We Need Food Environment Innovation
In a world where the food system is facing multiple crises, from climate change to increases in diet-related diseases and mortality, innovation is an imperative. We need to innovate our food environment – how we choose and acquire food, where we eat, when we eat, who we eat with, how much time we take to eat – not just what we eat in order to achieve better health outcomes.
The need for innovation in the food system
Does the food system need innovation? The growing consensus among stakeholders, including scientists and food industry professionals, is that innovation is essential to address these crises effectively. Research has shown that more than a third of greenhouse gas emissions stem from the food system, making it a major contributor to climate change. This alarming fact alone underscores the need for innovative solutions that promote sustainable practices and reduce the environmental impact of food production and consumption.
The Innovation Lab at IFT's FIRST was designed to inspire food scientists and product developers to design products that meet the needs of specific consumer profiles within the context of five major crises facing the food system. In reflecting back on the nature of the crises and recent research, I’ve been wondering: how can we inspire food environment innovation? By addressing the unique needs of communities and geographies, could we innovate more comprehensive and sustainable solutions?
Where we eat has been changing and it's not improving the HEI scores of what we eat
Recent research has found there has been a decline in US adults’ HEI scores overall. A decline in the healthy eating index scores among U.S. adults and specific groups, such as older Americans and Type 2 diabetics, has been observed in recent years. This decline is accompanied by a shift in eating habits from home-cooked meals to food away from home. Research shows that food away from home contains more saturated fats and sodium and less calcium, iron, and fiber than food at home. Since the publication of this study, this trend has accelerated with Americans spend on food away from home increasing 16% in 2022 over 2021. To improve health outcomes, it is essential to consider the impact of the food environment on dietary choices.
How processed food is NOT how healthy it is
According to The Journal of Nutrition, a healthy diet with 91% of its calories from ultra-processed foods can achieve a healthy eating index score of 86 out of 100. This finding challenges the notion that specific foods are solely responsible for the decline in Americans' health and nutrition. Instead, it suggests that the overall food environment, including where and how food is consumed, plays a crucial role in shaping dietary patterns and health outcomes.
I think many folks would be surprised to learn items like canned beans, dried fruit, and ultrafiltered milk count as UPF on the NOVA scale, which are not the UPF most Americans are consuming. Regardless, an 86 is far better than the average HEI scores for American toddlers (68) or Americans over age 2, HEI of 58. So, while this is not a definitive point in the “it’s-not-the-food” camp, it is probably a point for the “it’s-not-the-degree-of-processing” camp.
Are gardens or improved access to local foods an answer?
One of the first places I always go after returning from the hustle and bustle of a convention center floor is my local community garden. This garden and my backyard garden are the locations where my kids and neighboring kids consume so many more fruits and vegetables than they eat at our dining room table and well more than they eat at a restaurant. Apparently it’s chicken tenders and fries for life, and it's not all their fault. Have you seen a kids’ menu lately?
In the garden, I can feel my heart rate drop immediately and the environment of neighbors chatting, weeding and kids running around munching things they grew or their friends grew is a food environment I feel we need more of. How do we innovate our municipal codes to accommodate more of these spaces?
My personal experience is supported by good evidence these food environments “are associated with higher fruit and vegetable intake, positive psychosocial and community outcomes.”
Access to gardens is a promising solution to improve the food environment, offering an opportunity to grow and consume more produce, foster healthier eating habits, encourage community and connection. The next step is to encourage municipal codes that support the establishment of more community gardens that can lead to innovative food environments that benefit us all.
Progressive Food and Agricultural Policies
To address the health and nutrition crisis, we need innovative policies that prioritize food as a human right. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a regressive policy moment, with discussions around cutting essential programs like WIC (Women, Infants, and Children). The food-as-a-human-right movement presents policy ideas that deserve serious attention, offering a path to create a more equitable and sustainable food system.
What Grow Well has been cooking up
The deficits in human health, nutrition, access, trust, food safety, and the environmental impact of the food system are driving diverse stakeholders to agree that innovation is desperately needed. This urgency for innovation is echoed in our work: We recently curated content on past, present, and future dimensions of five "crises" facing the food system for the Innovation Lab at IFT FIRST. This immersive product development experience was offered to the thousands of scientists and sector professionals who attended.
Additionally, our team just wrapped up a 2-year sub-award USDA Local Food Promotion Program project led by The Common Market Southeast. The Common Market, a local food distributor, works to connect healthy foods from regional farms and food artisans (e.g. rice millers, tofu makers, etc.) with communities who lack adequate access to these nutritious foods either by serving institutions like schools or hospitals, or through box programs distributed to community members directly.
The food system is confronting multiple crises that demand innovation. Beyond product-based innovation, we must also focus on food environment innovation to address the root causes of health and nutrition challenges. By considering the needs of communities and geographies, we can develop more comprehensive and sustainable solutions. The impact on our health of where and how we eat cannot be underestimated, and community gardens can play a vital role in promoting healthier food environments. Moreover, we need progressive policies that prioritize food as a human right and strive for a more equitable and sustainable future. By directing our efforts towards food environment innovation, we can create a food system that nourishes both people and the planet.
