By Nelson Huber-Disla & T. Colin Campbell, PhD • Originally published on NutritionStudies.org If we take the word literally (the prefix mal meaning poor or faulty), it should also be applied to the dietary patterns of excess that produce obesity and diet-related diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. These cases of malnutrition are on the rise — 1.9 billion adults worldwide are now overweight or obese, more than four times as many as are undernourished (462 million). Although this growing gap is most pronounced in high-income countries, even the low- and middle-income countries t ..read more

If there’s one common problem that every inhabitant of the Earth is currently facing, it’s climate change. Those two words sound innocent enough: “climate change.” And maybe that’s part of the problem; with everything that’s going on right now, thinking about the climate changing in 10 or 50 or 80 years just isn’t that much of a priority for most of us. But that’s got to change. Because really, what’s happening isn’t just climate “change”, it’s climate chaos. And as crazy as things have gotten, unless we change course, we are barely seeing the tip of the iceberg of what’s coming. But already ..read more

By Alexandra Jones • The Counter is a non-profit newsroom covering the forces shaping how and what we eat. Read more at thecounter.org. When Ola Creston and George Brittenburg started Taproot Farm in 2009, they grew their produce according to USDA organic standards. It was important to them as producers and consumers to farm without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and with a focus on building and maintaining healthy soils. But it was six years until the couple went through the process of getting their 25 acres in Pennsylvania’s Berks County certified organic. “I think it took ..read more

By Johnathan Hettinger, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting This story is supported with a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. Get poisoned or get on board. That’s the choice soybean farmers such as Will Glazik face. The past few summers, farmers near Glazik’s central Illinois farm have sprayed so much of the weed killer dicamba at the same time that it has polluted the air for hours and sometimes days. As Glazik puts it, there are two types of soybeans: Monsanto’s, which are genetically engineered to withstand dicamba, and everyone else’s. Glazik’s soybeans have been the ..read more

Note: Peggy Liu is based in China. Relations between China and much of the developed world are currently at all-time lows. Some might question why, in that context, and at this moment in history, we would interview and elevate the message of a leader from China. The answer is simple: There are 1.4 billion people in China. Whether we like it or not, the entire world’s soil, water supply, food, and climate will all be profoundly affected by the choices made by the Chinese people and government. And we think you’ll be heartened and inspired to learn about the work that Peggy and her team are doin ..read more

Starting in the mid-1930s, the Ford Motor Company used a bushel of soybeans in every car it made. No, they weren’t using soy sauce as wiper fluid. Henry Ford had challenged his engineers to figure out how to turn soy into plastic. At first, they used this soy plastic for gas pedals, window frames, horn buttons, and the knobs at the end of gear shifter rods — among other things. But in 1941, Ford unveiled the “Soybean Car,” which replaced much of the steel with that soy plastic. It was half a ton lighter than the all-steel car it resembled, as well as safer. Sadly, it didn’t enter production, s ..read more

Your food choices could be your most powerful vote of all. With every bite you take, you can vote for the health you want — and for the world you want. The impact of that vote transcends ideology, worldview, and politics. And at the end of the day, the chronic diseases that are killing tens of millions of people every year — cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and dementia — don’t care what political party you’re affiliated with. But they do care, and care a great deal, about what you eat. Everybody needs food to live. And everybody needs healthy food to be healthy. At FRN, most of the ti ..read more

Everybody eats. Regardless of politics, skin color, religion, or how much money we have in the bank, we all need food to live. And we all need healthy food to be healthy. But not all of us have the same access to nutritious food. Not by a long shot. Areas without access to nutritious, high-quality, affordable food are known as food deserts. The USDA defines them as any area with a 20% or greater poverty rate, and where a third or more of the residents live more than a mile away from a supermarket. Food deserts tend to be predominantly areas of low income, areas where residents often don’t have ..read more

This interview with Cory Booker was conducted by John Robbins on July 6, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMbll6Uencs Below is the edited transcript of the video above: Ocean Robbins: Welcome to Food Revolution Conversations where we explore healthy, ethical, and sustainable food for all. This is Ocean Robbins, and I am here now with my dad and colleague, John Robbins, to welcome and introduce Senator Cory Booker. Senator Booker represents the state of New Jersey in the United States Senate. He’s the former mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He’s a Rhodes scholar, and he is a dedicated adv ..read more

Everyone deserves safe, healthy, and affordable food for their families. You shouldn’t have to be rich, have a certain skin color, or grow up in the right neighborhood, in order to be able to eat food that’s good for you. But not everyone has access to equal opportunities. The health opportunity gap often plays out along lines of race and class. People who are white and have enough money enjoy a number of advantages that lead to better health. Typically, they can afford better diets. White people and people who have enough money tend to have access to more nutritious food and information about ..read more