This document discusses issues with the current U.S. food system and proposes solutions to create a food system that is good, clean, and fair. It outlines problems nationally such as federal policies not supporting sustainability, lack of access to healthy foods, and related health issues like obesity. Locally in NYC, problems include disconnecting people from where their food comes from and lack of access to fresh foods. Suggested solutions involve fixing federal policy, addressing food deserts, reconnecting people to food production, and using social technology to improve food education and access in NYC.

1. Join the movement for a good, clean & fair food system Slow Food USA is a network of volunteer chapters all over the country who are working to transform the food system, both locally and nationally. twitter: @SlowFoodUSA

2. What is a Food System? Food system: A food system includes all processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population: growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, and disposal of food and food-related items. Seed to Table Farm to Fork Ground to Garbage People like me are interested in a systems approach to transformation of food in this country.

3. What is a Foodshed? Foodshed: A foodshed is everything between where a food is produced and where a food is consumed -- the land it grows on, the routes it travels, the markets it goes through, the tables it ends up gracing.

4. What’s Broken in Our Food System Nationally?(i.e. “the food is so bad – and the portions are terrible!”) Federal policy is not supporting a good, clean, fair system (GE alfalfa, subsidies) Subsidies (of commodity crops, via The (Food and) Farm Bill Moves like recent GE alfalfa decision, presents major hardship to organic industry Access. Good, real, healthy food not accessible to everyone (cost, access) Food Deserts Food pricing Health. Food, and the way we are relating to it, is making us unhealthy: We are totally disconnected from the story behind our food: How did it get to our plate? Who grew it? How was it grown? How did it get to the farmers market/store/FreshDirect? How did it get to my plate? People are willfully blind—even people who are beginning to be interested can practice willful blindness—we rely on labels like organic or free-range to make us feel OK and get us off the hook from knowing what was really involved in making this food. 93% of children can identify McDonald’s golden arches, but most can’t identify basic fruits and vegetables We don’t understand how to eat: Michael Pollan’s food rules (“chew slowly”), recent USDA dietary guidelines: “Enjoy your food, eat less.” Speaking of eating less: Obesity/Diabetes. The true cost of cheap food: In the 60s, Americans spent 17% of household budget on food, 6% on health care. Now, 9% on food, 16% on health care. this generation first to have shorter life span than their parents nearly 1 in 3 children in America are overweight or obese. 1/3 of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives (if it’s children of color it might be as high as 1 in 2); many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. 4 of top ten biggest killers right now are diet-related diseases

5. Jeepers! It all sounds like very bad news. So…..Answers: Fix federal policy Address food deserts and food pricing Spend more on food, encourage food as preventative medicine Learn the story behind your food

6. That was a National Framework Food especially is an issue that can be addressed nationally but sometimes better to look at on a local level. What about on a local level? What are some things we need to fix in NYC?

7. Problem Statements to Solve for: How can we use social technology to connect peri urban, suburban and rural farmers to consumers to bring more fresh fruit & vegetables to the city to improve the health of New Yorkers? How can we use social technology to increase access to fresh fruit and vegetables specifically in food deserts? How can we use social technology to help New Yorkers learn the story behind their food so that they make better choices? How can social technology reconnect New Yorkers with scratch cooking knowledge and the cooking traditions of their great grandmothers? How can social technology empower New Yorkers to grow some of their own food in their communities/on their windowsills & roofs & backyards? How can social technology increase opportunities for people to share food & share knowledge/skills about how to can/preserve/pickle, decreasing New Yorkers’ reliance on processed and prepared foods? How can we use social technology to help New Yorkers decipher food labels in order to make healthier choices? FYI: Christine Quinn’s report: Nov 22, “FoodWorks,” examination of the whole system –“ground to garbage”—and proposed solutions for NYC and foodshed.