全民健康食品

与饮食有关的疾病，比如糖尿病, hypertension and heart disease take a terrible toll in human lives, 幸福, 还有医疗费用. 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 加工食品 and added sugar.

我们知道如何让自己更健康:多吃水果, 蔬菜, 全谷物和瘦肉蛋白, 减少添加糖的摄入, 加工食品, 和肉. 美国人饮食指南, 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.

不幸的是, 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, 它们主要用来生产——你猜对了——添加糖, 加工食品, 和肉. We need new policies that do more to enable US farmers to grow healthy food.

One way to help people eat healthier is to connect them with nearby farmers through farmers markets, 社区支持农业(CSA)业务, 或者美食中心. 从当地购买食物, 中小农场, consumers can contribute to their community’s economic health as well as their own 幸福. Legislation such as the Local FARMS Act of 2018 aims to help farmers find new local markets while improving food access for local residents, 尤其是低收入社区和有色人种社区, 新鲜, 健康食品常常供不应求.

健康的饮食对儿童尤其重要. Their bodies are growing and developing, and their tastes and habits are still forming. Moreover, millions of US children live in households that struggle with food insecurity. Federal programs that subsidize school meals play a vital role in ensuring that every kid in every classroom is well nourished and ready to learn. It’s important that these programs meet high standards for nutritional quality, but the processed food industry lobbies hard to lower the bar.

According to the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, 超过十分之一的美国家庭, 超过七分之一的家庭有孩子, experienced food insecurity in 2017 – meaning that at times during the year, they either lacked access to enough food for their daily needs, or had to resort to coping strategies such as eating less varied diets or getting emergency food from community food pantries. Nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, aka food stamps) exist to help these families put nutritious meals on the table on a consistent basis. SNAP是一项明智的投资, 每年帮助数百万家庭摆脱贫困, 改善健康和学习成绩, 降低医疗费用. Yet each time the legislation that authorizes it comes up for renewal, SNAP成为了一个政治目标. We need to continue defending this successful, cost-effective program.