APHA Publishes Position Paper on Food Systems

The American Public Health Association has adopted a landmark position paper, “Toward a Healthy, Sustainable Food System,” formalizing APHA’s recognition  of the interconnectedness of the food system.  The paper addresses many of the food system issues of concern to the Center for a Livable Future (CLF), including factory farms and antibiotic resistance; contamination of food, air, soil and water by chemicals; depletion of natural resources; climate change; and the nation’s rapidly rising obesity rates. “This is an important document because it lays the framework for APHA to take action on these critical issues facing our population,” said Roni Neff, CLF research director. The paper was approved by a vote of the APHA’s Governing Council at their annual meeting in Washington, D.C.. “This paper focuses primarily on the environmental side of the food system to complement the Association’s large existing portfolio of policies addressing nutrition-related themes.”

APHA is comprised of more than 30,000 individual members and 20,000 additional state and local affiliate members, and represents more than 50 disciplines in public health and related fields.