Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 September 19, Bringing Agriculture to the Table How Agriculture and Food Can Play a Role in Preventing Chronic Disease Rachel Nugent, PhD, Chair Prepared for the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Control

Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 MaleFemale NCDs kill people at a younger age in developing countries Age-standardized deaths per 100,000 from cardiovascular disease 1 Source: WHO, 2008 Age-standardized deaths per 100,000 from cardiovascular disease and diabetes The highest increases in NCDs are expected in Africa, South-East Asia, and the Southern Mediterranean—an over 20 percent increase expected by Source: WHO, 2010

Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 The economic burden of NCDs will overwhelm health systems and slow economic growth 2 NCD COSTS Health spending on diabetes ranges from 6% of all health costs in China to 15% in Mexico Source: P. Zhang, et al, 2010 Each 10% increase in NCD burden is associated with a 0.5% reduction in annual economic growth Source: WHO 23 high burden countries are projected to lose $84 billion in GDP between from 3 NCDs Source: Abegunde, et al, 2007 NCDs will cost more than $47 trillion globally between now and 2030 Source: D. Bloom, 2011

Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 ● Dietary contributors to NCDs: Insufficient intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains Excess intake of salt, saturated fat, and trans-fatty acids ● Lead to: High blood pressure, high cholesterol Poor nutrition contributes to poor health 3 Roughly half of all deaths from stroke and heart disease are attributed to high blood pressure Source: WHO

Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 ● Dietary contributors to NCDs: Insufficient intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains Excess intake of salt, saturated fat, and trans-fatty acids ● Lead to: High blood pressure, high cholesterol Overweight and obesity Poor nutrition contributes to poor health About 44% of all diabetes cases, 23% of heart diseases, and 7 to 14% of cancers are related to overweight and obesity 4 Source: WHO

Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 September 19, 2011 Avenues of Change: Governance Financing Policy Research and Education Technology Personal Behavior

Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 Tools for agriculture to improve health 6 Agriculture and Food Value Chain Approaches A value chain reveals social, environmental and health benefits in the production process. EXAMPLES: New product formulation and cold chain innovations to reach people at the bottom of the pyramid Build capacity into local food chains to raise quality and lower price Mutual Metrics Mutual metrics are results indicators shared between agriculture and health. EXAMPLES: Volume of fresh fruits and vegetables timely delivered to consumer markets Substitution of healthier oils for palm oil in processed foods

Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 Agriculture can improve health by… 7 Partnering for New Programs and Policies EXAMPLES: Limit marketing to children and reduce sodium and fat content in products. Report progress to the public and WHO Partner with companies in the developing world to help small food processors produce safe, nutritious, affordable food products Creating New Policy for a Healthy Food Supply EXAMPLES: Voluntary or mandatory reductions in salt and trans fat content of foods Limitations on sales and marketing of high-sugar products to children Calorie information on restaurant menus

Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 Key recommendations at a glance National governments businesses Donors Consumers and their representatives International organizations Agri – food

Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 Key recommendations at a glance Agri-food Businesses: Work with researchers in developing countries to characterize the local food supply and diet National governments businesses Donors Consumers and their representatives International organizations Agri – food National governments International organizations businesses Agri – food

Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 Key recommendations at a glance Agri-food Businesses: Build a shared value ethos into media and government relations National governments businesses Donors Consumers and their representatives International organizations Agri – food National governments International organizations businesses Agri – food

Bringing Agriculture to the Table September 19, 2011 September 19, 2011 thechicagocouncil.org/HealthyAgandNCD