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International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-72881-2
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Communication to bridge the gap between food production and nutrition and health: Proceedings of a workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/28024.

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PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR A WORKSHOP ON COMMUNICATION TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN FOOD PRODUCTION AND NUTRITION AND HEALTH¹

BRUCE Y. LEE (Chair), Professor of Health Policy and Management; Executive Director, Center for Advanced Technology and Communications in Health; and Executive Director, Public Health Informatics, Computation, and Operations Research, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy

LORRAINE BRENNAN, Full Professor of Human Nutrition, University College Dublin

SUSAN C. SCRIMSHAW, Past President/Board Chair, Russel Sage College and Simmons University

PAYAM VAHMANI, Assistant Professor, University of California, Davis

LINDA V. VAN HORN, Professor and Chief, Nutrition Division, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

National Academies Staff

ALICE VOROSMARTI, Associate Program Officer

JENNIFER STEPHENSON, Research Associate

ANDI REISER, Senior Program Assistant

ANN L. YAKTINE, Director, Food and Nutrition Board

Consultant

JOE ALPER, Consulting Writer

STANDING COMMITTEE ON EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS AND COMMUNICATIONS IN DIET AND CHRONIC DISEASE RELATIONSHIPS¹

BRUCE Y. LEE (Chair), Professor of Health Policy and Management; Executive Director, Center for Advanced Technology and Communications in Health; and Executive Director, Public Health Informatics, Computation, and Operations Research, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy

RODOLPHE BARRANGOU (Interim Chair), Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Professor in Probiotics Research, North Carolina State University

LORRAINE BRENNAN, Full Professor of Human Nutrition, University College Dublin

RONALD E. KLEINMAN, Physician-in-Chief, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children

CHIRAG J. PATEL, Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School

NICHOLAS J. SCHORK, Deputy Director and Distinguished Professor, The Translational Genomics Research Institute

SUSAN C. SCRIMSHAW, Past President/Board Chair, Russel Sage College and Simmons University

DOROTHY TEEGARDEN, Professor and Director, Women’s Global Health Institute, Purdue University

LINDA V. VAN HORN, Professor and Chief, Nutrition Division, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

National Academies Staff

ALICE VOROSMARTI, Associate Program Officer

JENNIFER STEPHENSON, Research Associate

ANDI REISER, Senior Program Assistant

ANN L. YAKTINE, Director, Food and Nutrition Board

Reviewers

This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by SYLVIA B. ROWE, SR Strategy, LLC. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the National Academies.

Contents

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

1 INTRODUCTION

Introductory Remarks

Organization of the Proceedings

2 CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSES IN COMMUNICATING ABOUT FOOD SOURCES AND FOOD PRODUCTION

Food Production

Gender in Agricultural Technology Development, Delivery, and Communication

Communicating about Emerging Agricultural Technologies and Discoveries

Conveying Information about Food Safety to Protect Consumers in the Face of Mistrust of Science

Filling the Gaps of Information in Agriculture Communications

Understanding the Consumer Perspective

Discussion

3 CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSES IN COMMUNICATING ABOUT FOOD COMPOSITION

Communicating Across the Food System

Nonessential Bioactive Compounds

The Population Dimension of Communication about Food

Building Trust in Innovation

Discussion

4 CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSES IN COMMUNICATING HEALTH AND NUTRITION NEEDS OF CONSUMERS ACROSS THE FOOD SYSTEM

Community-Informed Communication

Evidence Synthesis to Promote Translational Research

Improving Food System Decision Making with Better Food Systems Science

Reporting on Nutrition for the Public

Discussion

Closing Remarks

REFERENCES

APPENDIXES

A Workshop Agenda

B Biographical Sketches of the Speakers and Session Moderators

Box and Figures

BOX

1-1 Workshop Statement of Task

FIGURES

2-1 Opinion differences between the public and scientists

2-2 Technology, innovation, and design of food systems are shaped by social inequalities and discriminatory innovation

3-1 The various actors involved in the food system

4-1 The complexity of the global food system

4-2 Different narratives about the failure of food systems

Acronyms and Abbreviations