Healthy Food for All
Throughout history, human communities have been challenged by a simple question: how do we make sure everyone has enough good food to eat?
Here in the 21st-century United States, with all resources and technological prowess, we still struggle to answer that question. Though hunger is less widespread than it once was, food insecurity still clouds the lives of tens of millions of families. And in recent decades, we’ve created a new problem: not a shortage of food, but too much of the wrong kinds.
Eating ourselves sick
Increasing access to healthy food could help reduce diabetes rates—especially for communities of color. But the solution is not as simple as "more supermarkets."
Diet-related illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease take a terrible toll in human lives, well-being, and healthcare costs. These health impacts hit the most vulnerable members of our communities hardest. And there is solid evidence connecting this epidemic of metabolic disease to a national diet that is far too high in processed foods and added sugar.
We know how to make ourselves healthier: eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins, and cut down on added sugars, processed foods, and meat. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published every five years by USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been communicating this science-based message to the public for a long time now.Unfortunately, one key player is conspicuously ignoring the US government’s nutrition advice: the US government. Federal farm policy continues to incentivize overproduction of corn and soybeans, which are mostly used to produce—you guessed it—added sugar, processed foods, and meat. We need new policies that do more to enable farmers to grow healthy food.
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