Reformaten Launches Action Map – An Interactive Map Showcasing The World's Leading Food Environment Policy And Research

Stockholm, 29 November 2024

A food environment is every place where food meets the consumer – from the products and messaging in supermarkets to food ads in our cities, school meals, and digital food trends. It includes physical spaces, but also social norms and economic conditions that influence our food choices. Currently, our food environments are harming both public health and the planet’s health. That’s why Reformaten, in collaboration with Mission Matmiljö, is launching Action Map – an easy-to-use digital platform that highlights positive efforts to change our food environments. The aim is to inspire and facilitate knowledge exchange.

“The harmful effects of our global food system span every corner of the world, and in many places, we are struggling with similar challenges. With Action Map, we can share the good ideas to speed up the transition that both we and the planet need. Let’s get inspired by what’s already working, rather than wasting time reinventing the wheel,” says Olga Grönvall Lund, Secretary-General and founder of Reformaten.

Food Environment Initiatives from Around the World

Action Map collects examples of solutions from around the world. Few may be aware of Costa Rica’s notable food waste strategy in Turrialba, Copenhagen’s ambitious food strategy, or South Korea’s Green Food Zones. Already implemented solutions show that change is possible, and Action Map makes it clear that there is much to learn from each other.

The platform also offers insight into international research collaborations, such as the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont and the University of Cambridge, which focus on nudging for better food choices, as well as collaborations between Warsaw University of Life Sciences and Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura in Madrid to transform urban food systems.

With Action Map as a tool, policymakers, researchers, food system stakeholders, and NGOs working to influence and develop the food environments of the future can search for smart solutions to today’s challenges – or add their own project to the map.

A Platform for All

Action Map is built on Dr. Christopher J. Turner’s conceptualization of food environments, where he emphasizes how external factors such as availability, prices, and marketing, along with personal preferences, shape our food habits. Dr. Turner, a researcher at the University of Greenwich, argues that food environments are a key factor in changing global food systems.

The interactive map was developed in collaboration with The Apartment. Action Map is an open, searchable platform where users can freely add their own examples of research, policies, and projects related to food environments.

For more information and to explore the platform, visit www.reformaten.com/action-map

Reformaten

Reformaten is a Swedish organization dedicated to driving change within food environments in order to create positive food systems where it’s easy to eat right. Reformaten seeks to accelerate a research-based transformation for the health of both the planet and people.

Mission Matmiljö

Mission Matmiljö is a Vinnova-funded platform where Reformaten, WWF Sweden, Organic Sweden, and MatLust Development Node work to ensure that Sweden’s public food environments meet the needs of people, society, and nature.

© Scoop Media