Anons have been talking about this for at least four years
Florida scientists champion ‘Food Is Medicine’ movement to tackle national health crisis
Meredith Bauer May 28, 2025
University of Florida researchers are calling for a national transformation in how we address the ongoing epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, starting with a fundamental shift in how we approach health, agriculture and food.
Published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the article argues that fruits and vegetables must be treated not just as food — but as medicine.
With 73% of U.S. adults and 35% of children classified as overweight or obese, the authors warn that the crisis is not only an individual health issue but a national economic and security threat.
Andrew Hanson, Ph.D., a co-author and professor of horticultural sciences at UF/IFAS, emphasized a sense of urgency and collective responsibility toward solving this health crisis.
“This isn’t business as usual. We’re taking a public-interest view. This is the kind of thing we all need to be talking about. It’s too important not to,” he said.
The article proposes a roadmap for change, including creating five National Institutes of Health-supported “Food Is Medicine” centers across the U.S., with Florida as a leading candidate; scaling up domestic fruit and vegetable production to meet national dietary needs; partnering with food producer and processors to make healthy foods more accessible, affordable and appealing; and reforming medical and nutrition education to include horticultural sciences and vice versa.
The article highlights that only 1 in 10 adults meets the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables, and that U.S. production falls far short of what’s needed to support a healthy population. The authors call for a dramatic expansion of fruit and vegetable production, especially high-impact crops like berries, leafy greens and carrots.
Christopher Gunter, Ph.D., professor and chair of the UF/IFAS Department of Horticultural Sciences, said the team’s goal is to push the role fruit and vegetables crops can play in improving human health into the national consciousness.
“As a discipline, horticulture and the science of fruit and vegetables have been largely ignored in this conversation,” Gunter said. “Our goal is to move the needle on health with fruit and vegetables.”
More:
https://news.ufl.edu/2025/05/food-medicine/