Considerations for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health

A memo from a coalition of organizations urging the U.S. government to link human health outcomes to the transformation of the agricultural system, emphasizing the need to align subsidies with nutritious food production, support sustainable farming practices, and integrate racial equity into food policy.

• The U.S. agricultural sector significantly impacts the environment, producing over 11% of national greenhouse gas emissions and serving as the primary consumer of freshwater resources.
• Current U.S. agricultural policies and insurance programs inadvertently subsidize environmentally damaging industrial livestock production and favor a small number of crops, such as corn and soy, which creates barriers to more diversified and nutritious food systems.
• To improve long-term food security and planetary health, the U.S. should incentivize sustainable practices including agroforestry, managed rotational grazing, cover cropping, and the use of carbon-rich soil amendments like compost and biochar.
• Systemic racial injustice in agriculture is highlighted by the fact that 98% of Black-owned agricultural land was lost during the 20th century due to discriminatory loan servicing and lack of legal access.
• The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a dangerous reliance on a small number of highly consolidated supply chains, necessitating investment in regional and local food chains to increase resilience against climate-driven yield threats and disruptions.
• The authors advocate for 'true cost accounting' as a tool to evaluate policy and resource allocation by considering impacts on public health, animal welfare, the environment, and rural economic opportunity.

APA

Barker, T., Bloem, M., Cho, E., Ho, M. D., Hoefner, F., & Lavender, M. (2022). Considerations for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/811/5rigtbygik_MEMO_A_Food_Systems_Approach_to_Nutrition.pdf

Chicago

Barker, Todd, Martin Bloem, Eugene Cho, Melissa D. Ho, Ferd Hoefner, and Mike Lavender. Considerations for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. WWF International, 2022. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/811/5rigtbygik_MEMO_A_Food_Systems_Approach_to_Nutrition.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Barker |first1=Todd |last2=Bloem |first2=Martin |last3=Cho |first3=Eugene |last4=Ho |first4=Melissa D. |last5=Hoefner |first5=Ferd |last6=Lavender |first6=Mike |title=Considerations for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health |publisher=WWF International |date=15 September 2022 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/811/5rigtbygik_MEMO_A_Food_Systems_Approach_to_Nutrition.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{barker2022considerations, author = {Barker, Todd and Bloem, Martin and Cho, Eugene and Ho, Melissa D. and Hoefner, Ferd and Lavender, Mike}, title = {{Considerations for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health}}, publisher = {WWF International}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/811/5rigtbygik_MEMO_A_Food_Systems_Approach_to_Nutrition.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }