An Opportunity for Chronic Disease Directors to Educate & Advocate for Healthier Diets

1. An Opportunity for Chronic Disease Directors to Educate & Advocate for Healthier Diets Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D. Center for Science in the Public Interest

2. What is Food Day? Think Earth Day for food issues. Thousands of events, large and small and coast to coast, aimed at educating the public, improving food policies, and strengthening the burgeoning food movement.

3. Advisory Board (partial list) Honorary Co-chairs: Sen. Tom Harkin, Rep. Rosa DeLauro Former Surgeons General David Satcher and Richard Carmona Georges Benjamin, Executive Director, APHA Patricia Babjak, Executive Director, American Dietetic Asso. Walter Willett, Harvard School of Pub. Health Kelly Brownell, Yale – Rudd Center Health commissioners of Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles Michael McGinn, Seattle mayor Alice Waters, owner/chef Chez Panisse Jim Crawford, organic farmer in Pennsylvania Suzan Bateson, Alameda County (CA) Community Food Bank

4. Partners (partial list) American Dietetic Association American Public Health Association NACCHO National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Humane Society of the United States Bolthouse Farms (major carrot grower) National WIC Association Union for Reform Judaism Dole Food Co. STOP Foodborne Illness Farmers Market Coalition LiveWell Colorado

5. Why Do We Need a Food Day? • HUGE DIET-RELATED HEALTH PROBLEMS: • 2/3 of adults are overweight or obese • 1 out of 5 people get average of 33% of calories from added sugars • High-sodium diets killing tens of thousands • We spend $90 billion/year on lipid and blood-pressure drugs and on heart surgeries • Companies market junk foods to little kids

6. Diet-induced Atherosclerosis opened and flattered arteries

7. Why Do We Need a Food Day? • FOOD INSECURITY • SNAP and other food programs are valuable and costly, but still provide modest financial benefits to individuals • Food banks are overwhelmed • Food deserts (or “food swamps”) make it tough for many urban and rural people to obtain healthy, fresh food

8. Why Do We Need a Food Day? • ENVIRONMENTAL HARM • Pesticides harm wildlife and farm workers • Huge use of energy to produce fertilizer and transport food/feed • Overuse of fertilizer causes water pollution • Factory farms cause air and water pollution, mostly from manure • Bottles, cans, and other containers add to solid waste

9. 130 Billion Beverage Bottles and Cans Consumed in 1 Year

10. Why Do We Need a Food Day? • COLLATERAL DAMAGE • Farm workers are exposed to pesticides and under-paid (NCI Agricultural Health Study associated an increased risk of prostate cancer with six pesticides) • workers in slaughterhouses and meat processing plants endure dangerous conditions and low pay • Factory farms often raise poultry, pigs, and cattle in inhumane conditions

11. Sow Gestation Crates

12. Food Day’s Programmatic Goals • FOOD DAY IS COMMITTED TO: • Reducing diet-related disease by promoting healthy foods and diets • Promoting health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids • Supporting sustainable farms and cutting subsidies to agribusiness • Expanding access to food and alleviating hunger • Protecting the environment and animals by reforming factory farms • Improving working conditions for food-processing and farm workers

13. Other Benefits from Food Day • Help people in different silos (hunger, nutrition, sustainable agriculture, animal welfare) meet one another and build alliances • Give people life-changing, confidence-building experience as organizers

14. What Will Happen on and around Food Day? • Healthier meals in schools in LA, Seattle, Tulsa • Rhode Island beginning development of a state food policy • Conferences and other activities at Stanford, Babson, Yale, Rhodes, UC–Hastings Law School, other colleges • Publicity events at farmers markets • Healthy potluck dinners at countless homes • Dole is putting Food Day logo/URL on 100 million bananas • Restaurants: healthier foods, introduce farmer-suppliers • Major public events in NYC, Savannah, Los Angeles • California nonprofits are petitioning for smarter farm policy • Several local health departments focusing on ssb

15. What Could Health Departments Do? • Encourage local health departments, nonprofit groups, schools, etc., to sponsor Food Day activities • Encourage public and private programs to end food deserts • Encourage all companies to have healthier cafeterias, employee vegetable gardens, diet/health assessments, CSAs • Build and display an exhibit (e.g., “Junk Food Hall of Shame” in a prominent location • Announce improved food-procurement policies (sodium, etc.) • Announce a campaign to discourage consumption of sugary drinks, including removing ssb from government property • Encourage state employees to both celebrate Food Day outside the job and to eat healthier diets at all times • Organize a conference or a major speech by your health commissioner or governor Food Day’s website provides a Guide for Coordinators.

16. How Could Your DepartmentUse Food Day? Food Day is an opportunity to take the initiative on food issues. What could you and your department do? www.FoodDay.org

17. www.FoodDay.org