Planetary Health | January 2025, Vol. 1, No. 1
We see humanity as a foreground figure set within the greater background of nature and the infinite universe. The environment is our true nourishment, and we are what we eat. By shaping our bodies and minds with whole grains and other natural foods in a spirit of gratitude, we remember our organic bond with the surrounding world—part of a common whole. We invite you to join us on this spiral voyage of discovery, whose origin is everywhere and whose destination is endless. Our staple fare is macrobiotic, our compass is yin and yang, and the horizon toward which we sail belongs to all humanity.
Please click on the title of each item for full article or link:
⚠️ New U.S. Dietary Guidelines Stand Nutrition on Its Head
The just released new U.S. Dietary Guidelines for 2025-2030 bring factory farmed meat, eggs, and other animal foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol back to the center of the meal. On the other hand, they call for substantial reduction in the consumption of sugar and other processed foods. Elizabeth Kucinich, a vegan and macrobiotic-oriented food activist, critiques the new guidelines.
🌾 Yale Medical School Introduces Culinary Medicine
Taught at the Irving and Alice Brown Teaching Kitchen at Yale New Haven Health, classes for medical students and the community focus on how food and cooking can help prevent and manage chronic health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.
🕊️ The World’s Most Peaceful Country
The Global Peace Index ranks 163 nations. Iceland remains #1 while the United States falls to 128th due to domestic conflict indicators.
⚖️ Legal Victory for GMO Transparency
A federal court reinstated mandatory labeling of GMO-derived ingredients in refined foods — restoring consumers’ right to know.
🌽 GM Produce in Canada: Only Three — For Now
Canadian stores currently sell just three gene-modified fruits and vegetables — deregulation may increase this number dramatically.
🏫 California Moves to Ban UPFs in school meals
Building on California’s long-standing leadership to protect children’s health and set higher nutrition standards —from signing legislation banning dangerous food dyes and chemicals to implementing universal school meals— Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bipartisan, first-in-the-nation law providing a statutory definition of ultra-processed foods (UPF). This landmark law will phase out the most concerning ultra-processed foods from school meals in California.
🌱 ‘Food Is Medicine’ Initiatives Spreading
Food is medicine (FIM) initiatives are food-based nutrition interventions to prevent or manage chronic disease and improve overall health. It is increasingly embraced across healthcare systems, policymakers, and researchers as a promising strategy to address diet-related chronic diseases. In its current issue, the Journal of Nutrition reported on this emerging trend.
🏬 The Health and Nutritional Costs of Supermarkets
As supermarkets expand, traditional food systems shrink, endangering heritage diets and the benefits they offer to human health. A report in GRAIN describes how local food systems could be the entry point for addressing issues like nutrition, labor conditions, and community strengthening.
🌰 Wild American Chestnuts Revived
A new documentary-style environmental investigation reveals a remarkable and little-known success story: thousands of wild, healthy American chestnut trees flourishing on the Maine forest land of biologist and author Dr Bernd Heinrich. Their vigorous natural growth—and possible blight resistance—directly counters long-held beliefs that the iconic species survives today only as scattered, doomed sprouts. The film refutes claims by some researchers that genetically engineered trees are the only path to restoration of the American chestnut
📊 Plant-Based, Vegan, Omnivore? Here’s The Impact Your Diet Had This Year
Harvard University’s dietary “footprint calculator” allows you to estimate the impact of your food choices on the environment and compare it to the average.