209137 Relationship between food, transportation and health: Creating meaningful interaction across systems to build healthy communities

Wednesday, November 11, 2009: 11:00 AM

Kami Pothukuchi, PhD , College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Agri-food systems and transportation systems contribute much to the global economy and welfare by increasing the volume and speed of flows of food across the world. However, the linkages also adversely affect human health. These negative effects arise from unequal access to healthy food, unequal access to transportation for agri-food workers, increasing geospatial and economic concentration in the agri-food industry, and an emerging competition between food and fuel. Because the health of individuals is inextricably tied to the health of communities, regions, and ecological systems, health and transportation professionals need to act to both mitigate current disparities and enhance the future viability and sustainability of these systems.

This presentation offers numerous policy recommendations for overcoming shortcomings in how the agri-food and transportation systems currently interact to create healthier, more equitable, communities. This session will discuss opportunities in the upcoming surface transportation bill –a multi-year, multi-billion dollar federal expenditure that heavily impacts all transportation policies across the nation. This bill only passes every five to seven years and sets the tone for transportation planning at the state, regional and local levels. This is an opportunity to create a transportation system supportive of health. With food becoming more expensive and the downturn of the economy weighing on families and individuals, we must explore options to ensure healthy, affordable food growth and access.

Learning Objectives:
- Describe the relationship between food, transportation and health. - Discuss ways to create a healthier food system through transportation policy. - Identify transportation policies to facilitate a healthy food system. - List additional policy avenues to support transportation elements related to healthy food access and healthy agricultural systems.

Keywords: Food Security, Environmental Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: - Associate Professor of Urban Planning at Wayne State University - Author of Food, Transportation and Health commissioned by the Healthy Eating, Active Living Convergence Partnership (yet to be published)
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.