While we in the Global North tend to think that our national wealth automatically translates into healthier eating patterns, in reality the Western diet is, overall, much less healthy than the traditional diets of the cultures of the Global South.
That was one of the key takeaways at the IPHN-organized event Nutrition Security, Health Justice, & the Newest New Yorkers, taking place on Friday, May 24 at Gospel Tabernacle Church in the Williamsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx. The event was held in collaboration with Afrikana, ABISA (African Bureau for Immigration and Social Affairs), the American Senegalese Association, the Gambian Youth Organization, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Aliou Faye graciously translated between English and Wolof.
Many of the people in attendance at the event were recent arrivals from West African nations, especially Senegal. Following brief opening remarks by IPHN Convener Bob Pezzolesi and event co-coordinator Imam Omar Niass of Jamhiyatu Ansaru-Deen Mosque, the audience heard the following presentations:
- IPHN Community Mobilizing Assistant Shantel Howell highlighted the health benefits of traditional West African foods, using the Oldways African Heritage diet as a guide.
- Bob Pezzolesi, IPHN Convener, defined ultra-processed products and the growing research linking their consumption to a range of health harms
- Isaiah Blake, CSPI Engagement Associate, presented on highly relevant policy campaigns to limit the harm of unhealthy foods and beverages. These included policies to reduce the predatory marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages aimed at children; warning labels for chain restaurant foods and beverages with high levels of sodium and added sugars; and New York City Council legislation to require healthier standards for restaurant kids’ meals.
- Finally, IPHN Convener Kelly Moltzen placed these conversations in the broader context of achieving Pillar 3 of the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health: Empower All Consumers to Make and Have Access to Healthy Choices. She highlighted the intersection of the issues of nutrition security and immigration, and the need to develop strategies that address both the shorter-term and longer-term nutrition security needs of vulnerable migrant people.
Moltzen then moderated a panel featuring Imam Niass and Adama Bah of Afrikana, discussing the teachings of Islam in relation to food and food policy. Specifically, the panelists reflected on a teaching about temperance in eating habits, from a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), that Husein Yatabarry of Muslim Community Network had shared during the Interfaith Campaign for Food & Nutrition Security’s National Day of Prayer webinar.
You can stay up to date on the latest news and campaign updates from the Interfaith Campaign for Food and Nutrition Security by clicking here.
