ABSTRACT Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa NZ) is a high‐income country with significant environmental impacts and health consequences associated with its food system. These impacts can be partially addressed by enabling dietary transitions to healthy and sustainable diets. The EAT‐Lancet Commission proposed an internationally relevant, reference diet to promote planetary health. We worked with stakeholders/contributors to identify policy actions to support transitioning New Zealanders to healthy sustainable diets. These policies were examined according to the World Cancer Research Fund, NOURISHING and High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on Food Security and Nutrition Food System frameworks. Semi‐structured interviews (13) and focus groups (6) were conducted with contributors from rural and urban tangata whenua communities, farmers, government agencies, industry, and academics. All interviews and focus groups were transcribed using Otter.ai and reviewed by the research team. Thematic analysis was used to identify policies from the transcripts. A total of 111 policies were suggested across the NOURISHING framework domains: 11 (10%) in behavior change communication, 35 (31%) in the food environment, and 65 (59%) addressing the food system. Contributors spoke of behavior change communication policies of education, awareness campaigns, and workshops such as cooking classes. Food environment policies targeted food retail, local food environments, and government standards and regulations including food taxes and subsidies. Policies in the food system area looked at food waste, supporting local food production and government structures and support. This paper identifies new policies that advocate for planetary health and a need for further research and support for existing policies in Aotearoa NZ.
Kidd et al. (Tue,) studied this question.