We're fed up with unhealthy food flooding our shelves and so are citizens across the country, as well as a growing number of doctors, nutritionists and public figures. Read some of their responses below and add your name to the charter if you haven't yet.

Over 1000 people across the country have already added their names to show support for our recently-launched citizen campaign 'We're Fed Up'. The campaign urges ministers to back calls to stand up to big food companies and make healthy food more affordable - and support is growing from both citizens and public figures.

Read some of their responses below and add your name here.

 

Dr Amos Ogunkoya, GP and British Heart Foundation Health Ambassador:

“As a doctor, I’ve seen that a poor diet is one of the biggest threats to our health in this country, and it's not down to bad choices, it's down to a bad system. Unhealthy food is cheap, it's everywhere, and it's heavily marketed. Healthy food is more expensive and hard to find. That has to change. 

We've seen what's possible - the sugar levy proved that when government acts, industry follows. We need that same boldness now, across the whole food system. That's why I'm backing this Charter and urging everyone to add their name."

 

Charlotte Stirling-Reed, The Baby & Child Nutritionist:

"As a nutritionist, I spend my days helping parents do the best they can for their children's health, but I also see how hard it is when the food environment is somewhat stacked against us! Parents are understandably confused when it comes to the right foods to give their young children. Walk down a baby food aisle & you'll find products covered in health halos that are often misleading - from fruit pouches that seem like a great option for babies, to food labels that really don't make it easy to understand what you're actually buying.

"We know that eating behaviours also track, which means that what we feed babies & toddlers may shape their relationship with food for life. If the most convenient, affordable options on the shelf are consistently the ones less beneficial for our little one's health, we're quite literally setting children up for a lifetime of preferring these options.

"Parents deserve honest, clear products and affordable options that are genuinely good for their little ones. There are some great brands out there flying the flag and showing that healthy, delicious foods for babies and toddlers can be done! Brands have the power to make real changes here and it's time they did."

 

Dev Sharma, youth activist:

"My generation has grown up inside a food environment that nobody our age chose. Healthy food has been pushed out of reach, junk food is cheap and everywhere, and families are being asked to make better choices in a system that's stacked against them. The Citizens' Charter is what people up and down the country said they want from government: a food system built on transparency, accountability and public health. Policies like the sugar tax prove that when government is bold, things change. We're asking ministers to keep being bold again - because my generation can't afford to wait for them to catch up."

 

Rhiannon Lambert, Registered Nutritionist:

“Many families are living in areas where healthy, fibre-rich foods can be harder to access, more expensive or less visible than convenience foods. At the same time, up to 96% of adults in the UK are still not consuming enough fibre, despite it playing such an important role in our long-term health. We cannot continue placing the responsibility solely on individuals whilst the wider food environment makes these healthier choices harder to achieve. Everyone deserves access to affordable, healthy food, regardless of where they live.” 

Zoe Griffiths, Registered Nutritionist:

Making the healthy choice the easy choice can be difficult and with a food system that makes unhealthy choices cheap, prominent and hard to avoid, it can be hard for families to choose and access a healthy diet.

The campaign will gather signatures over the coming months before being handed in to MPs in Westminster this autumn, demonstrating growing concern about unhealthy food environments and public support for stronger regulation across the food system, including as part of the implementation of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan and Government’s Food Strategy.

Show your support for a healthier, fairer food system

Add your name here