[ Food as Medicine is an emerging concept and the focus of the
Food as Medicine Policy Summit; and a range of food companies are
ready and waiting with products to make the market.]
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PORTSIDE CULTURE

FOOD IS MEDICINE (FIM): THE LATEST FOOD MOVEMENT (OF SORTS)  
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Marion Nestle
December 11, 2023
foodpolitics.com
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_ Food as Medicine is an emerging concept and the focus of the Food
as Medicine Policy Summit; and a range of food companies are ready and
waiting with products to make the market. _

,

 

I subscribe to Jerry Hagstrom’s Hagstrom Report
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Washington, D.C. and elsewere that I can’t get to but wish I could.

He reported last week (December 7) on the Food As Medicine Summit, and
wrote about it in the _National Journal_ — “Food as medicine’
on the table”
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This notes, among other things, that the minimum fee for attending was
$399.

So what is the food-as-medicine movement? Advocates believe changing
Americans’ diets away from the fat, sodium, and added sugars that
have led to high levels of obesity and instead toward fruits,
vegetables, fiber, and lean protein can reduce the need for
prescription drugs and hospitalizations. The advocates want Medicare,
Medicaid, and private insurers to pay for diet interventions like
produce prescriptions.

He also reported on the accompanying Trade Show.

Food as Medicine is still an emerging concept, but there was a small
trade show on the sidelines of the Food as Medicine Policy Summit that
showed the range of companies that believe the food and health care
industries need their products.

I was particularly interested in the trade show because the
monetization of Food Is Medicine is a big concern.

Also last week, JAMA published a critique of the concept: “A
“FOOD IS MEDICINE” APPROACH TO DISEASE PREVENTIONLIMITATIONS AND
ALTERNATIVES,”
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that “the medical and public health communities’ enthusiasm for
food is medicine seems unjustified by its likely benefit.”

The authors argue (my paraphrasing):

* Evidence in support of FIM’s ability to improve health is weak.
* Existing studies do not differential FIM from the effects of
standard care.
* FIM requires enrollment in the health care system (overburdened,
dysfunctional, difficult to access).
* Patient adherence to interventions is low (unless they are
provided intact and paid for).
* Existing federal food and nutrition programs are already known to
work; they deserve more support.
* The main beneficiary is the food industry, which gets to shift
responsibility to the health care system.
* Food companies will also benefit from sales of FIM products [hence
the Summit Trade Show].

Count me as an FIM skeptic.  It’s nice for people who can get it;
it is not likely to scale up enough to address chronic disease in any
significant way.

Hagstrom lists these resources
 USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture — Gus Schumacher
Nutrition Incentive Program
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 Grey Green Media — Events
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 Food is Medicine Coalition
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You might also like:

* Weekend reading: Food as Medicine
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* Weekend reading: Food is Medicine initiative
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* PLoS Medicine series on Big Food: the papers are now online
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* food
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* food and medicine
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