Type 2 Diabetes as a Food-Borne Illness

The modern epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the United States needs to be re-evaluated by examining the role of the “Standard American Diet” (SAD) in the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. The spate of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers are clear outcomes of the SAD. Lacking the acute onset and rapid progression of symptoms seen in food-borne illnesses caused by pathogens like H1N1, salmonella, E. coli, or typhoid, chronic disease (CD) may not be recognized as a food-borne illness, but certain CDs survive within this construct, and are definable and thus preventable and treatable in many of the same ways. This presentation makes the argument that the current epidemic of type 2 diabetes needs to be labeled as a “food-borne illness,” and that appropriate interventions are in the domains of nutrition and public health. As such, public health policy interventions for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes must focus on food availability, promotion, and consumption.