Oral

It is undeniable that what we eat impacts our health. Equally important is the impact of food production on environmental health. The US and the world are paying for a broken food system with the “stuffed and starved paradox,” which has become one of the top public health challenges of our time. The public health community must think and act, both locally and globally, to solve the dual challenges of obesity and hunger and to transform our broken food system into one that can nourish people and the planet. Such action will require engaging across sectors, public and private, with an emphasis on social responsibility by corporate partners. As the panelists will show, some partners are ready and willing to support health, while others will require policy shifts to do what is in the best interest of all. The session will define what “food system” means in the context of public health, including identifying key players in the system, from public health agencies and officials, to agribusiness and food and beverage companies. The first panelist will outline advocacy tools for pushing corporations to act for the common good on a global scale, such actions have fundamental impacts in small communities across the world. The second speaker will describe necessary policy shifts to protect and promote health, showing the essential role of policy in impacting health at the local, national and international levels. The final speaker will discuss how local-level engagement of chefs can create a culture shift across the country to promote the role of chefs in protecting human and environmental health, showing that what’s healthy for the food system can also be good for business. The panel will conclude with an interactive discussion between the panelists, moderator, discussant and the audience. Session attendees will be encouraged to apply the lenses and example tools presented during the session to their own work. By attending this session, the public health community will learn specific ways to meaningfully engage powerful private sector actors, with a focus on food and beverage companies, agribusiness and restaurants, analyze and shift policy to support health, and ensure in their own work they are practicing the fundamental public health tenet of social justice.

Session Objectives: Describe meaningful ways public health can collaborate with the private sector. Evaluate public sector actions in the context of public health, particularly social justice. Identify specific ways to hold the private sector accountable at local, national and global levels.