Demographic Change
Ageing Society in Europe differs in the Member States.
Sources: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Ageing_Europe_-_statistics_on_population_developments; UN World Population data; https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/; https://ourworldindata.org/population-growth; https://population.un.org/wpp/; https://www.populationpyramid.net/
Analysing shifts in consumer food preferences and the impact of diverse cultural influences.
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214799321001119
Addressing the dietary requirements and health needs of an ageing population.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK51837/
Examining how urban living affects food choices, convenience, and access.
Sources: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12571-021-01182-8
Understanding how evolving family dynamics impact meal planning and consumption habits. Gendered divisions of foodwork plays a role here. Question if there is an influence of public policies such as work-family or parental leave policies.
Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4942858/; age.3; https://ourworldindata.org/marriages-and-divorces
Exploring the influence of migration on food cultures and the emergence of multicultural food trends.
Sources: https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/444854-migration-new-tools-and-perspectives-to-understand-movement-in-europe
Migration to Europe is changing steadily. Most migration takes place within the EU, but there is now a tendency that immigration to the EU is increasing because of war, climate change and many other reasons. Integration (bringing someone into an existing group or system) or inclusion (creating an environment that values and respects all individuals) approaches are existent, but not in all EU regions, and societies are struggling with integration and inclusion. The search for new ideas and the permanent application of existing approaches is driving the food system.
Sources: https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/444854-migration-new-tools-and-perspectives-to-understand-movement-in-europe; https://agrumig.iwmi.org/country-team-pages/"
Healthy nutrition is more important for healthy ageing than generally recognised. Improved public health messaging about nutrition and ageing, combined with routine screening and medical referrals for age-related conditions that can be treated with a nutrition prescription, should form core components of a national nutrition roadmap to reduce the epidemic of unhealthy ageing. Healthy ageing starts with very young people and their behaviour.
Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33838032/; EU Healthy Aging project:
https://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_projects/2003/action1/docs/2003_1_26_frep_en.pdf
Sources: With the rising global population, food availability is an important need and an important challenge. Sustainable food systems are fundamental in solving many of the global issues, such as mass migration or the double burden of famine of obesity. The spreading of different lifestyles across the planet and the associated food intake, together with the development of sustainable and healthy food habits and associated public health advice shape the Global Value Network.
Source: Project DAKIS: https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/agrarsysteme-der-zukunft-2194584; https://www.isi.fraunhofer.de/de/competence-center/foresight/projekte/dakis.html#7
Many elderly people live alone at home and do not cook for themselves. There are food suppliers who provide them with a hot meal every day. This can have a positive effect on the well-being of the persons if through this a healthy and balanced nutrition takes place rather than if the people prepare their food themselves. The social context of eating is not met, anymore, and there are effects of eating alone. Institutionalised food services for ageing populations can be an option.
The demographic transition is leading to changes in dietary behaviour in many countries. Many people are shifting their work from the farm to the factory. This also results in changed social structures. Among other things, families live separately when people in urban regions work in factories while part of the family remains in the countryside. Accordingly, people are adjusting their eating habits.
Sources: https://www.kansascityfed.org/documents/7023/umberger-paper.pdf; age.3; https://europepmc.org/article/med/15481550
In many emerging countries, the nutrition situation for young children is improving. Better availability and higher incomes are enabling a major shift in nutrition paradigms. In addition, there is a transfer of knowledge through the Internet that provides education about healthy and good nutrition for babies. New market potentials arise for the food industry and the problems of malnutrition among children can be reduced. But the breastfeeding rate is getting lower even though it is well known that this is an important part of infant nutrition: About 44% of infants 0–6 months old are exclusively breastfed (WHO). Globally in 2022, 149 million children under 5 were estimated to be stunted (too short for age), 45 million were estimated to be wasted (too thin for height), and 37 million were overweight or obese (WHO).
Sources: https://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj-lOWSv7uAAxUH_7sIHeQ9C74QFnoECA0QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdata.unicef.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F09%2FFed-to-Fail-FULL-REPORT-Child-Nutrition-Report-2021-FINAL.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1jOSzO0_rgYX4xzwOo83wr&opi=89978449; https://www.who.int/health-topics/infant-nutrition#tab=tab_1
Poverty in old age is a major problem in many European societies. Women are particularly affected by it. As a result of insufficient financial resources, there is food poverty, which can lead to a deterioration in health. Poverty as an issue in other population groups remains, too, and is also increasing among young people.
Sources: https://www.boell.de/de/2021/09/15/ernaehrungsarmut-wer-schlecht-isst-ist-nicht-selber-schuld
Sources: The number of single-person households is rising worldwide - and in European countries, too. The same is true for people with different life styles. This is also associated with distinctive food-related consumption behaviour.
Sources: Fit4FOOD2030.eu; Statista, e.g. https://www.statista.com/statistics/582621/single-women-households-in-denmark/;
https://www.statista.com/statistics/582600/single-men-households-in-denmark/;
https://www.statista.com/statistics/522000/netherlands-total-number-of-single-person-households-by-gender/;
https://www.statista.com/statistics/526013/sweden-number-of-households-by-type/; https://www.statista.com/statistics/1289826/fashion-and-lifestyle-purchase-aspects-italy/"
In Germany and many other European countries, competent personnel are missing. From March 2019 to February 2020, around 938,000 workers were employed in agriculture in Germany, according to the representative results of the 2020 agricultural census. As the Federal Statistical Office further reports, this represents a decline of 15% compared with the last agricultural census in 2010. During the same period, the number of agricultural holdings fell by around 13%. As a result, the average number of workers per farm remained almost stable at 3.6 compared to 2010. In contrast, the number of workers per 100 hectares of agricultural land decreased from 6.6 workers in 2010 to 5.6 workers in 2020. This development can be attributed in particular to the growing farm sizes and the further advancing mechanization and digitalization in agriculture.
46 % of the labour force is family labour: Nearly half of the agricultural workforce, 434,400 people, were family workers in sole proprietorships. Furthermore, 228,900 permanently employed workers and 274,700 seasonal workers worked on farms.
Source:
https://www.destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2021/09/PD21_N053_13.html;