Greg Stanton and food industry experts at the TIME100 Talks event in New York on September 21 discussed the challenges our communities face in creating healthier, more accessible, and joyful foods.
Challenges in the Food Industry
Cecile Bliot-Zin, CEO of the Bell Group, which supported the event, stated that her company believes "a model for producing healthy and sustainable food for all is possible," but one of the current problems in the industry is that people "oppose instead of combining ideas."
She continued, "We believe that the right way to define healthy foods is to combine what people typically see as conventional options. The main issue in our industry is that if you want to expand healthy and sustainable foods, you must first ensure and strongly believe that health can be combined with flavor, nutrition can be combined with accessibility, and fair incomes for the farmers who feed us can be combined with fair values for the communities that nourish us.
Healthy and Tasty Foods
She mentioned that the Bell Group produces products like Babybel, small and popular cheese snacks wrapped in red wax, calling them "perfect snacks." She added, "The reason kids and I love Babybel is that it's convenient, a great source of natural protein, and I play with the wax. It brings me joy."
Marcus Samuelsson, chef and author, also pointed out the long-held belief that healthy foods cannot be tasty, and it is the chefs' responsibility to dispel this notion. He said, "Healthy and tasty foods can exist and should be celebrated together."
Erthin Kazin, CEO and director of the Food Systems for the Future Group, addressed the challenges faced by individuals from low-income communities, stating that they may lack access to refrigeration or electricity. He emphasized the need to support households in accessing nutritious foods.
The panel concluded by emphasizing that food should be both joyful and healthy, and these two should not be contradictory. Kazin added, "Food is joy. It is health. It is family. It is culture. We must ensure that everyone has access to the diverse diet needed for growth."
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