Addressing the ‘wicked problem’ of nutrient pollution requires coordinated policies spanning across diverse sectors and environmental systems. Using a case study of Canadian legislation, we apply semantic network analysis to identify thematic links across an inventory of 245 nutrient-related policies. Our analysis identifies twelve topics with unique types of connections across multiple facets of Canadian society. ‘Hub’ policies include broad environmental protection, land use planning, and climate-related legislation with close ties to multiple other topics. ‘Bridge’ policies create connections among otherwise disconnected topics in the network, representing opportunities to inform new policy proposals. Some legislation, such as food processing regulations, indirectly relates to nutrient use but could inform policy integration towards more coordinated and holistic nutrient management across the food system. A computational text network approach can be useful for addressing challenges in complex policy analysis, including by identifying unique entry points to guide more cross-cutting nutrient policy development.

解决营养物污染这一“棘手问题”需要跨不同部门和环境系统的协调政策。通过对加拿大立法的案例研究，我们应用语义网络分析来识别 245 项营养相关政策清单中的主题链接。我们的分析确定了十二个主题，这些主题在加拿大社会的多个方面具有独特的联系类型。 “中心”政策包括广泛的环境保护、土地利用规划以及与多个其他主题密切相关的气候相关立法。 “桥梁”政策在网络中原本互不相连的主题之间建立了联系，代表了为新政策提案提供信息的机会。一些立法，例如食品加工法规，与营养素的使用间接相关，但可以为政策整合提供信息，以实现整个粮食系统更加协调和全面的营养素管理。计算文本网络方法可用于解决复杂政策分析中的挑战，包括通过确定独特的切入点来指导更多跨领域营养政策的制定。