Protagonist have been, over the past years, the principles by which Brazil´s action is oriented. Brazil has no longer featured in FAO’s Hunger Map since 2014. We have succeeded in fighting hunger, nevertheless we still have to face other dimensions of malnutrition. Today, 52% of Brazilians are overweight and 18% are obese. Besides, 63% of Brazilians do not eat fruits and vegetables on a regular basis and more than 70% of deaths by illnesses are caused by poor nutrition habits. The most vulnerable are the most affected by lack of access to fresh healthy foods. In this regard, we are prioritizing the promotion of adequate food and the fight against obesity.

4.1.2.Brazil, over the forthcoming four years, shall invest approximately USD 30 billion each year by means of its Food and Nutrition Security Plan. The Plan’s main goals are:

4.1.2.1. Access to adequate food for approximately 15 million families within “Bolsa Família” (Family Grant Program), as well as 40 million students who rely on school meals every day.

4.1.2.2. Reduce by 25% those families’ rates of vulnerability through a set of policies that promote rural productive inclusion.

4.1.2.3. Support family farmers through appropriate policies such as access to credit and markets, technical assistance, support for trade and the protection of both production and income, as well as access to water. By 2019 the federal government alone will mobilize approximately USD 780 billion for the purchase of family farmers´ production through public procurement.

4.1.2.4. Promotion and Protection of Healthy Food

4.2. Pages 107-108: in “future research areas and data needs”, especially about “Consumption demand and behavior change”, we suggest progress in the approach adopted. The Brazilian government handles the Food and Nutrition Education (FNE) agenda in a wider manner, from the perspective of the food system, including the whole chain.

4.2.1. Eating is a social practice which results from the integration of the biological, sociocultural, environmental and economic dimensions. The FNE requires, therefore, an integrated approach that recognizes food practices as a result of the availability and access to food, as well as the behaviors, practices and attitudes involved in the choices, preferences, forms of preparation and consumption of the food. Thus, the FNE actions should be based on principles such as: social, environmental and economic sustainability; a food system approach; having the food as a reference; valuing the local food culture and culinary skills; promoting the autonomy of the individuals; and intersectoriality.10

4.2.2. In the context of the Human Right to Adequate Food and the guaranteeing of Food and Nutrition Security, Food and Nutrition Education is a field of knowledge and of continuous, permanent, transdisciplinary, intersectorial and multiprofessional practice, which aims to promote the autonomous and voluntary practice of healthy food habits. Its practices should use problematizing educational approaches and resources, as well as assets which favor dialogue with individuals and population groups, considering all the stages of life and the stages of the food systems, as well as the interactions and meanings that make up the eating behavior.

4.2.3. The full reach of FNE requires structuring actions that work as an effective strategy to promote and guarantee health and Food and Nutrition Security, as well as the accomplishment of the Human Right to Adequate Food. On the one hand, it is necessary to institutionalize the actions of FNE in public policies; it is necessary to raise awareness and educate public managers about this subject and the professionals must have autonomy and access to permanent educational

10 BRASIL. Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Combate al Hambre. 2012. Marco de referencia de Educación Alimentaria y Nutricional para las políticas públicas. Brasília: MDS. http://www.mds.gov.br/webarquivos/publicacao/seguranca_alimentar/marcoEANespanhol.pdf. processes. On the other hand, it is required that the social value of healthy food practices be recognized and that society embrace and defend the FNE agenda. On the planning and development field, it is necessary to adopt actions based on different types of evidence and to adopt monitoring and evaluation indicators for processes, results and impacts achieved. There is an urgent need to promote dialogue with other fields of knowledge and practices; to establish partnerships and commitments with different media channels and to adopt an ethical commitment among all sectors. Finally, successful experiences need to gain visibility and the different institutions, groups and teams must organize themselves in collaborative networks.

Brasília, December 4th, 2016.