The National Food and Nutrition Policy (PNAN) was implemented in 1999, through a set of Brazilian public policies with the main objective of guaranteeing the constitutional rights to health and nutrition.
According to the latest update, from 2012, this public policy has the mission to improve the population’s food, nutrition and health conditions, through a set of actions aimed at:
- Promoting adequate and healthy eating practices;
- Promoting monitoring dietary intake and nutritional status of the population;
- Implementing a set of integrated actions for the prevention and treatment of different diseases associated with inadequate diet.
To achieve its mission, PNAN has develop several guidelines, in the scope of health determinants and health promotion.
Parallel to PNAN, Brazil also has a National Plan for Food and Nutrition Security (PLANSAN – 2012-2015), which came under the Brazilian strategy to fight poverty and ensure access to an adequate food intake for the entire population, which began in 2003 through the Zero Hunger and Family Grant programs.
Brazil has been a pioneer in policy-making in the area of food and nutrition, with a visible cross-sectoral intervention approach between the various public policies (social, education, agriculture, etc.).
It also stands out as a pioneer in building and implementing a national strategy in order to ensure food security and nutrition for the population, a concept which in Brazil is understood as the “realization of everyone’s right to regular and permanent access to quality foods, in sufficient amount, without compromising access to other essential needs, based on food practices that promote health, respect cultural diversity and that are environmentally, culturally, economically and socially sustainable. ”
In 2010, the Right to Food was included as a social right in the Brazilian Constitution.