Archive for the 'Food & Nutrition' Category
1 Comment December 1st, 2009 by bronxdoc
Our colleagues at THE POINT, a South Bronx Community Development Corporation, sent us the following flyer for the South Bronx Food & Film Expo, this Saturday, December 5th (noon to 5PM).
Their announcement reads:
If you are interested in growing your own food, or having better access to healthy food, or getting involved with changing current food policies, this is the event for you! Our expo features groups that can help you do all this and more. Or if you simply want to come sample free local healthy foods, maybe learn a thing or two, and watch a few great films, you are welcome as well!
Rethinking the way we eat
This event will showcase some of the activism around rethinking the way we produce and consume food.
- Urban Farming, one of the sponsors, is an organization that promotes the use of urban spaces to plant gardens. They have developed the concept of vertical farming - “edible” food-producing wall panels mounted on walls of buildings, growing fresh produce (without the use of pesticides).”
- Bascom Catering will be providing free, locally-sourced Vegan lunches.
- Short films from the Bronx will be showcased. As an example, this link shows a shortened version of an urban farming video made at the Point.
- Two feature films will be shown. What’s on Your Plate? and FRESH! What’s on Your Plate? is a documentary that follows two eleven year old NYC girls as they try to figure out how food gets onto their plates. FRESH! focuses on the efforts of activists across the country to “reinvent the food system.”
- An interactive expo will feature groups from the South Bronx and beyond that grow and supply healthy local food, and fight for change in food policy.
Details: This event is free, but there is a $10 suggested contribution. Food/clothing donations are encouraged. Childcare will be provided. For more information, contact: Adam, actionatthepoint@yahoo.com
For more information on local food activism, consult some of our earlier posts on food and nutrition.
posted by Matt Anderson, MD
Add a comment June 30th, 2009 by bronxdoc
As a follow-up to our earlier post on nutrition in New York City (Feast or Famine) our colleague Renee Shanker sent us an updated list of Farmers’ Markets in the Bronx (see link). For a complete list of farmers’ markets supported by the New York City Department of Health visit this link.
posted by Matt Anderson, MD
Add a comment May 20th, 2009 by justin
John del Signore at the Gothamist highlights Mayor Bloomberg and Governer Paterson’s new Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) Food Stores. Stores will be eligible to apply for these grants based on their appropriation of space and resources to providing fresh foods to the communities they serve. This is a welcome initiative in a city with some of the greatest healthy food disparity anywhere. The next step will be alerting grocers in the community to the potential funding available. Many grocers in underserved communities are owned and operated by immigrants who may have difficulty navigating the steps to obtaining these funds. For more information, visit the FRESH website.
Original post here.
“Acting on last year’s study showing that many lower-income neighborhoods desperately need decent grocery stores, today Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson have announced a new program to encourage “the establishment and retention of neighborhood grocery stores in underserved communities in Northern Manhattan, the South Bronx, Central Brooklyn and Jamaica, Queens.” It’s called the Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) Food Stores program, and the mayor’s office predicts it will “help create an estimated 15 new grocery stores and upgrade 10 existing stores, creating 1,100 new jobs and retaining 400 others over 10 years.”
To qualify, retailers must meet certain requirements, like providing at least 30 percent of retail space for perishable goods that include dairy, fresh produce, fresh meats, poultry, fish and frozen foods; and providing at least 500 square feet of retail space for fresh produce. Then they’ll be eligible for zoning and financing exemptions, such as real estate tax abatements and sales tax exemptions on purchases of materials used to acquire property or to construct, renovate or equip grocery stores. Some of the funding for all this will come from a new $10 million state revolving loan fund program created for FRESH, and the state also announced the establishment of a permanent farmer’s market grant program, as well as financial incentives for food markets to be green and energy efficient.”
1 Comment May 13th, 2009 by bronxdoc
On April 28th, 2009 Social Medicine Rounds hosted four New York City food activists in a session entitled: “Feast or Famine: Building an Oasis in the Food Desert.” This rounds was arranged by Drs. Victoria Mayer and Vanessa Pratomo and is part of a larger series organized by the Public Health Association of New York City (PHANYC). [See our previous posting: Feast and Famine: Obesity, Diabetes and Hunger in New York City.]
