Food Systems For Healthy People and Planet! 

Michelle Gilman – founder of Food Fluency and REGAIN Network Weaver – recently sat down with Helen Fisher of We Are Carbon to discuss the connections between our farming practices, our food systems and our own personal health. Listen to the full podcast or read a slightly modified transcript below. If any of this sparks interest, be sure to join REGAIN’s Environmental Nutrition Discussion Group and visit FoodFluency.org for more.

The word nutrition can evoke a lot of different associations and emotions in people. There is so much contention in the field- is juicing good for you? Are carbs evil? How about fasting? Is the keto diet healthy? In my work, I’m not motivated to find the answers to these questions. I’m more concerned with the public health approach to reach the masses. Before figuring out whether juicing should be recommended or not, my mission is to facilitate a path for the masses to the fundamentals of what constitutes a healthy diet. We can all agree on the importance of dietary diversity, enough fiber, fruit, vegetables, and protein, balanced fat, and overall calories while minimizing and moderating salt, sugar, and highly processed food and drink.

Looking through this lens, I’ve started the Food Fluency program – an educational program that is leading and supporting education and training in conjunction with partner programs to increase food access for communities worldwide. Focused on working at the community level to facilitate making those healthy choices the most convenient ones.

Why is there a need for this work and what value will the program bring? One example demonstrating the issue with programs intending to increase food access without accompanied education comes from Nicaragua. One intervention trained community members and planted eggplant (aubergine). Essentially, the initiative flopped because they had never seen this vegetable before. They didn’t know what it tasted like or how to make meals with it. They weren’t motivated to keep growing it. If they had done this with complementary training on why it’s healthy for us, how to cook with it, and how to store it, then perhaps those efforts would have gone further.

Question: Could you offer some thoughts on what our current food systems look like and what you feel are some of their biggest problems?

At the core are both a general detachment from our food sources, meaning nature and a fragmented industrialized food system. The farmers producing the raw materials are completely separate from the large factories processing them, which are then disconnected from the other companies flavoring, preserving, packaging, and selling the products- who are even likely to be in separate countries; many more actors involved between each of these steps. As highly processed foods take this path, rightfully so, each actor along the chain needs to perform their service for a profit, and companies at the end of the chain have sworn an oath to provide these products to consumers at the lowest possible prices.

So take a minute to consider:

• What are the financial implications of this long value chain for farmers dedicated to lives of back-breaking work to plant, tend, water, care for, and harvest those raw materials?
• What are the climate implications for this process that pressures farms to adopt time and labor-saving industrial practices and technologies such as toxic fertilizers, pesticides, and monocropping? And the necessity of fuel-powered transport between each actor? And the waste that comes out of each stage?
• What are the implications on human health when we consume products that our great-grandparents would not recognize?

Not just that they would be disappointed in us, but it’s a reminder that our bodies have evolved on food from the earth- whether grown or hunted. Much of what goes into packaged products is foreign to our internal systems- it’s one thing to take this in moderation, and another to be consuming it every day. The familiar nutrients they do contain tend to be disproportionate compared to food from the earth. Yes, we can get sufficient calories, protein, and fat from industrially produced foods and drinks, but they’re also guilty of leading far too many innocent people to consume more sugar, salt, and oils than our bodies have been conditioned to deal with. This overconsumption combined with their deficiency in fiber, micronutrients, and minerals is the root cause of imbalances that result in painful disease and early death. Now with all of this in mind, it may not surprise you to hear that one-fifth of all deaths (I mean all) are attributed to suboptimal diet, as such preventable, according to the 2019 Lancet report. Not to overwhelm you, but this is also just the tip of the iceberg.

One major factor perpetuating these root problems is the corporate drive to embed this new way of eating into our lives- marketing, advertising, product placement in TV and movies- in particular targeting children to condition them from a young age. Without being told otherwise, why wouldn’t we trust the ads our parents watch? The celebrities we love? Without being instructed otherwise, we’re happy to believe the junk that excites our taste buds can be part of a healthy lifestyle. The colorful, spunky noise all around us is saying that diets should be as convenient, cheap, and tasty as possible- that’s easy to buy into right? In a mainstream culture driven by instant gratification, it’s easy to overlook the gradual harm these food choices make to our health.

This isn’t just in the US or Europe, but multiple generations in more and more countries are assimilating to industrial diet practices. These are the societal demands that affect the social (public health) and environmental sustainability of the food system.

In the US context, these are systemic issues that tend to impact low-income and minority communities more. Community nutrition is also about busting the myth that eating healthy is only for the rich. Everyone has a right to nourishing diets, yet within the conventional food environment, some extra guidance and skill training may be helpful in getting us there.

In an ‘ideal world scenario,’ it’s easy to see how diet and acquiring food can be forces for good in regenerating planetary and human health. Many Indigenous cultures demonstrate this and hopefully, their knowledge and guidance can be raised to mainstream awareness and practice before it’s too late.

Question: When we produce food in a way that’s regenerative it really is a win-win situation that can support the health of both people and ecosystems. Could you offer an overview of why diet and ecosystem health are connected?

I really think diet and ecosystems are a great representation of the connectedness of all life. In a truly regenerative society, diverse food crops produced by healthy soils would be eaten directly by humans with only minimal intervention between production and consumption. That can eliminate unnecessary byproducts of energy consumption. After digestion, our human waste would be returned to the soil in a natural cycle. It is a reminder that there are a lot of overlapping principles between what’s good for us and what’s good for the planet.

Keep in mind that many examples I give of the ‘ideal world/scenario, truly regenerative’ are just that- an ideal, not a realistic expectation of where we can get to in a few years. It’s helpful to have a goal to work towards because even the smallest steps in the right direction are significant. It’s also important for people to not feel guilty about their lifestyle choices once they are aware of these issues. Moderation is the key word. We’re not perfect, but we can indulge in treats. It’s helpful to view things as either ‘everyday foods’ or ‘sometimes’ foods. We should have moderation and appreciation, not deprivation. It’s important to recognize gradual improvements and small wins.

Question: Can you provide specific examples?

An early ‘aha moment’ for me was learning about how fruits and vegetables develop their skin to protect them from potential harms in the outside world- we then eat that skin to consume their defense mechanisms and in turn, develop our own protection through the concentrated variety of vitamins and minerals they hold. Their beneficial fiber from the skin is also good for digestion. Each skin color represents a different antioxidant so when we hear “eat the rainbow” it’s more than a cheesy slogan, yet a reminder to consume a variety of fruit and vegetable colors.

Another example is the nitrogen from plants like legumes. This is a beautiful representation of the connection between human health and soil health. Legumes fix nitrogen in the soil which is a crucial part of natural soil fertility. When humans eat more beans and plant-based protein, we’re not only demanding them from our food system, yet also consuming sustainable, high protein, low-fat food. It’s a harmonious relationship.

To wrap up, don’t let perfection get in the way of good. There’s a lot to overcome and change to get to a food system flow that we’re proud of. Don’t underestimate the small steps. Research local food and agriculture initiatives in your area and you’ll likely find something like a community farm, there’s always so much going on. Food is such a big part of our lives and as such, there are endless opportunities for gradual changes.

The work of Food Fluency aims to put the ‘Think Global, Act Local’ concept into practice. Visit FoodFluency.org for more information, including our crowdfunding video, details about the pilot program, and all of our current partners! Thank you so much for taking an interest and contributing to related efforts, regardless of the role you play in the regenerative movement.

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