How Agriculture and Food Can Play a Role in Preventing Chronic Disease

Bringing Agriculture to the Table:
How Agriculture and Food Can Play a Role in Preventing Chronic Disease

By Elizabeth Ramborger 

A new report released by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Bringing Agriculture to the Table: How Agriculture and Food Can Play a Role in Preventing Chronic Disease, calls on the agriculture and food sector to play a role in mitigating the global rise in Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and identifies new opportunities for those in health and agriculture to work together to promote better health. The report was prepared by Dr. Rachel Nugent, University of Washington and project chair for The Chicago Council. The project was guided by an advisory panel of noted agriculture and health experts from academia, the private sector, and international organizations.

The report was released before the opening of the September 19 UN High-Level Meeting (“HLM”) on NCDs at a breakfast briefing hosted by the Business Council for the United Nations, PepsiCo, and the United Nations Foundation and attended by leaders from international institutions, national delegations to the UN, industry, and civil society. Following a presentation of the report’s conclusions and recommendations, Patrick Kelley of the Institute of Medicine moderated a panel discussion with experts in the agriculture and nutrition fields, including Derek Yach of PepsiCo, Gary Toeniesson of The Rockefeller Foundation, and Shenggen Fan of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Chronic disease is the leading cause of death in the world with some 80% of NCD-related deaths concentrated in low- and middle-income countries.  The HLM was only the second time in history the UN has met on a health issue and resulted in a political declaration pledging to create health-promoting environments that empower individuals to make healthy choices, promote interventions to reduce salt, sugar, and saturated fats, and eliminate industrially produced trans-fats in foods. The Council project is unique in addressing the role of agriculture and food in mitigating the burden of diet-related NCDs. As the report puts forth, food and diet are the most modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer—agrifood business can therefore play a positive role in improving human health. However, the agriculture, health, and nutrition communities have not collaborated effectively.

Health is influenced by decisions taken in a number of different sectors and requires cooperation across sectors in government and society. The report identifies opportunities for international organizations, national governments, agrifood businesses, donors, and consumers to leverage agriculture and food to mitigate NCDs with recommendations in the areas of governance, policymaking, increasing knowledge through research and education, and technology development, financing, and personal behavior choices.

As part of the project, The Chicago Council and the International Food Policy and Research Institute (IFPRI) will co-sponsor a panel discussion Connecting the Dots: How Agriculture Can Contribute to Global Health at the upcoming Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines, Iowa, on October 12, convened by Rob Paarlberg, a project advisor and Betty Freyhof Johnson Class of 1944 Professor of Political Science, Wellesley College Adjunct Professor of Public Policy, Harvard School of Government. Other panelists include Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Head 2020 Vision Initiative and Chief of Staff, IFPRI, and Pamela Anderson, also a project advisor and Director General, International Potato Center, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CIP). For more information, contact Elizabeth Ramborger, [email protected], 202-468-1428.