Introduction
Christopher Gardner is a nutrition scientist and the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor of Medicine. For 26 years at Stanford he has studied what to consume and to avoid for optimal health, and how best to motivate individuals to achieve healthy dietary behaviors. He has served on many committees for organizations such as the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association, and has conducted and published dozens of human nutrition intervention trials. Current research interests including collaborating with chefs and dining operators as research partners in an effort to identify strategies to optimize the intersection of taste, health and environmental sustainability. Christopher teaches several food and nutrition classes, including an on-line course recently launched through the Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning.
HERE WE REFER TO HEALTHCARE as something distinctly different than health in that it refers to the organizational structure and system designed to support health. In this regard access to safe and healthy food can be as important as the healthfulness of the food itself, and so this can involve transportation issues, safety net programs to address food insecurity, and other related factors. National dietary guidelines, such as the recently developed Canadian guidelines, can be an important component of the healthcare system, offering guidance on specific types and groups of foods to include and emphasize vs. avoid and limit. In the context of food and healthcare, this brings up the age-old adage to “let food be thy medicine” attributed to Hippocrates. This is particularly relevant in countries such as the US where the costs of medically treating chronic diseases and their symptoms are crippling the healthcare system, and large benefits could be realized if substantive dietary shifts at the population level could be achieved that prevented and reduced the burden of such diet-related chronic diseases as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.
Marie Spiker, PhD, MSPH, RDN is the Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems Fellow at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation. In this role, she works to build the capacity of nutrition and dietetics professionals to contribute to sustainable food and water systems through education, research, practice, and policy.
Marie has multidisciplinary training in nutrition and dietetics, global health, systems science, and sustainable food systems. She trained as a CLF-Lerner Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, worked as a Senior Analyst on the Systems Science Core at the Global Obesity Prevention Center at Johns Hopkins, worked as a Nutrition Consultant to Baltimore City’s Food Policy Director, and is a recipient of the Abell Award in Urban Policy.
Marie received her PhD and MSPH in human nutrition from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She completed dietetics training through the graduate coordinated program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She also holds a BS in public health and a BA in medical anthropology from the University of Washington.
Marie Spiker
Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems Fellow
ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS FOUNDATION
Nutritious food is essential for health, and it’s important for all people to have access to affordable, nutritious food. When we talk about food “access,” we’re talking about both physical access and economic access. In addition to food being available in the food supply, it needs to be available in locations that people can reach by foot, public transit, or car, and it also needs to be affordable. If people need to expend a lot of time, effort, and money to obtain nutritious foods, it’s not realistic to expect that they will choose healthy options on a consistent basis. Improving the quality of people’s diets is challenging — it may not be enough to simply add a supermarket to a neighborhood that lacks one, as there are other factors at play such as access to transportation, walkability, and neighborhood safety; household income and the relative affordability of nutritious foods; and food knowledge and preferences.
Sue joined MANNA in December 1999 as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). Sue was instrumental in MANNA’s shift from providing comfort and care to those dying from AIDS into an organization helping people with over 85 different illnesses through nutrition counseling and home-delivered medically appropriate meals.
At MANNA, Sue has held several positions prior to being appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2014, including Director of Nutrition and Client Services, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Director. Sue garnered national recognition in June 2013 when she co-authored a key study, “Examining Health Care Costs Among MANNA Clients and a Comparison Group” published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Primary Care & Community Health. This research study examined the health care cost savings associated with MANNA’s model and has ongoing impact on nutrition policy nationwide.
Sue has presented MANNA’s work at conferences and meetings across the United States including the annual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo, Harvard University’s Food as Medicine Symposium, Tulane University’s Culinary Medicine Conference, and the Root Cause Coalition’s National Summit on Social Determinants of Health. She has also testified in front of the United States Congress.
Sue served as a board member of Association of Nutrition Service Agencies (ANSA) from 2010-2012 and currently is co-chair of the national Food Is Medicine Coalition. Other accolades include, the 2015 Jefferson College of Population Health Education Hero Award, Comcast’s Newsmakers selection, the Cancer Treatment Center’s America Caregiver Women of the Week Award, and Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders Award.
Sue Daugherty
CEO
MANNA
Hippocrates stated back in Ancient Grecian times to “Let food be thy Medicine”. Today, we have scientific research showing us the power and impact of the right nutrition. We know that eating a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables helps to prevent many chronic diseases. Once someone is diagnosed with a disease/s they often require prescribed diets, such as a diabetic diet, a renal diet or heart healthy diet. These may sound generic but they are very complicated and require science to pair the right nutrients for each illness. Just like medicines prevent or treat a disease, food can do the same. When battling a disease or multiple diseases your diet can play an important role in your health outcomes.
Jamie has worked in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) field for over 20 years, working on a wide range of projects, from tracking deforestation rates in Southeast Asia, to predicting groundwater recharge rates in Southern Arizona, to mapping bike routes in Baltimore City. Jamie joined the Center for a Livable Future in 2010 and sees his GIS skills as a natural fit in advancing the Center’s mission. Through his work at the Center, Jamie has come to appreciate how complex the food system in Maryland is, even at the local level. He likes the challenge of presenting the many elements of the food system–and their interconnections–in a way that people can easily process and understand. Jamie has helped develop the Maryland Food System Map, a web mapping application that he believes is a useful tool for people to learn more about Maryland’s food system. He has also contributed to the Center’s Baltimore City Food Environment research. Jamie has been motivated by the people and organizations he has encountered while working at the Center. Whether it is a grandmother trying to bring healthier food options to her neighborhood in Baltimore, a researcher trying to better understand the environmental impacts of a particular agricultural practice, or an educator simply helping her students learn where their food comes from, Jamie is inspired by how each contributes to raising awareness about our food environment and moves us closer to making better choices about our food.