Joel Berg, Triada Stampas, Debi Lomax, Zena Nelson, Drs. Mayer & Pratomo
As clinicians we daily see patients whose health is deeply affected by nutrition. Counseling patients on diet often seems a frustrating affair and there is scant evidence that it does much good. We were interested in a better understanding the politics of food and in learning about what local food activists were up to. Our invited panel included Joel Berg of the NYC Coalition Against Hunger, Debi Lomax of the Bronx District Public Health Office, Zena Nelson of the South Bronx Food Coop, and Triada Stampas from the Food Bank for New York City.
The paradoxical link between food insecurity and obesity
Joel Berg is the Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger and author of the recently published All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America. He began by emphasizing the lack of nutrition education in medical schools, arguing that nutrition should be the centerpiece of public health. He saw hunger and obesity not as separate problems but rather as “flip sides of the malnutrition coin.” He pointed out that currently 25 million Americans (about 8% of the population) use food pantries and soup kitchens. Here in New York City an estimated 1.3 million people (about 16% of the 8.2 million New Yorkers) are living in food insecure homes. The poor are often accused of not knowing how to budget, shop and cook. But Mr. Berg pointed out that working class people often don’t have access to affordable, good food, a point reiterated by the other three speakers Faced with limited cash, people often choose unhealthier foods because their high fat content. Time constraints – due to work schedules – further limit the ability of working class families to shop and cook.
Mr. Berg argued that good nutrition is a three legged stool based on affordability, proximity and education. The way to make good food more affordable was the increase wages, expand access to WIC and encourage our kids to take advantage of food offered in the schools (breakfasts, lunch, afterschool meals and summer breakfasts). Making sure that school food is healthy is also an area of intense activism. While New York City has recently banned the sale of soda in the schools, highly sugared drinks like Snapple continue to be sold.
Farmers’ Markets in the Bronx
Debbie Lomax, a Program Officer for the South Bronx District Public Health Office of NYC Department of Health, then discussed the DOH Farmers’ Market Program. Quoting their program booklet: “The Farmers’ Market Program encourages fruit and vegetable consumption by promoting farmers’ markets in the South Bronx. There are currently 11 markets in the area. The DPHO publicizes these markets to community residents and health care providers, by giving out “Health Bucks” – $2.00 vouchers redeemable at farmers’ markets for the purchase of fruits and vegetables.”
A complete description of this program and a list of current Farmers’ Markets can be downloaded from this link. More information on Healthy Bucks can be found at this link.
A Food Coop grows in the Bronx
Zeena Nelson is one of the founders of the South Bronx Food Coop. Her interest in food was sparked by her personal difficulties finding good food in her South Bronx community. She had studied business at Fordham University but was unenthusiastic about working for corporate America. She was pushed into food activism when a friend died of complications of massive obesity. What, she wondered, were the economics behind the fact that certain neighborhoods don’t have good food available? She obtained a $20,000 starter grant from Merill-Lynch to set up a small food coop. The coop now has 155 members and operates a small store on Third Avenue Members of the cooperative are a diverse group about ½ of whom are from the South Bronx. The cooperative provides a variety of services including cooking and yoga classes. The Cooperative has plans to create a commercial hydroponic farm inside of a local building.
[For a fascinating look at the world of urban agriculture in New York City, visit Kerry Trueman's Retrovore.com.]
… as do the soup kitchens
Finally, Triada Stampas shared her work at the Food Bank for New York City. The Food Bank started 26 years ago in a big warehouse located in the Hunts Point food market in the South Bronx. The Bank initially supplied food to a handful of sites providing “emergency food.’ Sadly, it currently supplies some 1200 soup kitchens and pantries (yes, that’s 1200 sites) located throughout the City. . Ms. Stampas noted that such a network simply was not needed in the 1970’s.
The food at the bank comes from various sources. The government – federal, state and city – provides some. Feeding America, a national umbrella for food banks, provides food largely donated by corporations. The bank itself raises funds to purchase food. The Bank also conducts research on who uses emergency food. By their estimates there are 4 million New Yorkers (nearly half the population) who have difficulty accessing affordable food. Ms. Stampas noted that the term “emergency food” was really a misnomer. For many people emergency food represented subsistence food. She pointed out, for example, that 80% of families receiving food stamps run out of food before the month is over. She spoke about understanding nutrition as a function of the “food environment.” Bronx residents, according to a recent study by the Marist Institute, have the greatest difficulty finding affordable food in the city.
