The Food is Medicine movement has recently received national media attention and interest from both sides of the aisle, but what does that mean for South Dakota agriculture?

Gemma Bastian, Assistant Professor and SDSU Extension Nutrition and Health Specialist, says that the program is a way to address serious health concerns at the root.

“As we know, 7 of the 10 leading causes of death are related to food and diet…” Bastian said. “From heart disease to diabetes to certain cancers are all preventable or can be mitigated by certain dietary and risk factors.”

The Food is Medicine program includes actionable steps like produce prescriptions to local growers and medically tailored meals formulated by physicians and dieticians.

By addressing the nutritional concerns of Americans at a state level, Bastian said there are opportunities to partner with local agriculture.

“I think it would be great to be able to support locally grown as much as possible.” Bastian said. “I’d love to see South Dakota beef in every school in South Dakota. I’d love to see South Dakota grown products on every shelf in every supermarket.”

For more information about Food is Medicine visit https://extension.sdstate.edu/event/food-medicine-webinar.