Sustainable nutrition strategy – Land Baden-Württenberg

Context

The sustainable nutrition strategy for the state of Baden-Württemberg was developed in 2017 in response to public health, environmental and food policy coherence challenges. Authorities had noted an increase in diseases linked to unbalanced diets, negative environmental impacts of food, and a lack of coordination between local initiatives. The aim was to promote healthy eating habits while reducing the ecological footprint and involving local players within a coherent framework. This strategy was then revised in 2022, in the context of the end of the Coronavirus health crisis, the emergence of armed conflict in Ukraine, and the publication at federal level of recommendations on a sustainable food policy by the Scientific Advisory Board. This context led to a desire to give more space and resources to this strategy, and to integrate food sovereignty issues into it.

Project

The aim of the strategy is to “promote healthy eating in households and out-of-home catering, promote more sustainable eating and create fairer food environments”. Born out of a nutrition policy, it affirms a desire to integrate sustainable development issues (social, economic and environmental) into a more systemic approach to problems. The strategy is based on 9 guiding principles, which are then translated into action. These principles are as follows:

1. Strengthen nutritional information and education for all throughout the country
2. In collaboration with all stakeholders, promote more sustainable, climate-friendly consumption.
3. inform consumers and those working in nurseries, schools and canteens about sustainable agricultural production.
4. reduce food waste.
5. Use health promotion and prevention structures to convince many decision-makers about nutrition.
6. Set a good example in public administration canteens with regional and ecological products.
7. Promote high-quality, sustainable food offerings outside the home.
8. Enable socially disadvantaged people to broaden their skills in balanced nutrition and gain access to sustainable, mutually beneficial nutrition.
9. To consider the diversity and freshness of food as an opportunity and a strength.

Implementation

This strategy focuses on consumer behavior and accessibility for all, on distribution (in particular mass catering) and more indirectly on upstream activities, in particular farmers (by modifying consumer behavior and promoting labels). In practical terms, it is linked to other strategies that complement it (strategies on food waste, “strategic dialogue on agriculture”, which aims to produce recommendations to define Land interventions on the issues of maintaining regional agriculture, fair remuneration in the supply chains and, more broadly, sustainability, the review of “due diligences” for agri-food companies, a development plan for organic farming, etc.).

The strategy was adopted in 2017 and revised in 2022 on the basis of an agreement drawn up in 2021 by the new political coalition. Its end date is not defined, it is a guiding strategy that includes measures whose results are expected until 2030.  

It is linked to existing policies and plans at state and federal level (such as the national strategy to reduce food waste, the development plan for organic farming, etc.). Today, agricultural issues and the transition of sectors are addressed by a policy under construction (as part of a strategic dialogue on agriculture), with which a search for coherence is underway. In addition, coordination and coherence with local interventions in the field of sustainable food is a strong principle of the “Promote local networking and associate it with national activities” strategy. The strategy thus recognizes that its deployment presupposes fostering networking between local players and supporting their local initiatives by promoting their coherence with the vision set out by the Land. The measures taken to promote coherence are essentially incentives. On the one hand, they provide for communication of the strategy, information, awareness-raising and training for local players, and on the other, funding through calls for projects for local initiatives, in particular the seven or so existing food councils, notably in towns.

Resources

The State Center for Nutrition (LErn) is since 2019 the central contact for sustainable, health-promoting and enjoyable nutrition in Baden-Württemberg. In addition at local level, the sustainable nutrition centers in the 4 districts promote cooperation with: local land services (in particular the agricultural departments), local authorities and economic and social players. These centers offer training, nutritional education and awareness-raising, support (particularly for those involved in mass catering), and networking between sustainable nutrition players.

In terms of human resources, implementation of this strategy is coordinated by a sustainable nutrition referent. The financial resources for the strategy are voted every 2 years as part of the construction of the Land budget. They have risen from 14 million euros to 20 million euros over the last two years (2022-2024), reflecting the strong political will behind this policy. Resources are allocated to the various actions and players involved in nutrition policy.

In the strategy, measures are identified for each of the 9 areas of intervention, and have been reinforced in 2022. These measures are of various types: education, awareness-raising, information; labeling (of agricultural products and collective restaurants); incentive subsidies, particularly for local councils and collective catering; legal actions to change federal frameworks. These measures take into account the systemic aspect of the food system and act across the board.

Results 

Baden-Württemberg's sustainable nutrition strategy has generated a number of positive impacts thanks to its collaborative, localized approach. By recognizing the importance of local actions and actors on the ground, the strategy has encouraged citizen mobilization and local initiatives, while reducing costs by encouraging cooperation with local food councils. The use of incentive-based approaches, such as training, information and conditional funding, reinforced coherence between the different levels of action, while stimulating the involvement of local players. The sustainable nutrition centers, as local physical resources, played a key role in integrating local initiatives into the overall strategy, while facilitating the networking of players. Last but not least, the strategy's strong political backing, supported by interministerial and administrative cooperation, has ensured better coordination of actions and limited management costs, while the identification of a referent dedicated to food issues has strengthened the effectiveness of implementation and coordination between all political and administrative players concerned by these issues.

The little extra

The Land's strategy is particularly interesting from the point of view of its political and administrative governance arrangements, which are highly efficient (functional and inexpensive). It makes use of existing decision-making forums (the Council of Ministers, sustainable nutrition centers) and relies on direct cooperation between ministries and the appointment of a referent responsible for coordinating the strategy for any project related to food issues. This person is clearly identified and consulted or involved as soon as a new policy (plan or strategy) linked to sustainable food is being developed. For example, he is involved in the strategic dialogue process on agriculture, which uses a participatory process (see multi-stakeholder participation criteria). As an expert, he presented the issues of sustainable nutrition and the content of the strategy to the citizens' panels.

Since 2024 Baden-Württemberg was the first state in germany to adopt an administrative regulation for state canteens (VwV Kantine), which not only lays down requirements for the achievement of binding (regional) organic quotas, but also supports them with financial compensation.

Here are some additional sources of information to find out more about this inspiring initiative :

https://mlr.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/unsere-themen/ernaehrung/ernaehrungsstrategie-bw

https://bawue-zu-tisch.de/

https://landeszentrum-bw.de/,Lde/Startseite

This sheet was produced by Annaëlle Ragot, Let's Food, in January 2025.

Last modification : 26 Jun 2025.