Ms. Stampas had some specific suggestions for clinicians. She stressed that it was important to talk with patients about what they eat, where they shop for food, and how they afford the food they buy. She pointed us to a food bank locator on the web that could be used when our patients needed food. She signalled the importance of political advocacy to improve food stamp benefits and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Clinicians as advocates
During the question and answer period a number of an additional areas for activism were suggested. Hospitals need to promote healthy eating for staff, patients and visitors. Political support is needed right now for the school meals program and WIC both of which are up for authorization in Congress. In New York State a Healthy Schools Law is being considered in Albany. The speakers highlighted the importance of physician voices in support of these programs.
Posted by Matt Anderson, MD
Add a comment March 3rd, 2009 by bronxdoc
We have just published the 12th edition of Social Medicine/Medicina Social, our bilingual, online journal. It is available in both English and Spanish. Our 12th issue captures the stories and struggles of diverse health activists, among them Dr. Walter Lear (shown below):
US Health Activism Collection
Last summer we had an opportunity to interview Dr. Lear (now 85 years old), founder of the US Health Activism Collection. In a wide-ranging interview in his home Dr. Lear discussed his personal background, the origins and purpose of the collection, the impact of the McCarthy period on the US health left, as well as his vision for the future (available at this link). Dr. Lear later added copious footnotes to his interview creating a virtual “Who’s Who” of the mid-20th century US health left.
Dr. Lear also allowed us to make PDF copies of two of the pamphlets in his collection. These are Autopsy on the AMA: An Analysis of Healthcare Delivery Systems in America [1970] published by the Student Research Facility and Your Health Care in Crisis: A HEALTH/PAC Special Report [1972] [Both documents are a bit long and may take some time to download.] Although HEALTH/PAC no longer exists as an organization, there is a HEALTH/PAC website.
Seize the Hospital to Serve the People
We are also publishing a video of Cleo Silvers, a remarkable Bronx health activist who was involved in the takeover of Lincoln Hospital. (For more on this take over see our spring 2007 journal) The video of Ms. Silvers can be seen at our Audio/Visual tab.
Should India Use Commercial Ready To Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) For Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) ?
Indian Activists associated with Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (People’s Health Movement – India) and the Right to Food Campaign question the value of Plumpy Nut, an Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). They argue that locally produced alternatives are cheaper, more acceptable, and serve to strengthen communities. At the very least Plumpy Nut should have been compared to local supplements before being adopted by the government. Available at this link.
Combatting Organ Tafficking
Activists Debra A. Budiani and Kabir Karim of the Coalition for Organ-Failure Solutions discuss the social roots of organ trafficking and consider the implications of a 2008 WHO resolution and the Istanbul Declaration. Available at this link.
posted by Matt Anderson, MD
1 Comment February 4th, 2009 by bronxdoc
As “[t]he world’s business and government leaders” met last week (1/28 – 2/1/2009) at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, activists staged their own ”other Davos” meeting. During “the other Davos” activists charged that Nestle continues to violate the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes and accused the company of union-busting. Nestle is currently subject to an international boycott because of its marketing of baby milk substitutes.
At the alternative Davos meeting several concerns were raised about Nestle’s corporate behavior. These have been brought together in the site Nestlecritics. org. Nestle has also responded to its critics, but those responses, some of which are cited below, are spread out over a number of places on the web.
1. Aggressive marketing of baby milk substitutes:
The main focus of the boycott is Nestle’s aggressive marketing of baby milk substitutes. The WHO’s International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes is fairly clear about the strict limitations on the advertising of milk substitutes. There should be no advertising to the general public and no free samples.
Nestle claims to be living by this code and their response to the campaign can be seen at a dedicated website: www. babymilk.nestle.com. Under the signature of Peter Brabeck, Nestle’s CEO, the site states:
Our policy and practice in developing countries since that time [the late 1970's] has meant no public promotion, including no advertising, no in-store promotions, no advertising leaflets, no “milk nurses”, no samples to mothers, and a very restrictive policy on free formula for evaluation by health professionals. We leave communication to mothers about infant formula in developing countries completely up to health professionals. In developed countries, we follow national regulations implementing the International Code, including the EU Commission Directive of May 1991, which implemented the Code within the EU.
