On Earth Day two weeks ago, 171 countries officially signed the Paris Agreement on climate change. In doing so, they agreed to the long term goal of ending humanity’s damage to the climate—that is, reducing our emissions of global warming pollution to zero—in the second half of this century. One encouraging part of the ongoing scientific discussion about how to achieve this ambitious goal, is that we’re finally starting to take seriously the impact of what people eat. Three recent studies show that it makes a big difference, to the climate as well as to our health.
Beef and the Paris Agreement: Changing What We Eat to Stop Causing Climate Change
May 4, 2016 11:40 AM EDT

School Lunch: The Half Truth about Whole Grains
May 7, 2015 9:51 AM EDT
As the debate over school lunch nutrition standards continues in Congress, I’ve heard a number of claims that don’t ring true. Today I’ll look at an argument I’ve been hearing about the challenge of incorporating more whole grains into children’s lunches. Read more >
The Causes and Complexity of Obesity
April 29, 2015 3:24 PM EDT
Unfortunately, there is no straightforward and easy way to explain what causes obesity. The Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) of Health attempts to address the question of how people become obese. The basic premise of SEM is that becoming overweight or obese is very complex and combines a number of factors that can impact health outcomes. Read more >
School Lunch Costs: What the Kiwi Are They Talking About?
April 21, 2015 11:30 AM EDT
Last week, Congress hosted the first of several hearings about the upcoming Child Nutrition Reauthorization act. This act includes the National School Lunch Program, which is reauthorized every five years. In 2010, a bipartisan Congress passed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA)—which brought nutrition standards for schools into accord with federal dietary guidelines. As implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the law also requires students to take at least 1/2 cup of fruits and vegetables. Read more >