[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":96},["ShallowReactive",2],{"pages-686bc82bebae028a1164448d":3},{"_id":4,"state":5,"name":6,"category":7,"theme":8,"components":9,"keywords":89},"686bc82bebae028a1164448d","active","Universal social right to access food through social security","discover","european_food_system_dashboard",[10,22,31,38,45,52,57,64,71],{"type":11,"index":12,"variation":13,"imageURL":14,"title":15,"description":17,"button":19},"header",0,"image_left","https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/8acbb2a1-7483-43c5-a3c4-5f587e5f3010",{"en_GB":16},"Social security for food: Tax to redistribute individual budgets for buying essential foods",{"en_GB":18},"- Food system activity: Final consumption\n- Governance level: National\n- Cluster: Improve nutrition for better health\n- Origin: France\n- Type of policy intervention: Financial",{"label":20,"URL":21},{"en_GB":21},"",{"type":23,"index":24,"variation":25,"imageURL":26,"title":27,"description":29},"image_and_text",1,"image_right","https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/1c0aace6-2325-4a53-96d6-5d50235b85c7",{"en_GB":28},"Intervention Details",{"en_GB":30},"This intervention was brought up in the French summit and seeks to extend the principles of France’s post-World War II welfare model—particularly those governing healthcare—into the domain of food access. At its core, SSA is a transformative food policy that frames access to healthy, sustainable food as a universal social right. Similar to how French citizens currently access healthcare using the *Carte Vitale*, the SSA envisions a *Carte Vitale d’alimentation* that allows individuals to obtain healthy food from accredited providers and receive partial reimbursement through a publicly funded system (Bouviala, 2020). ",{"type":32,"index":33,"variation":34,"imageURL":21,"title":35,"description":36},"title_and_text",2,"title_description",{"en_GB":21},{"en_GB":37},"The SSA is based on three foundational principles:\n1.\tUniversality of the Right to Food: Every citizen, from birth to death, would receive a monthly allocation—typically estimated at €150—to spend on food that meets environmental and social criteria (Cardona & Paturel, 2021).\n2.\tPublic Financing through Social Contributions: Just like healthcare, the SSA would be financed via a single-rate social contribution, deducted mainly from workers’ incomes and salaries (France 24, 2024).\n3.\tDemocratic Governance: Citizens, through locally elected health insurance funds, would play an active role in defining the standards of production. Only producers who adhere to these democratically agreed-upon environmental and ethical criteria would be eligible to participate (Paturel & Cardona, 2021).\nFarmers would enter multi-year agreements with guaranteed volumes and pricing based on production costs. This system aims to ensure fair remuneration for producers while steering agriculture towards agroecological practices, thus creating a virtuous circle benefiting consumers, farmers, and the environment.",{"type":23,"index":39,"variation":13,"imageURL":40,"title":41,"description":43},3,"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/c32b40e5-d2c2-44bb-a1ed-0e0d2ba39795",{"en_GB":42},"Examples of implementation",{"en_GB":44},"The concept of Social Security for Food has been under discussion since 2017 in countries such as France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. While still largely theoretical or experimental at national levels, several French municipalities have piloted localized versions of SSA, testing aspects such as food vouchers and producer agreements ((France 24, 2024; Gralon, 2023). In the academic and policy literature, SSA is frequently discussed in relation to food justice, sustainability, and welfare innovation. According to Paturel and Cardona (2021), SSA represents a critical shift from charitable food aid to rights-based access. Further studies (e.g., Caillavet et al., 2023) have explored the potential impact of SSA on dietary inequalities and agricultural sustainability, highlighting the promising synergies between public health and agroecological transition. While no full-fledged national SSA has yet been implemented in an EU member state, components of the model echo existing schemes in Finland’s school food programs or Italy’s public procurement reforms that favor local and sustainable sourcing (Morgan & Sonnino, 2010).",{"type":23,"index":46,"variation":25,"imageURL":47,"title":48,"description":50},4,"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/afec88ea-040b-4549-a51c-f75cc9a63be5",{"en_GB":49},"Key implementation challenges",{"en_GB":51},"Despite its promising outlook, the implementation of SSA faces several challenges. Operationalizing a new branch of social security would require significant institutional capacity and financial planning. Estimations of €150/month per person would represent a substantial public expenditure, necessitating political consensus and fiscal tools for equitable contribution. Ensuring that SSA effectively improves nutrition and supports agroecological producers depends on the