The White House will host its first conference on hunger, nutrition, and health in more than 50 years in September. Activists feel that this is the perfect time for the Biden administration to recognize the health benefits of a plant-based diet.
The International Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health is crucial. It has the potential to shape the United States’ approach to diet and nutrition in the future decades. (The last gathering of this kind took place in 1969 and influenced food policy for the next 50 years.)
President Biden and his administration have established a number of goals for increasing nutrition and eradicating hunger in the United States by 2030. These are pressing issues: according to the USDA, approximately 40 million people in the United States are food insecure.
According to Feeding America, poverty rates are greater in communities of color owing to engrained institutional racism. To eradicate hunger, systemic inequity must be tackled at its source.
However, the White House’s support of plant-based eating may have a good influence in the United States.
A lot of studies have shown that eliminating meat and dairy from one’s diet can help one’s health.
According to a new Oxford University study, a meat-free diet can cut cancer risk by 14%. More studies published last year indicated that eating a whole-food, plant-based diet can lower the risk of cognitive impairment. Another research from 2021 indicated that eating a plant-based diet can reduce the incidence of stroke by up to 10%.
A Critical Shift
Mercy for Animals, an animal rights organization, is encouraging the White House to support plant-based diets at the next nutrition conference.
“We are thrilled that the Biden-Harris Administration will host this important conference at a time when consumers, researchers, and health officials alike are embracing and espousing the benefits of a plant-based diet.” the nonprofit’s federal policy manager Frances Chrzan said in a statement.
The organization also wants Biden’s government to help small-scale farmers more. It also wants the government to recognize that animal agriculture has a negative influence on the environment.
“Much has changed over the last five decades in our knowledge of how critically important a plant-based food system can be for providing Americans sufficient daily nutrients as well as protecting the environment for future generations,” continued Chrzan.
“As the Biden-Harris administration prepares for the Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health, Mercy For Animals hopes to see a recommendation for increasing access to plant-based foods to address the health of people and our planet.”
Source: “White House Urged To Back Plant-Based Diets At Landmark Nutrition Conference” by Plant Based News
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