Chairman Brabeck does introduce a small caveat to this policy and practice by stating that: “in a company of over 225,000 individuals, mistakes can be made.”
In fact it seems that mistakes are being made. The International Baby Food Action Network produces an annual report entitled Breaking the Rules, a page of which can be seen at this link. IBFAN feels that Nestle, while not the only company violating the code, is the worst.
More to the point for us in the United States, is that Nestle conceptualizes this problem as one of the “developing world.” But this is not a distinction made in the WHO code. Nor is there any reason to restrict the promotion of breast-feeding to developing countries. The Healthy People 2010 United States health goals call for increasing the proportion of women who breastfeed.
A quick check of Google on 2/2/2008 showed that Nestle breast milk substitutes are well publicized on the net for US audiences. A search under “Nestle Supreme Coupon” took us to a coupon at Walgreen’s. A perusal of the Gerber website (Nestle’s US baby milk substitute subsidiary) took us to advertising for the “Good Start” line of formula with up to $141 in savings and coupons for Gerber products and Good Start checks.
Nestle’s behavior in the US is consistent with the lack of regulation on formula advertising in the US. Indeed, as we have noted in a previous posting, the American Academy of Pediatrics has lent its good name to formula advertising. But this just raises more questions. How can Nestle simultaneously broadcast its commitment to the code in developing companies while ignoring it in the US? What exactly is the message sent? That breastfeeding is appropriate only for poor women? Why is it ok to advertise in the US, but not in South Africa? Is Nestle is only committed to the code when it has to be?
2. Union Busting
A section of Nestlecritics.org is devoted to various labor disputes around the world. These include the 2002 closing of a plant in Fulton, New York and disputes in Colombia, Japan and the Phillipines. Peter Rossman of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations offers an overview of the stuggle for workers’ rights at Nestle.
3. The Nestle Boycott
For a full list of boycotted products please consult the Nestle website. A partial list includes bottled waters (Perrier, Poland Spring, Pellegrino, Deer Park), baby foods (Gerber, Cerelac, Nestum), breakfast cereals (Cheerios, Nesquik), coffees (Nescafe, Nespresso), dairy products (Coffee-Mate, Nido), Haagen-Dazs ice cream, kitchen products (Lean Cuisine, Stouffer’s, Maggi), Nutrition products (Boost, Jenny Craig, Optifast, Power Bar) and multiple pet products (Alpo, Cat Chow, Dog Chow, Friskees, Gourmet, Proplan).
4. For more information
From Nestle:
Nestle.com website does not seem to address any of the activists’ concerns directly. In addition to the www.babymilk.nestle.com site, most of Nestle’s responses to the boycott have been on an ad hoc basis. Here are some:
In addition to the sources cited above we found the Responsible Shopper section of Green America had a detailed page about Nestle’s corporate behavior.
posted by Matt Anderson, MD
2 Comments November 15th, 2008 by bronxdoc
Drew Gardens
On Wednesday, November 19th, the Public Health Association of New York (PHANYC) wil sponsor a symposium at Lehman College in the Bronx entitled: Feast and Famine: Obesity, Diabetes and Hunger in New York City. The event, which is cosponsored by the MPH program at Lehman, will take place between 6 and 8PM at the Faculty Dining room of the Music Building at Lehman College. For directions, click here.
The program will include presentations by a diverse group of Bronx community activists. Among these are:
Sister Mary Alice of the Part of the Solution Soup Kitchen on Webster Avenue. POTS started in 1982 with three people making soup in a Bronx store front. “At that time, the original founders were told that POTS was the 35th emergency food provider in New York City . Twenty-four years later, there are over 170 providers in the Bronx alone.”
Lorraine Montenegro and Christian Estrada of United Bronx Parents, Inc will also discuss hunger in the Bronx. UBP runs a variety of programs including La Escuelita, which includes a homeless hot meals program and an emergency food pantry.
Someone from the local Health Department will discuss Bronx Farmers’ Markets.
Jennifer Plewka of the Phipps Development Corporation will discuss community gardens. Phipps is a large non-profit which develops, owns and manages affordable housing. Phipps also runs a community development corporation which created Drew Gardens in the West Farms section of the Bronx. Details on the garden are available from the Bronx River Alliance at this link.
Marian Feinberg of For A Better Bronx (FABB) will discuss several initiatives to support alternative food sources including community gardens, farmers’ markets and indoor food growing.
