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Food systems are big and controlled by powerful interests. To overcome inertia and realize a healthier, more just food system will take the strength of numbers. Professional associations can not only bring numbers, but also the resources of their staff and combined membership.

Dr. David Wallinga, Senior Advisor in Science, Food and Health at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, will provide a big-picture perspective on "talking food systems" with health professional organizations like the American Public Health Association and the American Medical Association. He will discuss their increasing involvement in food systems issues, such as the Farm Bill and the use of antibiotics.

Angie Tagtow, a registered dietitian and environmental nutritionist, will share her experiences, strategies and successes for cultivating sustainable and accessible food and water systems concepts and competencies within the 72,000-strong Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association).

IATP Food and Community Fellow Cheryl Danley of the Center for Regional Food Systems at Michigan State shares her experience engaging young scholars of color in Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS), a national association with 72 chapters at grant universities from 38 states and one of the most diverse organizations of its kind.

Join our panelists for a discussion on the important role of professional associations in creating food systems change. This webinar is brought to you by Healthy...

The question is an important one at this juncture in the Good Food Movement: “Does the American public need more information about healthy eating? Or do we pretty much know what we need to about food — and still eat poorly for other reasons?” That’s the subject of a recent New York Times Room For Debate feature, where a handful of experts are asked to provide critical perspectives on emerging issues.

To answer this week’s question about the direction of the American diet, the Times consulted two current IATP Food and Community Fellows, Jane Black and Raj Patel, along with three other food luminaries: Yael Lehmann, Will Allen, and Marion Nestle.

Black argues basically that Americans do, indeed, know enough about nutrition. What we lack, she says, are practicable, empowering strategies to change habitual behaviors. She emphasizes the need for Americans to “make small but essential changes to their diets and lifestyles” over “quick fixes,” and cites the behavioral sciences as having a lot to offer. A few hundred calories a day can make a big difference in obesity.

Patel, for his part, agrees that information is important and says we need much more...

IATP Food and Community Fellow Fred Bahnson connects food and faith in his most recent book, Making Peace with the Land: God's Call to Reconcile with Creation, co-authored with Norman Wirzba.

The book starts from the premise that we are alienated not only from one another, but also from the land that sustains us--and goes on to summon us to "join in the hard, divine work that, by nurturing soil, nurtures human life."

In his forward, Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy and Eaarth, says, "This book reminds us of the resources--scriptural, scientific and human--that we have as we try to write a new story, one that emphasizes the need for people to back off, to allow the planet to operate on its own (God's) terms instead of ours. It's a rich book, which is appropriate, since this is a rich and beautiful world."

Bahnson and Wirzba describe communities that model cooperative practices of relational life, with local food production, eucharistic eating and delight in God's provision. The book is part of a series that came out of the Duke Divinity School Center for Reconciliation and is available through InterVarsity Press.

Originally published in the National Urban League's State of Black America 2012.

Efforts to prepare the black community to compete and thrive in the 21st century workforce have rightfully focused on achieving educational equality and the development of appropriate job skills.  The correlation between the attainment of a quality education and employment is well documented.  Until recently, less focus has been placed on the health inequalities that exist in the black community, and how that impacts our ability to learn, earn, compete, live and thrive.  Diet related maladies such as morbid obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease have reached epidemic levels and are a limiting factor in our economic competitiveness, and perhaps more importantly, our quality of life.  

Simply put, the demand for healthy food in the black community is not being met by today’s marketplace, and we are suffering because of it.  Since the health challenges of our communities are largely related to our patterns of food consumption, there is a significant opportunity to reverse these trends by changing how and what we eat.  What is good for our bodies can be good business within our neighborhoods too.  Windows of opportunity for job and wealth creation exist through the reform of the health and well-being of the black community.  Positive...