Equitable, Sustainable, and Healthy Food Environments

Organized in partnership with Simon Fraser University, "Equitable, Sustainable, and Healthy Food Environments" was convened May 1–4, 2016, in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

As part of an FSSD series on “Nutrition, Sustainable Agriculture, and Human Health,” the Vancouver conference focused on modifying the food environment to improve access to nutritious foods, especially for those in rural and remote areas. Ongoing research has revealed the importance of nutrition in genetic and phenotypic variations in populations worldwide. The dramatic prevalence of diabetes in North American Indigenous populations is one such example in which nutrition and healthy food environments can play a critical role in improving human health.

The conference provided opportunities to candidly question and debate a distinguished international group of seven subject-matter experts on the major policy and societal issues associated with healthy food environments, followed by moderated caucus group discussions among all participants. 

Click to read the conference announcement.

Policy Position papers

ISGP Podcast: Got Junk [Food]?

Dr. Colin Samson
Native North American populations are suffering from unprecedented rates of long-term chronic disease and poor mental health, largely associated with ...

ISGP Podcast: Robot Arms and High-Tech Farms

Prof. Evan Fraser
Overcoming food security challenges will involve addressing distribution, nutrition, environmental, and social concerns. It's not just about producin...

ISGP Podcast: Double Trouble

Prof. Mindy Kurzer
The term "double burden" refers to populations that are both overweight and undernourished, a phenomenon that is increasing in frequency and often ass...

Reversing the Nutrition Transition among Native North Americans

Colin Samson, Ph.D.
The nutritional transition is the most important issue affecting the health of indigenous peoples worldwide. It entails a change from gathered, farmed...

Targeting Environmental Determinants of Healthy Eating through Healthy Public Policy

Kim D. Raine, Ph.D., R.D., F.C.A.H.S
Tackling the burden of diet-related chronic diseases requires targeting determinants of healthy eating through policy that addresses food environments...

Improving Nutrition through Food Quality, Access, Affordability, and Waste Reduction

Mindy S. Kurzer, Ph.D.
In both the developing and developed world, the problem of undernutrition continues, yet overweight and obesity have become serious health threats. Th...

Medicinal Plant Intake: Improving Type 2 Diabetes Management in Canadian Aboriginal Populations

Pierre Haddad, Ph.D.
Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge on medicinal and food plants represents an underappreciated opportunity for the culturally relevant prevention and ma...

The Next Agricultural Revolution?

Evan Fraser, Ph.D.
One of the 21st century’s biggest challenges is devising the food systems to equitably, safely, and nutritiously feed the world’s growing populati...

Disparities in Food Insecurity: An Indigenous Public Health Perspective

Treena Delormier, Ph.D.
Food security is foundational for health and the prevention of chronic diseases during the course of a human’s life. The fact that about 1 in 6 hous...

Climate Change and Food Security: Understanding Vulnerability and Reducing Impacts

Peter Backlund, Ph.D.
Food security — the ability to obtain and use sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food — is a fundamental human need, and achieving food sec...