Are consumers sitting at the table? How to drive justice in global food systems
On 3-4 October 2025, Consumers International joined over 700 global leaders and changemakers at the Stockholm Food Forum, all united by a shared objective: to rethink how the world eats. A key highlight of this major international gathering was the launch of the 2025 Eat-Lancet Commission, a report intentioned with building a new path for food systems that work for both people and planet.
Among the policymakers, scientists, and food industry leaders, Consumers International brought a vital yet often overlooked perspective – that of the consumer. As one of the few organisations representing consumer interests, we amplified their experiences and priorities to ensure their rights are heard and responded to.
Putting justice at the heart of food systems
In 2019, the EAT-Lancet Commission demonstrated that it is possible for everyone to enjoy a healthy, sustainable diet without breaching planetary boundaries.
Six years later, the 2025 edition of the report broadens this framework by placing justice at the centre of food systems transformation. Justice, as defined by the EAT-Lancet Commission, is about the fair distribution of opportunities and resources across the food system.
Whilst welcoming this new focus, at Stockholm we emphasised that justice in food systems must also recognise fair access, accountability, and agency for everyone involved in the production and consumption of food. For this to be achieved, consumers must be a fundamental part of the process.
Consumers take a seat at the table
In the lead-up to the Forum, nine Communities for Action were formed to bring together key groups shaping global food systems, including farmers & fishers, Indigenous Peoples, policymakers, food retail & manufacturers, cities, and consumers.
As co-lead of the Consumer Community for Action, Consumers International and Act4Food convened around 70 participants from across the world, including 27 of our own Members, for a series of Consumer Action Dialogues. Together, we listened, discussed, and co-created a vision for change.
These insights became the foundation of the Consumer Action Brief, also launched in Stockholm. Its message was clear: we must champion systemic change and address the power imbalances that make food systems unjust and unsustainable.
Achieving this vision requires action from all marketplace actors — such as governments, businesses, international institutions, and consumer groups — to help embed consumer rights into the way food is produced, priced, marketed, and governed.
Alongside this call to action, stories of progress from our Members and partners showed how consumer advocates are driving meaningful change on the ground.
Justice in action: Our Members’ stories
Clearer food labelling in Brazil
The Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (Idec, Brazil) led a groundbreaking campaign to make food labelling clearer and more transparent. Working with civil society, academia, and public health agencies, they successfully secured new national regulations requiring accessible, front-of-pack labels on ultra-processed foods. As a result, millions of people can now make healthier, informed choices, and accountability across the food industry has been strengthened.
Building lifelong healthy habits in India
Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC, India) is helping to build a healthier future though its Eat Right campaign. By engaging children and young people as Eat Right Ambassadors, CERC is spreading awareness of nutritious eating habits in schools, homes, and communities. In doing so, CERC is helping to nurture a new generation of informed, health-conscious consumers who will carry these habits for life.
Healthier, easier choices in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, Consumentbond has made it much easier for consumers to eat healthily and sustainably. Through its collaboration with food producers and retailers, the organisation developed labelling guidelines for ‘blended’ products - foods that combine traditional meat or dairy with plant-based ingredients such as legumes or grains. As these products become more common, clear labelling helps consumers understand what exactly they’re buying, supporting transparency, trust, and informed decision-making.
During Stockholm Food Forum
Throughout the Stockholm Food Forum, Consumers International and our Member Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC, India) who joined us on the ground ensured that the consumer voice was heard across key discussions, from global science to the everyday realities of food choice.
For instance, we represented the Consumers Community for Action alongside the Indigenous Peoples and Farmers & Fishers Communities for Action at a discussion entitled, “Across the Table: Action from Farmers and Foodies.” Here, we explored how a consumer rights focus can help build more inclusive food systems by bridging those who grow food and those who eat it. We shared examples such as the inclusive collaborative approach taken by our Member, VOICE (India), working across millet farmers, researchers, and government bodies to bring nutritious local grains into school meals.
Our Director General, Helena Leurent, also took to the main stage to moderate a session which explored how our everyday environments — from supermarket shelves to social media feeds — shape what we eat far more than personal intention alone. Through a variety of different interventions, the discussion examined how better design can make healthy, sustainable eating the simplest, most convenient option.
Our time at the Stockholm Food Forum provided a glimpse of what justice looks like in practice: collaboration, accountability, and consumers driving lasting change.
