Nonprofits urge nutrition action from Biden administration to address hunger, inequality and COVID-19

03 Feb 2021 --- Nonprofit industry bodies are calling on the new US administration to address what they say are “record levels” of nutrition insecurity, which is raising disease rates and exacerbating racial and economic inequalities throughout the country.

The Natural Products Association (NPA), one of the largest and oldest organizations representing the interests of manufacturers in the US natural products industry, released a statement calling for the expansion of federal food assistance programs.

“All Americans deserve access to products that support their health, and expanding federal food assistance programs and health savings accounts to include nutritional supplements is the best way to make that happen,” says Daniel Fabricant, president and CEO of NPA.   

“This solution is in line with the Administration’s goal to support underserved communities, boost nutrition, fight COVID-19 and promote long-term health.”

New US agriculture secretary 
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a watchdog and consumer advocacy group, has echoed the NPA’s concerns and called for the rapid confirmation of Tom Vilsack as US agriculture secretary. 

Vilsack, who previously held the post under the Obama administration, has been nominated for the position once more by newly elected President Joe Biden. 

Tom Vilsack, Biden's nominee for US agriculture secretary.CSPI is lauding Vilsack’s promise to create “a food system that makes healthy and nutritious food more available, convenient and affordable to all Americans.”

Peter Lurie, president of the CSPI, released a statement asserting that Vilsack’s potential appointment comes “at a time of layered challenges – including record levels of food and nutrition insecurity, deep racial and socioeconomic inequities and climate change.”

Lurie, moreover, called on Vilsack to begin reversing changes effected under the Trump administration, which allowed school meals to include refined grains and chocolate milk. It also gave schools more time to reduce sodium content. 

“We urge Secretary Vilsack to move quickly to protect and strengthen the nutrition standards for school meals, particularly on salt, whole grains and added sugars,” says Lurie. 

Vitamin D, zinc and COVID-19 
The NPA also draws attention to the connection between the lack of particular nutrients and ingredients and worsened outcomes in COVID-19 patients. 

In particular, there is increasing evidence that people with vitamin D deficiencies are more at risk of deadly outcomes when contracting COVID-19. 

Last year, the UK government began addressing public vitamin D deficiency on this basis, primarily by promoting appropriate supplement use and providing free vitamin D pills and fortified foods.

NPA is calling on Vilsack to make similar interventions in the US public diet, pointing to studies showing that 95 percent of adults and 98 percent of teens in the US have an inadequate vitamin D intake. 

Moreover, the organization is highlighting zinc deficiency, which is related to immune strength, which affects roughly 30 percent of the global population. 

Part of the US government’s efforts to address malnutrition is through its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food stamps for at-need families across the country. 

NPA urges the government to incorporate appropriate nutrients and minerals into public diets through the SNAP program during the pandemic. 

Addressing inequality 
Lurie also alludes to the worsening racial and economic inequality caused by malnutrition and its knock-on effects. 

USDA reports that over 29 million adults and as many as 12 million children live in households struggling to afford food. 

More than one in five Black and Latino adults and many more children report food insecurity.

“These numbers continue to worsen each month,” it says. 

Vilsack and the new administration must be ready to “grapple forthrightly” with these gaps, says the CSPI.

Edited

By Louis Gore-Langton

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