iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

⚽️You really have to wonder at what point do these millionaire footballers decline to take junk food ad money? Given their professional lives were dedicated to peak health you would hope they would hesitate before endorsing McDonald’s to the masses..

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Genuinely intrigued by how many sponsored #McDonalds ads of non-compliant food I’m seeing. Reddit, Facebook, on-demand TV… 🤳The new marketing rules banning these kinds of online ads in the UK came into force in January. They’ve had plenty of time so why the continued blitz of junk food ads? 🤔

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

I wonder how many other little kids like my 6 year old son are being exposed to this #CocaCola marketing in their #WorldCup sticker books?

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

🤔🍟Sponsored ad for non-compliant food on Facebook and earlier in the day another on the on-demand tv service… Has McDonald’s just decided it’s above the UK law which bans these kinds of ads?

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Irony lost in Belfast’s @sainsburys.bsky.social. A wonderful wall showing kids’ ideas of what a healthy plate is buffeted by a wall of coke 😐 Why not help these kids make their healthy plates a reality and stop promoting junk food in key areas of the shop? Retailers can and should do so much more!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Some startling stats today at the All-Ireland Obesity Action Forum’s conference on the impacts of digital marketing. 💰 Digital advertising spend due to be $1 trillion by 2028 🇮🇪 Children spend 4.5 hours on average on digital devices (some up to 10 hrs!) 🍟 Exposed to unhealthy food ads every 4 mins

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Why can sugary cereals or even candies proudly boast about vitamin D or ‘no fat’? Well because the EU hasn’t done its job…for *17* years. Nutritional standards - ‘nutrient profiles’ - would’ve stopped these kinds of misleading claims on labels but the EU has missed the deadline since.. 19/01/2009🎂

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

🍬‘One portion = Happiness!’ Great that Haribo have made giant stuffed toy versions of their sweets…🙄 Now they can market to kids *inside* their bedrooms. This is of course a company who claim they don’t market to under 16s

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Maybe some Irish and EU policymakers could pick up a copy of this kid’s book I found today.. Which seems to have a better grasp of what needs to happen to livestock agriculture in Ireland…

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

But not at all convinced by the Commission’s plans to work on food information… 🤨Portion sizes (unrealistic, set by industry), 🤨Digital info (useless for busy consumers), 🤨Focus on processing only (nutrition is crucial too!) 🚥Of course no mention of the most effective label out there- #NutriScore

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

♥️ Good to see diets haven’t been totally ignored in the new EU ‘Safe Hearts Plan’ but still so much untapped potential to address #foodenvironments Hoping in particular the evaluation of unhealthy food marketing to kids will indeed lead to a proposal for stricter rules (how could it not?!)

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

🎯 Very sick of passing this bus stop ad with my little ones this month (obviously they think it’s great - ‘Santa!!’) If junk food ads on tv are worth regulating then junk food ads outdoors are too

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

New 🇮🇹 food faux outrage just dropped 🥱 Lollobrigida upset a jar of carbonara has the wrong type of processed meat (yes really). Always reminds me of the excellent @financialtimes.com on the invention of Italian food traditions. As American as it is Italian it seems..pork jowl not until the 90s..

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

More great news on the state of children’s health

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Very sorry to read that Eurocare will be closing its Brussels office. The EU alcohol industry is a lobbying juggernaut which has maintained its unjustified special treatment for decades. With no dedicated EU public health org working on alcohol, fixing this imbalance is now even more difficult :(

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Not only is the NutrInform battery (made in 🇮🇹 as an ‘alternative’ to the #Nutriscore) nowhere to be seen in Italian supermarkets (apart from a few Ferrero products 🤨), but as the programme shows, very complex and not easy to understand! A total red herring 😒

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Watching the last itw I did before leaving 🇧🇪 (and @beuc.eu 😢) on the sabotage of the #NutriScore Great exposure of the unprecedented level of lobbying against a public health tool in 🇮🇹. From Ferrero to Meloni, Coldiretti to Federalimentare: shocking the effort made to stop it becoming the EU label

