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Special Issue 14th AIEAA Conference

Policies for Healthy and Sustainable Diets in Italy: co-creating policy recommendations with national stakeholders

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annex1 annex2
  • Annalisa Angeloni,
  • Giampiero Mazzocchi,
  • Roberto Henke,
  • Maria Luisa Scalvedi,
  • Sabrina Giuca,
  • Patrizia Borsotto
Annalisa Angeloni
CREA-PB
Giampiero Mazzocchi
CREA Council for Agricultural Research, Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy, Rome, Italy
Roberto Henke
CREA Council for Agricultural Research, Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy, Rome, Italy
Maria Luisa Scalvedi
CREA Council for Agricultural Research, Food and Nutrition, Rome, Italy
Sabrina Giuca
CREA Council for Agricultural Research, Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy, Rome, Italy
Patrizia Borsotto
CREA Council for Agricultural Research, Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy, Rome, Italy

Published 2026-11-04

Keywords

  • healthy and sustainable diets,
  • food policy,
  • policy coherence,
  • stakeholder engagement,
  • food environments

How to Cite

Angeloni, A., Mazzocchi, G., Henke, R., Scalvedi, M. L., Giuca, S., & Borsotto, P. (2026). Policies for Healthy and Sustainable Diets in Italy: co-creating policy recommendations with national stakeholders. Bio-Based and Applied Economics. Retrieved from https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/bae/article/view/18982

Copyright (c) 2026 Annalisa Angeloni, Giampiero Mazzocchi, Roberto Henke, Maria Luisa Scalvedi, Sabrina Giuca, Patrizia Borsotto

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The transition towards Healthy and Sustainable Diets (HSDs) is increasingly recognized as a strategic priority to address climate change, biodiversity loss, non-communicable diseases, and social inequalities. Yet translating scientific evidence into coherent and actionable policies remains a complex challenge. This paper analyses the Italian policy landscape related to HSDs through a dual approach: a desk-based review of 81 national regulatory texts and a participatory Policy Lab involving key stakeholders from the agri-food system. Building on the Policy Domains framework developed within the EU-funded OnFoods project, the study maps the alignment and gaps between policy supply and stakeholder demand and co-creates a set of 14 national Policy Recommendations. Results highlight that Italian regulations remain strongly anchored to nutrition, health, and food safety, while environmental, socio-economic, and territorial dimensions are only partially integrated. The participatory process underscores the need for multi-level governance, stronger science–policy interfaces, and regulatory instruments capable of fostering fair, inclusive, and territorially grounded food systems. The findings provide an evidence-based roadmap for embedding HSD principles into Italy’s National Food Policy and offer insights applicable to other countries seeking to reconcile competitiveness and sustainability in their agri-food systems.

pdf accepted
annex1 annex2

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