Food Day is here!

October 24th marks Food Day, but why not celebrate year round? You are definitely going to want to when you learn what it’s about

October 24th is Food Day, a day or idea that seeks to bring together Americans from all walks of life—parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, community organizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters of all stripes—to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way. Food Day’s goal is to transform the American Diet.

How will Food Day accomplish the transformation? Well Food Day is encouraging all American to eat “real food.” Why? Because, real food tastes great is satisfying and delicious. Unfortunately, far too many 
Americans are eating diets composed of salty, overly processed packaged foods clad in cardboard and plastic; high-calorie sugary drinks that pack on pounds and rot teeth, but have no nutritional benefit; and fast-food meals made of white bread, fatty grain-fed factory-farmed meat, French fries, and even more soda!

What we eat should be bolstering our health, but it's actually contributing to chronic disease such as: heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.

What's more, the way our food is produced is all too often harmful to farm workers, the environment, and farm animals.

So how can you take part in Food Day at home? Shop locally, cook with your family and celebrate the seasons’ variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy whole grains. All Americans—regardless of their age or income or geographic location—should be able to select healthy diets and avoid obesity, heart disease, and other diet-related conditions.

The top six goals of Food Day 2011 are:
To reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods
Support sustainable farms and limit subsidies to big agribusiness
Expand access to food and alleviate hunger
Protect the environment and animals by reforming factory farms
Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

Food Day 2011 is sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the nonprofit watchdog group that has led successful fights for food labeling, better nutrition, and safer food since 1971.

Click here to find a Food Day event in your area.