Jamie Harding
GIS Specialist
JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR A LIVABLE FUTURE
Fast food tends to be high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories so it is natural to assume that areas with a higher density of fast food restaurants would have higher rates of chronic disease and obesity. However, while some studies have found positive associations between the two, others have not. This discrepancy in results could be due to differences in methodology and study design. There are likely many factors behind the rise in obesity and chronic diseases we have seen in communities across the world, beyond just an increase in availability of inexpensive and unhealthy food. In our work with Baltimore City we have seen that areas with a higher prevalence of diet related diseases also struggle with poverty, lower levels of education, and higher rates of crime and violence.
Jamie has worked in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) field for over 20 years, working on a wide range of projects, from tracking deforestation rates in Southeast Asia, to predicting groundwater recharge rates in Southern Arizona, to mapping bike routes in Baltimore City. Jamie joined the Center for a Livable Future in 2010 and sees his GIS skills as a natural fit in advancing the Center’s mission. Through his work at the Center, Jamie has come to appreciate how complex the food system in Maryland is, even at the local level. He likes the challenge of presenting the many elements of the food system–and their interconnections–in a way that people can easily process and understand. Jamie has helped develop the Maryland Food System Map, a web mapping application that he believes is a useful tool for people to learn more about Maryland’s food system. He has also contributed to the Center’s Baltimore City Food Environment research. Jamie has been motivated by the people and organizations he has encountered while working at the Center. Whether it is a grandmother trying to bring healthier food options to her neighborhood in Baltimore, a researcher trying to better understand the environmental impacts of a particular agricultural practice, or an educator simply helping her students learn where their food comes from, Jamie is inspired by how each contributes to raising awareness about our food environment and moves us closer to making better choices about our food.
Mary Purdy
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
MARYPURDY.CO
Concern over the safety of fresh produce has grown in recent decades with the increase in pesticide use as well as the history of bacterial contamination. While this shouldn’t be a reason to avoid vegetables, there is value in thoroughly washing any produce that consumers bring back from the market place, which may contain pesticide residues or potentially harmful bacteria. Exposure can be minimized by thoroughly rinsing with running water. Spraying with a veggie wash or soaking in a mixture of vinegar and water or distilled water can also remove unwanted dirt and help kill some but not all bacteria. It is not a good idea to use detergent or soap to clean your produce. It is also important to wash your hands and clean kitchen surfaces before you prepare your produce. Ideally, if possible, choose organic or pesticide-free produce which is less likely to cause concerns, especially if grown in healthy soil. Supporting these types of farming practices is also a way to promote environmental sustainability in the food system.
Dr. Lana Vanderlee’s research aims to design and evaluate population-level nutrition policies and interventions that address diet-related non-communicable diseases and environmental sustainability, to help inform Canadian and international policy decisions. She conducts applied research with global networks of investigators to evaluate the status and impact of government and food industry policies relating to food environments, like dietary guidelines, restrictions on marketing unhealthy foods to children, food labelling, efforts to reformulate the food supply, and sugary drink taxes.
Lana Vanderlee
Assistant Professor
L’ ÉCOLE DE NUTRITION – Université Laval
Canada’s most recent version of their food guide was released in 2019, and represented a major shift in dietary guidance in Canada. Moving away from guidance that focused on telling Canadians exactly what and how much of each food group should be consumed, the new food guide now emphasizes simple messages like having plenty of vegetables and fruit, making water your drink of choice, and limiting highly processed foods. The food guide mentions that healthy eating is about more than the food you eat, and that mindful eating practices and enjoying foods, eating meals with others, cooking food and building traditions around food are all part of building healthy dietary practices. And perhaps the most exciting aspect of the new food guide is the explicit mention of choosing plant-based proteins more often, which we know can contribute to improving the health of people and the planet.
Dr. Jennifer Kuk, PhD, is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York University. She has published over 100 scientific papers, reports and chapters related to obesity, health and lifestyle behaviors. Currently, her laboratory is investigating the relationship between obesity and health through clinical human studies and epidemiological approaches. In particular, she is interested in the characterization of the metabolically normal obesity phenotype and is currently working on factors that identify successful weight management in adult and pediatric patient populations. This work will help to clarify the most optimal weight management strategies for maintaining and improving health.
Jennifer L. Kuk
Associate Professor, Health Science Research Centre
YORK UNIVERSITY
Obesity refers to excess fat mass, while fit and strong refer to having highly functioning muscles, heart and lungs. High fitness is normally related with being physically active, but regular exercise generally results in very small amount of fat loss. For example, increasing your physical activity to what is recommended by the physical activity guidelines (150 min of moderate activity without dieting) normally results in less than 2lbs of weight loss per month. This is why you can be fit and strong while having obesity. Even while being fit and strong, obesity still increases your risk for several negative health consequences including shortened life expectancy and so it is rightly called a disease.
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