quality of democratic governance and the inclusivity of the accreditation process. Mechanisms must be in place to prevent capture by vested interests and to guarantee that marginalized populations benefit most (Cardona & Paturel, 2021). In terms of public acceptance, while the SSA aligns with rising public concerns about health, inequality, and environmental sustainability, it must also navigate deeply ingrained food consumption norms and the powerful lobbying of industrial agri-food sectors (Bouviala, 2020). ",{"type":32,"index":53,"variation":34,"imageURL":21,"title":54,"description":55},5,{"en_GB":21},{"en_GB":56},"A key strength however—and complication—of SSA is its multi-level governance design. Local health insurance funds play a central role in defining standards and accrediting producers. While this enhances democratic legitimacy and territorial adaptation, it could also lead to disparities and inconsistencies across regions. A national framework would be required to ensure baseline equity while allowing local experimentation and control (France 24, 2024).",{"type":23,"index":58,"variation":13,"imageURL":59,"title":60,"description":62},6,"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/b466ae36-722e-4837-9540-cd11b3d71ab9",{"en_GB":61},"Expert Evaluation",{"en_GB":63},"Experts rated the effectiveness of this policy intervention at an average of 3.19/5.00 (SD = 1.14), indicating a moderate assessment, but ranking 19th out of 20 in comparison to other interventions. While survey respondents noted that the intervention would improve access to food, particularly benefitting vulnerable populations, they also argued it would likely have limited benefits for other population groups. A cross-country comparison shows that Hungary was the most supportive, closely followed by France (4.00, 3.86), whereas Sweden was the most critical (2.20). The average feasibility score was 2.76/5.00 (SD = 1.10), reflecting a moderately negative assessment, and again ranking second to last. The experts’ justifications included high monetary costs, administration and logistical complexity, and challenging public acceptance. Survey respondents identified policy synergies with other interventions such as “transition fund for farmers” and “subsidy and technical support for sustainable and local food provision by the out-of-home food sector”. ",{"type":32,"index":65,"variation":66,"imageURL":21,"title":67,"description":69},7,"title_image_description",{"en_GB":68},"List of References",{"en_GB":70},"•\tBouviala, A. (2020, May 13). *Étendre la Sécurité sociale à l'alimentation : pourquoi pas ?* Reporterre. Retrieved from https://reporterre.net/Etendre-la-Securite-sociale-a-l-alimentation-pourquoi-pas\n\n•\tCaillavet, F., Fadhuile, A., & Nichèle, V. (2023). *Social security for food and its impact on dietary inequalities in France: A simulation study.* Food Policy, 117, 102413. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102413](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102413) \n\n•\tCardona, A., & Paturel, D. (2021). Sécurité sociale de l’alimentation : une utopie concrète ? In F. Sabourin (Ed.), *Pour une sécurité sociale de l'alimentation* (pp. 21–40). Éditions du Croquant.\n\n•\tFrance 24. (2024, May 17). *Local and organic food for all? Bordeaux region trials food 'social security'*. Retrieved from [https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/down-to-earth/20240517-local-and-organic-food-for-all-bordeaux-region-trials-food-social-security](https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/down-to-earth/20240517-local-and-organic-food-for-all-bordeaux-region-trials-food-social-security)\n\n•\tGralon. (2023, November 15). *Food Security Social Welfare: An Idea Tested in Several French Cities*. Retrieved from [https://www.gralon.com/articles/education-and-training/association-and-organization/article-food-security-social-welfare--an-idea-tested-in-several-french-cities-13699.html](https://www.gralon.com/articles/education-and-training/association-and-organization/article-food-security-social-welfare--an-idea-tested-in-several-french-cities-13699.html)\n\n•\tMorgan, K., & Sonnino, R. (2010). *The school food revolution: Public food and the challenge of sustainable development*. Earthscan.\n\n•\tPaturel, D., & Cardona, A. (2021). *Sécurité sociale de l’alimentation : une utopie concrète ?* In F. Sabourin (Ed.), *Pour une sécurité sociale de l'alimentation* (pp. 21–40). Éditions du Croquant.",{"type":72,"index":73,"variation":74,"title":75,"contact1":77,"contact2":83,"contact3":86},"contacts",8,"title_top",{"en_GB":76},"CONTACT",{"imageURL":78,"name":79,"description":81},"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/771281e8-fca5-4ec7-a45c-0addca312f67",{"en_GB":80},"Jeroen Candel",{"en_GB":82},"Associate professor of food and agricultural policy​",{"imageURL":21,"name":84,"description":85},{"en_GB":21},{"en_GB":21},{"imageURL":21,"name":87,"description":88},{"en_GB":21},{"en_GB":21},[90,91,92,93,94,95],"final consumption","national","improve nutrition for better health","france","government services","policy intervention",1776157872472]