The White House stated on Wednesday that big businesses, including fast food goliath Burger King, had pledged billions of dollars to develop a national strategy to combat the twin US problems of hunger and obesity.
The announcement of the corporate sector commitments came as President Joe Biden presided over what the administration billed as the first significant White House meeting on diet and nutrition since Richard Nixon’s presidency more than 50 years ago.
According to the most recent government statistics, 10% of US households experience food insecurity, and nearly 42% of American adults are considered to be obese.
Biden told the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health that government, Congress, private companies and society must work together to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases in the United States by 2030.
‘If you can’t feed your child, what the hell else matters?’ he asked the audience of Congress members, activists, health experts and food industry representatives including top chef and humanitarian Jose Andres. ‘In America, no child should go to bed hungry. No parent should die of disease that can be prevented.’
Biden’s options are limited because Congress is unlikely to approve funding for significant federal nutrition initiatives. Officials claimed that he was utilising the presidency’s influence to enlist important corporations, and that this was receiving a positive response.
According to officials briefing media, more than 100 organisations, including hospitals, tech businesses, and leaders in the food industry, have already pledged $8 billion in public and private sector contributions.
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