Dr. Kathleen Medina

Transitioning to a Food Environment Built for Health | Milken Institute Global Conference 2023

Allison Aubrey, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Nancy Dalton, Anthony Pratt, Craig Wichner, Dr. Kathleen Medina, Elizabeth Littlefield Jr., Eliza Bailey

A diverse panel of leaders from agriculture, technology, and food security organizations outlines a critical strategy to transition the U.S. toward a health-promoting food environment by addressing systemic failures like obesity, food waste, and monoculture dependency. Through proposed policy reforms—including cover crop incentives in the Farm Bill, permanent SNAP online access, and insurance-linked nutrition rewards—experts aim to shift subsidies from low-value commodities to nutrient-dense production while leveraging digital tools and behavioral science. The discussion emphasizes that immediate public-private partnerships are essential to reverse soil degradation, reduce methane emissions, and ensure universal access to nutritionally adequate food.