Cathy Burns, Chief Executive Officer, Produce Marketing Association Produce must anchor every diet. Education and infrastructure investments can drive demand and reduce waste, ensuring more produce is consumed, not lost. Experts advocate a produce-rich diet for health—food as medicine—so people can fend off illness and enjoy a productive life. Produce is also at the heart of the world’s cuisines and family traditions—food as a centering point that strengthens relationships and culture as families and communities gather around a common table. Consuming a diet consisting largely of fruits and vegetables, for example, can help stave off the cognitive and physical decline that oftentimes accompanies aging. For example, healthy diets have been linked to lower risks of heart disease, or, in fact, death from any cause, according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association . Yet few people consume the minimum of 400 grams a day of these delicious, nutritious foods. Although 75% of Americans, according to one NPR poll , believe they are eating healthy, 80% actually don’t eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. Addressing issues around this gap can increase consumption, which will enhance individuals’ health as well as economic health for food systems and workers. Consumers must have access to fruits and vegetables and understand the importance of eating at least 400 grams a day. The food systems—production, distribution and the last mile—must be enhanced to maximize access and reduce loss. Consumer education about the health benefits and produce handling is also needed. It is important to position increased consumption in a culturally relevant way to make it a community norm. However, it’s important to remember that education alone can’t get produce into the hands of people who need it. Across the United States for example, there are examples of food deserts, or entire neighborhoods, that lack access to healthy food. No person should have to live in a food desert while billions of pounds of food are being wasted. Better distribution and a focus on community-based agriculture may help address these problems. We can begin by fixing issues at the farm itself, including refrigeration at the farm level and in warehouses along distribution routes can cut down on the amount of food that spoils en route to consumers. The Produce Marketing Association gathers its global membership to address issues—marketing, technology and innovation—to drive demand for and access to fresh produce to grow a healthier world. As American author and journalist Michael Pollan often says: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” It’s our job to make sure that people are given the resources and opportunities to live by this simple motto. Fruits and Vegetables: Essential to Health, Community, Culture
Building an Equitable Health Care System: Three Ways Providers can Join the Fight
Kyle Stern, Managing Director, HealthScape Advisors Tej Shah, Managing Director, HealthScape Advisors It’s natural to think that the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic is in a hospital. But you might find a similar front line in an unexpected place: a Black church. Black Americans have died from the coronavirus at 1.4 times the rates of white Americans, and Black and Hispanic people in the U.S. continue to be vaccinated more slowly than their white counterparts. The current crisis, unfortunately, is merely a symptom of a more pernicious disease. Racial and social inequities in infant and mother mortality, cancer survival rates and life expectancy, for example, have existed long before the pandemic. Outside the hospital, Black churches have stepped up to serve their communities. They have become vaccination sites, and religious leaders have become spokespeople for the vaccine. Black churches can, and should, serve as a source of inspiration to our health care system, which is well-positioned to aid in their efforts.
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