- 21/05/2026
The health effects of chemical exposure depend not only on the hazard itself, but also on the body’s capacity
to defend, adapt, and recover. This varies between individuals and is strongly shaped by nutritional status,
making nutrition a foundational determinant of occupational health risk.
Adequate nutrition supports immune function, metabolic regulation, tissue repair, and detoxification processes.
Sufficient energy, protein, essential minerals, micronutrients, and antioxidants are required for the body to
maintain physiological stability and respond effectively to harmful substances. When these nutritional needs
are met, workers are better equipped to withstand and recover from ongoing occupational exposures.
- 14/05/2026
Chemical exposure is a growing occupational health concern as industrialization and technological change increase workers’ contact with hazardous substances. While occupational safety and health frameworks focus on managing exposure, they do not fully address chemicals that accumulate in the body and weaken immune function. Chemical exposure and poor nutrition can reinforce each other, increasing vulnerability to illness Integrating workforce nutrition into chemical risk management strengthens resilience, supports immunity, and provides an additional layer of protection for workers.
- 24/04/2026
Ensuring access to safe food is one of the core goals of food systems, yet millions of people worldwide get sick from unsafe food every year. This case study examines the development and adoption of international guidelines for food safety – specific to the traditional markets where many lower-income-country consumers buy their
food. It shows how considering the needs and challenges of specific contexts when formulating guidelines or more formal policies can make for a more equitable enabling environment for food system transformation.
- 24/04/2026
Young people are an influential force in food systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, yet their perspectives remain underrepresented in policy and decision-making.
This case study explores how youth leadership programmes can strengthen young people’s understanding of food systems, develop their leadership and communication skills, and enable them to engage meaningfully with stakeholders across multiple levels. It illustrates how experiential learning, peer collaboration, and opportunities for collective action allow youth to influence decision-making, advocate for inclusive reforms, and contribute to sustainable transformation.
The study highlights how positioning young people as active participants in food systems can gain traction and considers how such approaches could be scaled and institutionalised to ensure that youth perspectives are systematically integrated into food system initiatives.
- 24/04/2026
Young people represent a critical yet underutilised force in transforming food systems. This case study examines how youth-led collective action campaigns can serve as a mechanism to amplify youth voices and influence food system
transformation. It shows how young people can engage with decision-makers at both local and national levels to shape agendas, embed inclusivity, and create opportunities for meaningful participation in policy processes. This case underscores how collective action can reposition young people as active agents of change in food system policy and offers insights on how policymakers and stakeholders can support the integration of youth perspectives into formal decision-making structures.
- 20/04/2026
Many adults spend most of their waking hours at the workplace, making the latter a strategic, yet underappreciated, environment for health and well-being interventions. In the context of food systems, an impactful change that can be fostered through workplaces is improved nutrition through workforce nutrition (WFN) programmes. However, the process of gaining support for such programmes and the potential for having employers lead their design and uptake remain underexamined.
- 02/03/2026
Many adults spend most of their waking hours in the workplace, making it an important—yet underappreciated—leverage point for change. In the context of food systems, workplaces can contribute to significantly improved nutrition through employer-provided nutrition programmes (also known as ‘workforce nutrition programmes’ (WFN)). However, the process of gaining support for these initiatives and the potential for institutionalising them within policy remain underexamined. This case study aims to address this by examining the development of WFN in Bangladesh, including at the factory level and through the government-led National Workforce Nutrition Alliance (NWNA). It also considers opportunities for integrating nutrition considerations into occupational safety and health (OSH) policies, regulations, and practices in Bangladesh.
- 26/02/2026
Many adults spend most of their waking hours at the workplace, making the latter a strategic, yet underappreciated, environment for health and well-being interventions. Evidence shows that workforce nutrition initiatives can improve workers’ health and well-being as well as business outcomes, yet their full potential as occupational and public health interventions remain underexplored. This paper examines the extent to which collective bargaining agreements globally include clauses on workforce nutrition, operationalised as healthy food at work, breastfeeding support, nutrition-focused health checks and follow-up, and nutrition education. Using web-based and bibliographic searches, the study identified open-access global, national, and sector-specific collective bargaining agreement (CBA) repositories. It analysed 26,015 agreements from the WageIndicator CBA database (global coverage), Légifrance (France), and the Office of Personnel Management (US) databases. Explicit references to workforce nutrition were rare.
- 20/08/2025
The global burden of malnutrition, poor mental health, depression, and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) continues to grow, contributing significantly to mortality
and poor health, reduced productivity, and economic stagnation. With over 60% of the
population engaged in the workforce and spending more than half of their adult lives at
work, the workplace offers a strategic platform to address these challenges. One
important aspect of worker wellbeing is nutrition, which fuels the body, improves
cognitive and immune function, and reduces sick days and NCD risk.
- 27/05/2025
Adequate nutrition is essential for physical and cognitive development, improved health outcomes, and enhanced overall individual productivity, all of which contribute to broader macroeconomic and societal growth. However, malnutrition remains a pressing challenge, particularly in low- and medium-income countries, including Nigeria. Recent findings from the National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey reveal multiple forms of malnutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies.
