Opening Address by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Envrionment and Water Resources, at the Inaugural World Food Future For Women Conference, 26 March 2019

Ms Trina Liang, Chief Executive Officer, Halo Health Asia, Chair of World Food Future

Ms Mrinalini Venkatachalam, Chief Operations Officer, Halo Health Asia, Co-chair of World Food Future

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. A very good morning to one and all. I am pleased to join you here today at the inaugural World Food Future for Women Conference. We have here today with us, policymakers, scientists, nutritionists, business leaders, and I think very importantly, taste-makers, to discuss hot-button food and nutrition issues, as well as the latest food innovations.

2. What makes this conference unique is its focus on women as the key decision makers of food and nutrition choices for their families. But of course, we should not forget the men, who also play an important role in co-creating a positive environment to encourage healthy living for their family. I am indeed glad to see that there are many men in the audience here today as well.

3. Working in both the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), indeed I see first-hand how issues related to food, health, and the environment are inter-connected. What we eat affects our health and also has wider environmental implications. As such, the topics covered today including food safety and sustainability are timely, as we re-think and re-invent ways to encourage sustainable healthy eating, for our health and the environment.

Importance of Good Nutrition for Good Health

4. According to the Global Burden of Diseases 2017 study, unhealthy diet is the top risk factor for death and ill health in Singapore, even above tobacco use and conditions such as hypertension. This is driven by diets that are often high in sugar and sodium, and low in wholegrains. The Health Promotion Board’s (HPB) latest 2018 National Nutrition Survey provided further insights into Singaporeans’ diet. While we are seeing an encouraging trend of lower calorie intake, our diets are still too high in sugar, especially from sugar-sweetened beverages, confectionery and desserts, and salt from seasonings and sauces added during food preparation.

5. In 2016, MOH declared War on Diabetes to rally a whole-of-nation effort to reduce the burden of diabetes in our population and keep Singaporeans healthy as we age. Creating a conducive environment for Singaporeans to adopt a healthy lifestyle remains a key strategic thrust in the War on Diabetes, and we are making good progress.

6. HPB has introduced many programmes over the years to encourage healthy eating and to improve health literacy. In addition to healthier food options, which are now more accessible, with more than 1,200 food and beverage (F&B) partners on board the Healthier Dining Programme, offering at least one healthier food or drink option as part of their permanent core menu. These healthier options are also tagged with visual identifiers at the stalls, which serve as nudges to prompt consumers to choose them. The Healthier Dining Programme works in tandem with other initiatives, such as the nationwide Eat, Drink, Shop Healthy Challenge, where participants are rewarded with Healthpoints for making healthier choices. These Healthpoints can in turn be used to redeem rewards. More than 530,000 participants took part in this challenge from August to October last year. This is an encouraging step towards a healthier nation but we must and will continue to do more and do better.

7. MOH announced recently that we will be banning partially hydrogenated oils (PHO), the main source of artificial trans-fat in our diet. Artificial trans-fat increases the risk of heart disease and has no known health benefits. By banning PHO, we are creating a healthier food environment in Singapore, benefiting Singaporeans.

8. We have also conducted a public consultation to seek views on how we can reduce Singaporeans’ sugar intake from pre-packaged sugar sweetened beverages. This is important as the over-consumption of such drinks, which is a large discretionary source of sugar, increases our risk of obesity and diabetes. We are carefully considering the feedback and will share the findings from the public consultation in due course.

Cultivating Healthy Lifestyles from Young

9. We know that our palates, like other habits, are developed from young. It is therefore important that we educate and encourage children to choose healthy options as this can help create lifelong preferences for healthy foods and hence better health. It is with this vision in mind, that World Food Future (WFF) will launch FoodSteps in April, a school nutrition education programme, where volunteers – including parents, caregivers, as well as individuals passionate about food and nutrition – will teach primary school children how to make healthy food choices in fun and interactive ways.

10. FoodSteps will be piloted at South West CDC starting next month - an area that, as its past mayor, remains close to my heart. The pilot aims to reach 1,500 students from 15 schools, and has a special focus on students from disadvantaged families, in recognition of the greater challenges that this group may face in leading healthy lifestyles. I am heartened to know that all net proceeds of this conference will be going towards FoodSteps.

