In this paper, the development of food policy in relation to food self-sufficiency and food system is reviewed. The food policy in the post-war period was formed outside the framework of Agriculture Basic Act to promote food production and the food industry, but it was incorporated into the framework of Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas Basic Act during the Heisei period based on the development of the linkage between food and agriculture. With the recession of food consumption in the mid-1990s, the circumstances surrounding food and food products have changed dramatically. A unified approach to food and agricultural policy, including consumption stimuli, is required.

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Since the Second International Conference on Nutrition in 2014, several international organizations have reported that the involvement of the food system is critical for solving global health and nutrition issues and for protecting the global environment. At about the same time, the Food System Research Association of Japan has discussed related themes at annual conferences. In this special issue, we asked both nutrition researchers and food system researchers to provide topics on “health and sustainable diet”. We expect this issue will enhance related research and advocacy by the Association, consisting of members with various academic and business backgrounds, such as food economics, food science, food production, food industry management, and nutrition.

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The purpose of this report is mainly to introduce the global reference diet from the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Diet from Sustainable Food System (EAT-Lancet) and guiding principles on sustainable healthy diets published by Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization. These eating patterns were recommended to promote human health while staying within the carrying capacity of the environment on the planet. The EAT-Lancet eating pattern is based on mostly plant-based foods and limited amounts of red meat and saturated fats. This report has summarized what kind of action plan is needed to incorporate such dietary patterns internationally or in Japan, but it was also shown that there are some issues that need further consideration. In order to achieve sustainable healthy diet, not only education such as information provision that stimulates demand for sustainable diet patterns for consumers, but also transforming food system to improve accessibility and availability of the adequate diet by consumers is needed.

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Previous studies showed that a reference diet that meets nutritional requirements, within planetary boundaries to minimize damage to Earth’s systems. And increased consumption of plant-based foods while limiting animal source foods minimize damage. Healthy diet and sustainable food consumption are key. We discussed these key theme in some symposiums of the Food System Research of Japan. In this paper, I reviewed those discussions about food accessibility for healthy diet and credence attribute of foods, and defined three functions of food retailers. First, the stores must be located at social needed place for all. Secondly, the stores must keep providing good quality foods. Third, the stores must contribute to communication of the quality of process. Then I estimated mutual relationship of the household attributes and the location of supermarkets, convenience stores in Hiroshima prefecture and Okayama prefecture. The result of the multiple regression analysis concluded that supermarket stores couldn’t be located at social needed place by the market principle.

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In this paper, the analysis was conducted on the premise that “Resilience” is a concept to realize “Sustainability” of food systems, which is implemented by minimizing out-of-stock items and food loss and waste by stable and advanced demand forecasting even under difficult circumstances. As the data, the number of customers purchased and the correction rate of the demand forecast during the self-restraint period of the high-low pricing notice of food supermarkets, which is a COVID-19 measure, were used.
As a result of the analysis, there was a suggestion that the number of customers was leveled, but no change was found in the accuracy of demand forecast. However, the self-restraint of the High-Low Pricing announcement may have contributed to leveling the number of customers and stabilizing the demand forecast accuracy even during the COVID-19 countermeasure period. Therefore, the resilience of food supermarkets analyzed in this study can be evaluated as high. Keywords: food loss and waste, sustainability, resilience, COVID-19, SDGs, super market

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In 1969, I developed “Ecology of Human and Food” as a new field of nutrition sciences that emphasizes relationships among people, food, and community. In nutrition education based on Ecology of Human and Food, the goal is sustainable harmonious coexistence of “quality of life” and “quality of environment” of each person. I have emphasized the cycle of practice, research, theory, and practice in nutrition education. I have also developed and promoted a conceptual framework named “Food and nutrition dynamics” in the community: FND. The FND has both sides of the food system and the food information/communication system, and FND is useful for people to share their expertise in solving various areas, lifestyles, and problems. This figure is being developed and used in various places in Japan and overseas. I expect further developments of FND. Specifically, it is to build a “flexible” overall bird's-eye view that can be freely developed and utilized while changing the direction and emphasis points according to regional characteristics and issues. As a result, the FND will be a theoretical and practical framework that can be shared by every single person in the community.

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