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Think I need a shower after reading this exposé into the dirty tricks of the meat industry (and their paid shills) who worked relentlessly to undermine the EAT Lancet planetary diet... Having had the misfortune to engage with one of the mis-influencers mentioned, this paragraph👇 rings very true:

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

New ridiculous health claim on food just dropped… Anti-aging granola 🙃

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

🌱Good news buried in this article is that consumers are almost unanimously (91%) willing to try *plant * based alternatives to meat. As the 🇩🇰 minister says, we need to enact policy levers to make that shift ‘easy and tasty’ instead of blaming. @eu2025dk.bsky.social should have lots to share!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

And this is not even a concern for most consumers, as long as the label is clear! ➡️ tinyurl.com/BEUCVeggieBu...

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

😔Child obesity rates in England set to rise in *90%* of the country. Of course the areas most affected are also the most deprived. Who can doubt that the food system is broken? And at what point does the drastic deterioration in children’s health see a policy response at the necessary scale?

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

🚥 So who said the #NutriScore was over? Fantastic news as Romania prioritises consumer interests and approves the use of the label + officially notifies it to the Commission. Let the momentum continue 👀 technical-regulation-information-system.ec.europa.eu/en/notificat...

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Fraser Goodwin of @epha-eu.bsky.social: Poor diets are much more than just personal choices. Highlights the report from @beuc.eu @epha-eu.bsky.social and @eurogroupforanimals.org ‘The Illusion of Choice’ - it is #foodenvironments which need changed www.beuc.eu/sites/defaul...

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

@beuc.eu Director @arcapde.bsky.social highlights the excoriating rise of NCDs in Europe as well as the worrying levels of childhood #obesity. Consumers want to eat healthier and more sustainably but the #foodenvironments we live in push them in the wrong direction. Needs tackled!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Götz Brandau, LIDL, makes the point that it’s easy to point the figure at consumers but you need to make sure the offer is there for them. Having plant based options in the product categories at the supermarket is key!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

MEP Wiesek @reneweurope.bsky.social makes lots of good points in his introductory remarks. 💚Plant based diets are an essential component of the transition to more sustainable food systems. 💚We have an inspiring example of how to do it from 🇩🇰. 💚Not about eliminating choices but expanding them!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

🌱Packed room at today’s event in the @europarl.europa.eu on plant based foods. Clear interest from across the political spectrum about how the EU can move to more production *and* more consumption of #plantbased food!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

🥤‘It can’t be up to parents, grandparents + other concerned individuals to regulate this massive industry + its insidious advertising.’ ⚽️Nice article on why #CocaCola pays💰for sports sponsorship (+ why it should be stopped from doing so)👇 www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic...

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

At today’s @euractiv.com conference Agri commissioner @christophehansen.bsky.social underlines the importance of reciprocity on #animalwelfare for both agricultural producers + NGOS. Our @beuc.eu survey showed indeed that this is very important to consumers too 👇 www.beuc.eu/sites/defaul...

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

🥣Breakfast cereal industry-funded paper says breakfast cereals are healthy shocker. But what about the fact cereals are one of the biggest contributors to sugar intake? Unfortunately the word ‘reformulation’ doesn’t appear once. Instead ‘policy messaging’ (ie consumer education) is preferred 🙄

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

🥩🍗🥓 In the UK, as in 🇪🇺, meat consumption is too high incl. for processed meat. 🔽Interesting new report on: 🍽️ Who eats the most & where? 🌎 Why it matters? 🫛How can we ↘️ consumption? Recommendations include: procurement, a plant based food strategy + mandatory reporting! ✅

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

⚠️Un-beli-iev-able! Not only are junk food ad rules being delayed *again* (after heavy lobbying), it looks like brand marketing will be allowed. This means that brands like #CocaCola can simply swap their full-sugar can for the practically-identical zero sugar one in an ad + be deemed compliant!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

👀Absolutely fascinating insight into the tone the UK food industry feels it can take when lobbying public authorities to amend food policy to their liking. Reads more like demands of a disappointed boss than an industry stakeholder talking to govt authorities…