Singapore Food Agency – Eating Better with Peace of Mind

11. Even as we encourage healthy eating habits, we must first have a resilient supply of safe food. Food security is fundamental to our national security. We cannot take our food safety and security for granted as the food and agriculture landscape is changing rapidly as a result of rising global population, climate change and the growing complexity of global food supply chains.

12. Hence, we are consolidating the regulatory functions currently undertaken by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), the National Environment Agency (NEA), and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) relating to the different aspects of food safety and security into a single agency called the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). The agency will be established this coming Monday on 1 April.

13. SFA will partner businesses to transform our food industry, and seize opportunities in the agri-food sector to enhance our food security. SFA has set an ambitious goal to meet 30% of Singapore’s nutritional needs by 2030 or what is referred to as the “30 by 30” vision. This represents a multi-fold increase to our current production, and will require our agri-food industry to transform into one that is highly productive and employs climate-resilient and sustainable technologies that will enable us to overcome our land, water, energy and manpower constraints. SFA will also work closely with food importers to diversify import sources and support our companies to expand and grow overseas so that their produce can be exported back home.

14. As the lead agency overseeing food safety and security, SFA will be better positioned to holistically manage the entire farm-to-fork supply chain. It will also be better able to identify and remedy critical points, and respond more quickly to food safety incidents. For example, in the event of a contamination incident, there will be a single team with oversight of the entire food supply chain to conduct a thorough investigation, enabling SFA to respond more promptly to trace the source of contamination.

15. To ensure that our food continues to be safe for consumption and standards are benchmarked internationally, the National Centre for Food Science will be formed under SFA to bring together key competencies in food diagnostics and research on food safety to deepen food safety expertise in Singapore. Ultimately, we want Singaporeans to be able to eat healthily and with peace of mind.

The Impact of Food on the Environment

16. Beyond cultivating healthy living, what we eat also has an impact on the wider environment we live in. Notably, the World Economic Forum highlighted in a 2016 article that the food we eat is responsible for almost a third of our global carbon footprint¹.

17. Different foods have different carbon footprint. This means that changes to our diet can benefit both our health and the environment. For example, by adopting a balanced diet lower in red meat, we can reduce our risk of heart attack and stroke, while reducing our carbon footprint at the same time. The production of one kilogramme of beef creates about 13.3 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide. In comparison, one kilogramme of poultry or vegetable produces less than a quarter of that amount of carbon dioxide. Such information empowers people to be more aware of the impact their food choices and how it affects the environment, and encourages them to choose sustainable eating which encompasses foods that are sourced and produced sustainably.

18. Choosing locally grown produce such as eggs, fish and vegetables, also helps protect the environment. Local produce travels a shorter distance, thereby getting to the nearest retail outlets in a shorter time. This also significantly reduces Singapore’s carbon footprint and allows local produce to arrive fresher and retain more nutrients.

19. Sustainable eating also includes reducing food waste. A 2017 Household Waste Study by NEA found that food waste accounts for about half of the waste disposed by each Singapore household daily, and more than half of this food waste could have been avoided if they were better managed, such as by buying and cooking the right proportions. Besides reducing food waste, we also need to better recycle our food waste, one of the three key waste streams we are focusing on in our Zero Waste Masterplan this year. In 2018, we only recycled 17% of the 763,000 tonnes of food waste we generated. As part of the Zero Waste Masterplan, MEWR will require commercial and industrial premises that generate large amounts of food waste to segregate it for treatment from 2024. By reducing and recycling food waste, we can further reduce our carbon footprint for a better environment.

Conclusion

20. So food, health, and environment are intricately linked. By being mindful of what we eat, we can make positive strides towards protecting both ourselves and the planet’s health. As women, we can continue to make powerful decisions for our children and family, both in choosing healthier options and also in influencing their lifestyle habits.

21. I wish everyone good health and a most fruitful and productive conference. Thank you.

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(1) Here’s the real impact of the food we eat on the environment. Article published on WEF on 12 December 2016.