Do you ever wonder why we leave shops with food we didn’t plan to buy? Why we go for a walk on the beach and end up with a coffee and a bun? Even when we go to play sports, we can still end up buying a bar of chocolate.
It is because of our food environment – the food that surrounds us.
The food environment shapes our decisions about food. It includes places where we make decisions about food such as where we live, work and come together. It is food and drink that is available, affordable and advertised to us.
We are encouraged to eat unhealthily at nearly every turn. We are bombarded with marketing and promotions for unhealthy foods. The pricing and availability of unhealthy food and drink makes it the cheaper, easier option. We know children are particularly targeted.
Safefood has launched a new public health campaign focusing on this harmful food environment. This marks a shift in public health campaigning on the island of Ireland. For the first time, the focus has moved away from personal responsibility towards a broader societal response.
Children are at the heart of the campaign as they have a right to safe and healthy food. The first step to changing our food environment is to become aware of the food that surrounds us, and to ask ourselves is this the food environment we want for our children?
Click here to view the campaign: https://youtu.be/qIxkQYOVpzs
The campaign is on TV, billboard posters, bus stops, and on social and digital media channels. It features real-life experiences of people showing how the food environment negatively impacts on the choices we make and being raised in media through advocacy and PR.
As part of the campaign, Safefood is also leading a Food Environment Forum comprised of the lead health agencies including the Departments of Health in Ireland and Northern Ireland, The HSE, the Public Health Agency, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and the Food Standards Agency.
Safefood is encouraging you to talk to friends and family about what a healthy food environment would look like and contribute to the #TalkAboutFood conversation on social channels.