Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcast on the demographic challenges linked to food and nutrition.

While the world population keeps on growing, the EU's population is growing only slowly and is even expected to decline in the longer term. So how will these demographic

changes impact on food and nutrition? Is there a link here?

Yes there is. Even if improving food quality and healthier eating habits lead to higher life expectancy,

the EU still has to tackle the harmful consequences and prevent the causes of diet-related

chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Want to know more?

Stay with us.

Demography matters. Let's get this straight from the beginning. The economy and the labour market,

but also social protection, healthcare, the environment, food and nutrition are all driven by demography.

The population of EU countries has grown substantially by around a quarter since 1960,

and currently it stands at almost 450 million.

But the numbers are now beginning to stagnate, and are expected to decline from around the

middle of this century.

But the world population has grown much faster, reaching nearly 7.7 billion today,

and it is projected to pass 10 billion

in 2057, 11 billion in 2,100.

Yes, that's a lot of human beings.

But there are not only more people on the planet, there are also more elderly people.

As life expectancy increases and fertility rates fall below past levels,

the EU population is aging dramatically.

And as people tend to move to wherever there are jobs and career opportunities,

...