Are ultra-processed foods the next addiction? Lessons from tobacco for Europe’s regulatory response
When? 6 October from 14:00–16:00 CET
Where? Press Club Brussels Europe, Rue Froissart 95, 1040 Brussels
Type of event? In-person only
Join EuroHealthNet, Amsterdam UMC and the FEAST initiative in Brussels on 6 October for an in-person policy discussion on how Europe could tackle its rising consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs).
Laura A. Schmidt, Professor of Health Policy in the School of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), will reveal how tobacco-owned food companies helped engineer the food we eat today, and what decades of tobacco control can teach us about regulating UPFs. Leading researchers, policymakers and public health experts will ask what it would take for Europe to act before the disease burden grows.
About the event
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) already make up a large share of what Europeans eat, and the research tying them to obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases keeps growing, piling pressure on health systems and public budgets. Yet Europe's response has stalled: key measures under the Farm to Fork strategy have been delayed, watered down or quietly shelved.
This was never just about willpower. UPFs are designed to be overeaten, engineered to make the unhealthy choice the cheap, easy default.
When it came to tobacco, the EU proved it could act decisively to protect its citizens' health. Marketing restrictions, health warnings and taxation reshaped behaviour across the union and became one of the EU's defining public health achievements. Now, striking new evidence shows why that track record matters for what's on our plates: the same corporations that built the cigarette business, using the same tactics, helped engineer today's UPFs.
Europe rewrote the rules on tobacco. The question now is whether it can do the same for UPFs.
Agenda
13:30 - 14:00 - Welcome and registration
14:00 - 14:05 - Opening remarks
- Chair: Caroline Costongs - Director, EuroHealthNet
14:05 - 14:25 - Keynote: Commercial Determinants of Health: From Cigarettes to Ultra- Processed Foods
- Laura A. Schmidt PhD, Professor, UCSF School of Medicine, on how the tobacco industry engineered and spread ultra-processed foods, and what tobacco control teaches us about regulating them.
Moderators:
- Caroline Costongs – Director, EuroHealthNet
- Luc Hagenaars PhD - Assistant Professor, Amsterdam UMC
14:45 - 14:55 - Refreshments
14:55 - 15:20 - Moderated panel — EU policymakers respond to the keynote and discussion, focusing on the regulatory options for UPFs in Europe(opens in new tab)
Moderator: Caroline Costongs – Director, EuroHealthNet
Panellists
- Dr Romana Jerković – Member of the European Parliament, S&D, Croatia
- Laurence Doughan, Senior expert in Nutrition and Food policy - Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, Belgium
- Maria João Gregório, PhD, Director of the National Healthy Eating Promotion Program - Directorate-General of Health, Portugal
- Marleen Kestens, Manager CVD Prevention Policies, European Heart Network, and Co-lead, Food Environments Task Force – EU Food Policy Coalition
15:20 - 15:50 - Open Q&A — audience questions to Prof. Schmidt and the panellists
Moderator: Joreintje Mackenbach, PhD - Associate Professor, Amsterdam UMC
15:50 - 16:00 - Summary of findings & Closing remarks
Moderators:
- Luc Hagenaars PhD - Assistant Professor, Amsterdam UMC
- Caroline Costongs – Director, EuroHealthNet
From 16:15 - Press conference with Prof. Laura A. Schmidt
Registration and further information
For further information, please contact EuroHealthNet's Policy Officer, Rebecca-Evelyn Papp at: r-e.papp@eurohealthnet.eu
Register now as places are limited. See you in Brussels!
