This document discusses how modern food production and consumption practices are negatively impacting health. Genetically modified foods, pesticides, antibiotics in livestock, and artificial ingredients have made the food supply less nutritious. As a result, Americans suffer from higher rates of diet-related diseases like diabetes and cancer compared to other wealthy nations. Both individuals and healthcare professionals can help address this issue by making healthier food choices, supporting sustainable agriculture, and integrating nutrition into medical practices to emphasize prevention over sickness management.

1. Let Food Be thy Medicine
& Medicine Be thy Food
Megan
Grocki,
Experience
Strategy
Director
#HxR2014
@megangrocki

3. What has happened
to our food?

4. How is our food
affecting our health?

5. What can we do
about it?

6. has happened
to our food?
WTF

9. Photo:
Mark
Kegans
for
The
New
York
Times

10. Photo:www.perdueagribusiness.com

11. Genetically modified
organisms (GMOs)
“Organisms in which the genetic
material (DNA) has been altered in a
way that does not occur naturally.”
-World Health Organization

12. Is genetically modified

13. (Bt) Corn
Bacillus thuringiensis

14. (Bt) Corn
classified as a
pesticide by the EPA

16. Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine)
azodicarbonamide
MSG
Aspartame
Sodium benzoate
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
Sodium nitrite

17. 80% of antibiotics
sold in the US
are used on
farm animals FDA

18. Pesticides
Insecticides
Fungicides
Herbicides (Glyphosate)
- 527 million pound increase since 1996
C.
Benbrook,
2012

19. What does our
food have to do
with our health?

20. We Are Sicker
& Die Younger
Than Others In Wealthy Nations
Source:
NaHonal
Research
Council
and
InsHtute
of
Medicine.
U.S.
Health
in
InternaHonal
PerspecHve:
Shorter
Lives,
Poorer
Health.
Washington,
DC:
The
NaHonal
Academies
Press,
2013.

21. American
Diabetes
AssociaHon.
American children born each year
since 2000, will develop Type 2 diabetes
1 in 3

23. Source:
Stanford
school
of
medicine
has food allergies
1 in 13

24. 2,615
4,135
9,537
1998-2000 2001-2003 2004-2006
Food allergy related
hospitalizations for
children under 18
Center
for
Disease
Control.
Na2onal
Health
Interview
Survey

25. Pediatrics,
May
21,
2010
of girls are expected
to begin puberty
by the age of 7
15%

26. Centers
for
Disease
Control
CANCER is the leading
cause of death by disease
in children under 15

27. President's
Cancer
Panel
Report
of Americans are expected
to get cancer
41%

28. Environmental
Health
Perspec@ves
-­‐
V.106,
N.6
-­‐
Jun98

29. We spend more
on health care and
disease management
than any other country on the
planet.
Source:
NaHonal
Research
Council
and
InsHtute
of
Medicine.
U.S.
Health
in
InternaHonal
PerspecHve:
Shorter
Lives,
Poorer
Health.
Washington,
DC:
The
NaHonal
Academies
Press,
2013.

30. Many diseases
are diet-related
& PREVENTABLE

31. We
are
overfed,
and
undernourished
Food
insecurity

32. We
are
overfed,
and
undernourished
Food
insecurity

33. Source:
American
Journal
of
Medicine
(hWp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/244405
Nearly 1 in 3
adults with a
chronic disease has
problems paying for food,
medicine, or both.

34. Image
Credit:
Wikimedia
Commons

35. What if we could
PREVENT unnecessary
illness in the first place?

36. What can we do
about this?

37. We as individuals can …
Cut Artificial Colors
Count chemicals, not calories
Eat Less Fake Food
Seek out yummy ways to consume superfoods
Learn more about GMOs and support labeling
Support producers who don’t use antibiotics, or
pesticides

38. We as healthcare professionals can …
Consider nutrition in our content
Build awareness around the food/health
connection
Integrate nutrition information into our interfaces
Getting the facts and doing research is key – study
food consumption patterns alongside other work

40. Cool things
happening with
food, media, and
technology

42. Produce at
convenient stores

43.
Fooducate
Fooducate

46. Social media
pressure

50. So much sickness
could be prevented
by improving
nutrition literacy

51. It’s not hopeless –
we can all do
something

52. Food is “health” care,
Medicine is “sick” care

53. Let’s fix food to
improve health

54. Thank you!
mgrocki@madpow.com
@megangrocki