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

🧑‍🌾Our new report on consumer attitudes▶️the CAP is out👇 🙂 6/10 have a positive view about agriculture BUT.. ⚠️A significant number don't think CAP subsidies are fully achieving key consumer priorities e.g.: 💊Reducing antibiotic or pesticides use 💵Food affordability We need a #CAPforConsumers too!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Commissioner Várhelyi admits we are entering an era where almost a whole generation will have an underlying condition: diabetes, #obesity. We have to act. He says he's working on a plan where those who contribute to these damages will contribute to overcome them... 👀 We'll be following closely!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Good point well made by MEP @martinhaeusling.bsky.social! Childhood obesity is a serious problem and our kids are far too exposed to high levels of fats, salt and sugar. We need urgent labelling! Can only agree: effective nutrition labels really can help consumers opt for healthier choices!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

MEP @christopheclergeau.bsky.social makes an excellent point to the Commissioner for Health in today's ENVI committee meeting: *Food* is part of prevention! But where is the action...Proposals on nutritional labelling were planned but haven't appeared... Indeed! More ambition required...

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

The UK has made big strides + will soon implement new rules on marketing. BUT this new study shows that regulators need to be ++ comprehensive. Advertisers will always exploit a loophole so the junk food ads still permitted (social media posts, brand ads, podcasts etc) will need to be addressed!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

Bit of a blind spot here… ✅Yes - addressing obesity has incredibly significant economic benefits for governments ❌But no, it doesn’t need to be (very expensive) drugs which get us there! We live in unhealthy #foodenvironments which constantly push us in the wrong direction. Fix that first!

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Some room for improvement - sponsorship+packaging are exempted - but a good start. At the 🇪🇺 level, the new Vision proposed by @christophehansen.bsky.social unfortunately fails to address unhealthy marketing▶️kids, only committing to monitoring its effects (which are already well known) (3/4)

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Even more reason for the EU to stand firm in its defence of food safety standards in trade discussions... Withdrawing planned improvements in salmonella containment at a time when USDA data (👇) shows the already worryingly high levels is 🤯 What happened to #MakeAmericaHealthyAgain?

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

The lesser spotted *healthy* food marketing in Belgium 😁 Makes a pleasant change from the usual fast food, cola and booze ads we (and our kids) are normally inundated with 👏 @ #Lidl

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

🎮🍟No guesses why food companies like McDonald’s or Oreo are spending big to sponsor the #Minecraft movie… Extremely popular (with young children too), undoubtedly a savvy business move. 🛑But policymakers need to take the reins back + end this kind of kid-friendly marketing of unhealthy food

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Today, AGRI MEPs discuss the new🍷package. ⚠️Unfortunately, one of the proposals on labels will leave consumers even more confused by QR codes. Replacing word descriptions of what info the QR code contains (e.g. ingredients) with a symbol ('i') makes them even more opaque for shoppers (1/2)

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Feels familiar.. The 🇫🇷 govt's new nutrition strategy has failed to: ✂️ Aim to reduce meat consumption 🍟 Regulate unhealthy food ads▶️kids (bc the TV channels would lose ad💰..) At the same time 🥩~1/3 🇫🇷 consumers eat too much meat 🥓~2/3 eat too much charcuterie 🍌Almost 3/4 don't eat enough fruit+veg

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

⚠️Disappointing to see yet more knee-bending to🍷industry lobbies who don't even want to tell consumers *what* info they can find in a QR code. 2023: DG Agri said symbols were not sufficient (need words) Now position has changed. Acc. to new proposal wine industry won't even need to use words! 😒

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

‘Agriculture should be better integrated with dietary guidelines’ says Lynette Neufeld of the @fao.org

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Our survey report here 👇: www.beuc.eu/sites/defaul...

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Emma Calvert @emmacalvert.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Our @beuc.eu #animalwelfare survey showed that consumers are barely aware of some of the more shocking practices in livestock farming. Yet support for improved standards is already very high (9/10!). Perhaps if we had more transparency on such practices public support would be *even* higher (1/2)

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