The Future of Food!

When asked to contribute an article discussing the subject of our food’s future, I was a little unsure what would be the most important aspect to discuss. So, I decided to follow my heart.  As a dietitian, I am daily saddened by the state of my patients’ health, and as a mom, I worry about what kind of world my kids will inherit.

No doubt the current situation in our food industry and health statistics is quite a frightful picture. While a large percentage of our population continues suffering from preventable conditions like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, our planet also suffers from warming up due to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation of rainforests, and water resources depleted for industrial farming. Our imperfect produce gets discarded as it doesn’t meet the “perfect” grocery store standards, and heavily processed foods keep flooding the cash registers at every retail and grocery store, tempting consumers of all ages.

Haven’t we crossed all the red lines with a 42% obesity mark among adults, 20% among kids, rainforest destruction, and arctic ice layer melting at alarming rates? In my opinion, we have, and yet, we cannot seem to get any of it under perceptible control.

As a country, we face quite a few evident and critical issues:

– Scarce resources/budget for nutritional education in our school systems

– Parents unaware/lack of knowledge of how to instill healthier eating habits in kids

– Perfectly looking organic produce being unaffordable to lower-middle-class families

– Convenience food manufacturers only looking out for their profits

– School lunches being far from healthy

In my practice, I see the direct impact of such a lack of sustainability in our eating habits as a nation. Many of my patients are young people who, by the age of 25-30, are struggling with obesity and chronic health issues, and some adults have a hard time functioning by the age of 40. These individuals are incredibly bright and ambitious, but the state of their health is preventing them from following their dreams, putting them into a deep depression and vicious cycles of dieting and emotional overeating. On the other end, we also have over 40 million people experiencing food insecurity in the USA. According to the latest data from FeedingAmerica.org, some parents may have less than two meals a day for themselves to ensure there will be food on the table for their kids. Sadly, it doesn’t even mean that kids or parents will have a balanced meal providing proper nutrition.

As a society of logical adults, we ought to develop sustainable and long-lasting solutions that will begin revolutionizing our eating behaviors, how we view food, and what we teach our kids. I firmly believe that we can create possible resolutions to most of these problems if the federal, state-governing and municipal agencies would come to a consensus of:

– Growing food would be allowed in any front yard of any neighborhood in the USA.

– Schools and workplaces will offer wholesome plant-based focused nutritional education and food prep classes

– Retail and grocery stores will fill their cash registers with healthier snacks VS processed packaged foods and high-corn fructose syrup candy

– School districts will introduce gardening, harvesting, and cooking classes in as many schools as possible

– Nutritional education in every school would be a part of the mandatory curriculum

– Non-toxic & sustainable agricultural practices would be practiced by the majority of industrial farmers, and companies like Monsanto and Dupont would start moving in that direction

– Imperfect produce to be available for a fraction of the price in underprivileged communities and to food-insecure families

– Food insecure zones to have gardening programs in schools that would have a garden ranger and a chef, and a nutritionist to teach kids about the benefits of eating wholesome foods and showing them how rewarding it can be to grow and share food with others.

– Billboard ads of fast foods would be controlled and limited

– A demand for dietitians and nutritionists to create community education programs that would educate about healthy, sustainable, and plant-focused eating habits.

Many trustworthy publications, wellness TV shows, and well-known medical experts have mentioned that a plant-centered eating lifestyle can help us solve quite a few problems I mentioned above. Industrial farming cattle practices have a detrimental effect on our planet. Simply reducing our meat consumption and replacing it with wholesome plant-based foods can have a relieving impact on our exhausted world. I am not advocating for everyone to become vegan but simply encouraging my readers’ audience and my patients to eat more plant-based foods. My vision of our foods’ future lies in bringing us back to our kitchens and being compassionate to Mother Earth and her resources. We can create a better future for ourselves by being mindful of what we put in our grocery baskets, our bodies and how we treat the Earth.

Citations:

“Hunger in America Is Growing.” Feeding America, www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america. 

“The State of Obesity 2020: Better Policies for a Healthier America.” Tfah, www.tfah.org/report-details/state-of-obesity-2020/

Marquis, C. (2021, March 3). Plant-Based Foods Are Our Future and Entrepreneurs Are Helping Us Make The Shift. www.forbes.com

“Childhood Obesity Facts” Www.Cdc.Cov, 4 May 2021, www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html