David Sappire of the Council on the Environment will discuss the Learn It, Grow It, Eat It program in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx. You can see this program in action in a video clip from an August 2008 WCBS TV news report.
A representative of Bronx Health Reach will discuss their Bodegas Outreach Initiative which encourages bodega owners to low-fat snacks, 1% milk, and a variety of fruit.
Many of these programs work in collaboration with local academic medical centers including Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the Institute for Family Health.
For more information or to RSVP, please contact PHANYC at info@phanyc.org.
Posted by Matt Anderson
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Add a comment August 14th, 2008 by bronxdoc
Following our posting last week regarding the American Academy of Pediatrics and Baby Formula, our friend Claudio Schuftan emailed us about an initiative by the International Obesity Task Force to reduce the commercial promotion of foods and beverages to children.
In 2006, the IOTF elaborated a draft set of principles to address this issue, called the Sydney Principles. These were subjected to public criticism and a revised, final set of principles was adopted in 2007. The final principles are available on the IOTF website and were published in article from in Public Health Nutrition in May of 2008. Since this article cannot be downloaded for free, you may want to write the lead author, Boyd Swinburn, for a reprint. These principles were developed in collaboration with the WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention.
Here are the seven principles:
The Sydney Principles
Actions to reduce commercial promotions to children should:
1. SUPPORT THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN.
Regulations need to align with and support the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Rome Declaration on World Food Security which endorse the rights of children to adequate, safe and nutritious food.
2. AFFORD SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTION TO CHILDREN.
Children are particularly vulnerable to commercial exploitation, and regulations need to be sufficiently powerful to provide them with a high level of protection. Child protection is the responsibility of every section of society – parents, governments, civil society, and the private sector.
3. BE STATUTORY IN NATURE.
Only legally-enforceable regulations have sufficient authority to ensure a high level of protection for children from targeted marketing and the negative impact that this has on their diets. Industry self-regulation is not designed to achieve this goal.
4. TAKE A WIDE DEFINITION OF COMMERCIAL PROMOTIONS.
Regulations need to encompass all types of commercial targeting of children (e.g. television advertising, print, sponsorships, competitions, loyalty schemes, product placements, relationship marketing, Internet) and be sufficiently flexible to include new marketing methods as they develop.
5. GUARANTEE COMMERCIAL-FREE CHILDHOOD SETTINGS. Regulations need to ensure that childhood settings such as schools, child care, and early childhood education facilities are free from commercial promotions that specifically target children.
6. INCLUDE CROSS BORDER MEDIA.
International agreements need to regulate cross-border media such as Internet, satellite and cable television, and free-to-air television broadcast from neighbouring countries.
7. BE EVALUATED, MONITORED AND ENFORCED.
The regulations need to be evaluated to ensure the expected effects are achieved, independently monitored to ensure compliance, and fully enforced.
Some thoughts:
It is interesting to use these principles as a benchmark to see how far commercial promotion to children has penetrated our society, particularly into the commercial-free childhood settings mentioned in the principles.
In 2003, New York City signed an agreement with Snapple Beverages, making Snapple “the exclusive provider via vending machines of water and fruit juices in the City’s 1,200 schools” and New York City’s official beverage. One wonders why New York City needed an official beverage. In addition:
As a part of its commitment to schools, Snapple has entered into a five-year agreement to exclusively vend bottled spring water and 100 per cent juices in all schools. Snapple, in cooperation with the Department of Education, will develop new products that meet the City’s strict nutrition guidelines. Snapple’s new product line ‘100% Juiced!’ will include four flavors, Green Apple, Orange Mango, Grape and Fruit Punch, with Vitamins A, C, D and Calcium.
I suppose this is an attempt to show that Snapple is promoting nutrition. But bottled water is not necessarily safer than public water, it is more expensive than tap water, and is much less ecologicaly friendly. Many of us feel that juice drinking is part of the obesity problem, not part of its solution. In short, this type of marketing gives a stamp of nutritional approval to corporate-friendly diets. When kids are thirsty, shouldn’t they be going to the drinking fountain?
And, of course, there is the promotion of food to children in healthcare settings. Perhaps the extreme form of this has been the placing of McDonald’s Restaurants in New York City Hospitals.
For background to this issue, the IOTF webpage offers several detailed reports.
Posted by Matt Anderson
