German states can shape food policy more than anyone has measured — until now.

Local and regional governments can shape our food environments, which means the places and conditions where people buy and eat food. In countries like Germany, different levels of government share power. However, researchers did not know how much regional states actually use their power to improve food settings. To solve this, researchers built a new tool called a state-specific Food EnvironmentFood EnvironmentThe physical and social surroundings that shape what people eat — like which foods are available, how they are priced, and how they are marketed. Policy Index. They created this tool by looking at 128 legal, policy, and secondary documents, interviewing key informants, gathering written expert feedback, and running an online expert workshop. The system checks 25 specific indicators organized across 12 domains. These cover areas like food labels, marketing, subsidies, food provision, retail, food waste, and government infrastructure. The researchers found 57 good practice examples from regional governments and designed a streamlined four-step method. This proves that regional governments hold substantial power to shape healthy food settings.

Why it matters

Most food-policy research looks at national governments, yet in Germany the states hold real power over food environments. This tool makes those state-level policies visible and comparable, so citizens and advocates can see which states are doing well and where they fall short.

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