Sam Kass, former White House chef and Obama adviser, tells us which revolutions will transform the food system so that everyone has access to a healthy diet.
Sam Kass has known the Obamas for years and began as the family's cook in 2005. His commitment to promoting healthy food and a more sustainable food system found a perfect synergy with the determination of the former president and First Lady Michelle to change food culture in the United States, where more than a third of the adult population suffers from obesity. Two years after Obama's election, in 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was established to improve nutrition in schools and combat childhood obesity with additional funding for schools that serve whole grains, fruit, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and less sodium and fat to their students.
Kass, in addition to serving as White House chef, was the first person to hold the role of senior policy adviser for nutrition, playing a key part in combating the poor dietary habits of millions of Americans throughout the Obama presidency.
"With the work he has done to inspire families and children across the country to lead healthier lives, Sam has truly made a difference for future generations" (Barack Obama)
Kass was executive director of Let's Move!, Michelle Obama's campaign to combat childhood obesity through healthy eating and physical exercise. Together with her he also created the first large kitchen garden at the White House, where organic fruit, vegetables and herbs are grown, known as the Kitchen Garden. Among his other achievements are the creation of the first beehive at the White House and the first home-brewed beer.
As well as being an expert on nutrition-related issues — which has led him to television, currently as an analyst on NBC News — Kass is an innovator. As an entrepreneur he founded Trove, a collective of entrepreneurs working with companies to transform health, the climate and the planet through food, and as an investor he is a partner at Acre, a venture capital fund investing in the future of food. Thanks to his expertise and his friendship with Obama, he was the one chosen to take to the stage to interview the former president on the topics of nutrition and climate at the first international outing since the end of his mandate, at the food and innovation summit Seeds&Chips on 9 May in Milan. There we met Kass to talk about the changes needed for the global food system to become more sustainable.
Read also: Barack Obama is the guest of honour at Seeds&Chips, because food is one of the weapons against climate change
What are the most promising innovations for promoting healthy, nutritious food around the world?
In terms of innovation and technology, using data to help farmers plant more efficiently so that they need fewer fertilisers, use better seeds and need less water will be important for this to be done sustainably. Because a great deal is wasted, and that has an enormous environmental and economic impact. Other innovations concern the genetic potential of seeds. Not GMOs but gene editing, the possibility of expressing different traits within a seed that will make it possible to produce fruit and vegetables that contain more nutrients, need less water, and require few or no pesticides. This is the kind of innovation we will need if we want to lower the prices of fruit and vegetables and grow them in an increasingly hostile climate, and ensure that everyone — not just wealthy people — can afford a healthy diet. A sustainable food system must also be healthy for the individual. If we keep these visions together then we will be able to unlock their full potential.
What role do companies and finance play in innovating the food system?
Having spent six years at the White House, I know well the importance of policies and the role of government. But at the end of the day, food is two things: it is our culture, the deepest expression of who we are, and it is a system of businesses. Farmers are businessmen and businesswomen, and the same goes for those who transport food, those who process it, the chefs who cook it; every activity is a private enterprise. If we want to change the system, it has to be companies that change it. Governments can set incentives and push people in one direction or another, but ultimately it is our culture that determines what we produce and how we consume it. The companies that are best able to do this over the long term will outperform those that don't: people need healthier food and the environment is on the verge of collapse, so whoever is capable of solving these problems will be more successful than the rest.
Speaking of government policies, what effect will Donald Trump's election have on his work alongside the Obama administration to bring healthy food into American schools?
No progress will be made; some wrong steps have already been taken, certain standards have been changed. It is hard to understand the reason for such actions, given that almost every school in the United States complies with the law and parents are on board too. But in the end, most of what we did remains intact, so the train has left the station. I don't think we'll make progress, but we won't go backwards either.
What concrete actions can we as citizens take to help make the global food system more sustainable?
First of all, understand that the decisions we make about what we eat have an enormous impact on what farmers grow, on the manufacturing, processing and consumption of food. Companies are desperately trying to figure out what we want. So we have a great deal of power, and we need to start exercising that power and making better decisions. That means eating more fruit and vegetables, more plant-based foods, more sustainable proteins. If we do this little by little, every day, we can have an enormous impact.
So, in Kass's vision, you don't need to be the White House chef or a friend of the Obama family to influence the way food is grown and brought to our tables. It is the everyday choices that matter, alongside the efforts of activists like Kass who are committed to spreading awareness – and a love of good food.
