ILLINOIS PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATIONRESOLUTION NO. 12

2011

SUPPORTING PRINCIPLES OF A HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM

WHEREAS, people have the right to adequate food and to be free from hunger;1and

WHEREAS, food access is a feature of the built environment and a societal resource and as such is a social determinant of health;2 3and

WHEREAS, ‘currently there is a great disconnect between public health diet-related diseases and agriculture policy issues’ despite their being ‘intimately connected;’ 4and

WHEREAS, access to healthy food in Illinois and the United States is characterized by inequities among people of color and low income people;4 5and

1 Golay, Christophe The Right to Food and Access to Justice. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 2009. ISBN 978-92-5-106384-2 p. 11. Accessed at http://www.fao.org/righttofood/publi09/justiciability_en.pdf2 Freil, Chopra, and Satcher, Unequal weight: equity oriented policy responses to the global obesity epidemic. British Medical Journal, 2007. 335(7632); p. 1241.

3 Anderson, L.M. et al., IThe Community Guide’s model for linking the social environment to health. Am J Prev Med, 2003. 24(3 Suppl): p. 12-20.

4 Story, Hamm & Wallinga (2009) ‘Food Systems and Public Health: Linkages to Achieve Healthier Diets and Healthier Communities’, Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, 4: 3, 219-224.5 Block, D., N. Chavez, and J. Birgen, Finding Food in Chicago and the suburbs; the Report of the Northeastern Illinois Communuity Food Security Assessment Report to the Public. 2008. Accessed at http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CB8QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.csu.edu%2Fnac%2Fdocuments%2Freporttothepublic060308.pdf&ei=DjSKTYWSEujB0QHdxsWPDg&usg=AFQjCNH5xHxRkLNZA2Cg27lSuaze3ZL2AQ

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Approved ___________Not Approved ________

MEMBERSHIPApproved ___________Not Approved __________

WHEREAS, communities of low food access or ‘food deserts’ exist in rural, suburban and urban areas across Illinois;6and

WHEREAS, the present food system exacerbates climate change while at the same time is vulnerable to the ill effects of climate change;7and

WHEREAS, farmers’ net income is decreasing, often below the costs of production: ‘farmers are receiving less and less of every food dollar spent—just 19 cents worth, today—with food processors, handlers, and marketers getting the balance;’ 8and

WHEREAS, many of the 20 million salaried workers in the food chain are unprotected from federal labor laws, lack access to healthy food, experience hunger and systematic racial and gender discrimination in wages and job opportunities;9and

WHEREAS, calorie dense food is subsidized and more affordable while nutrient dense food is unsubsidized and often unaffordable;10 11and

WHEREAS, the American Public Health Association (APHA), American Dietetic Association, American Nurses Association, and American Planning Association support Principles of a Healthy, Sustainable Food System described as health promoting; sustainable; resilient; diverse; fair; economically balanced; and transparent;12and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Illinois Public Health Association (IPHA) supports the ‘Principles of a Healthy, Sustainable Food System’ co-authored by the APHA; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that IPHA will apply the ‘Principles of a Healthy, Sustainable Food System’ to policy discussions at the local, state and federal level, and use the Principles as criteria for supporting or opposing proposed policies; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that IPHA will educate and inform public health practitioners, policy makers, advocates and members of the public about the importance and

6 Local Food Farms and Jobs: Growing the Illinois Economy March, 2009, p. 8. Accessed at http://www.agr.state.il.us/newsrels/taskforcereport-outside.pdf7 Wallinga, David(2009) 'Today's Food System: How Healthy Is It?', Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 4: 3, 251 — 281. Accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19320240903336977, p. 263.8 Ibid., p. 270.9 Yen Liu, Yvonne and Apollon, Dominique “The Color of Food” (March 2011) Applied Research Center, Oakland, CA. Accessed at http://www.arc.org/downloads/food_justice_021611_F.pdf10 Townsned, M., Aaron, G., Monsivais, P., Keim, N., Drewnowski, A. “Less-energy-dense diets of low-income women in California are associated with higher energy-adjusted diet costs,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009); 89:1220-6.11 Wallinga, op. cit., p. 270.12 “Principles of a healthy, sustainable food system,” Accessed at http://www.planning.org/nationalcenters/health/pdf/HealthySustainableFoodSystemsPrinciples.pdf . APHA press release “New Food System Principles Emphasize Health Benefits-- Principles drafted by coalition of planning and health professionals advocates for healthy, sustainable food systems  accessed here http://www.apha.org/about/news/pressreleases/2010/food+safety+system+coalition+release.htm

value of the Principles of a healthy sustainable food system, and build alliances with all food system sectors in order to further the creation of healthy sustainable food systems.