ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how the issue of sustainable diets might be addressed. It outlines what is meant by the word 'governance'. The chapter considers the decline of state influence over society and the rise of neoliberal consumerist thinking. It also suggests that the outcome of contemporary governance will be shaped by the degree of coordination and organisation of social forces who want dietary change in line with ecosystems health. Modern policy actors now include companies, civil society organisations, consumers and professions, as well as the weakened state. One of the reasons academic studies of public policy introduced the term 'governance' was to capture a shift from an 'old' politics to a 'new' politics, from top-down governance to more fluid and contested processes. The term 'governance' came into policy language in the late twentieth century because the role of the State came under concerted and deliberate political attack.
