Redstone Center Testifies in Support of DC Food Waste Proposal

On December 16, 2019, Dr. Bill Dietz, Chair of the the Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness, provided testimony to the DC City Council Committee on Transportation and the Environment supporting passage of the Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act. Passage of the Act would would help make the District a leader in efforts to combat climate change through reducing food waste and increasing composting.  "To improve the health of all residents and end the chronic disparities in the District, we must have a food system that provides access to nutritious food for all residents and is sustainable," Dietz shared. As co-chair of The Lancet Commission on Obesity, Dr. Dietz was the senior contributor on a new report describing the Global Syndemic, or the interaction between the pandemics of climate change, obesity and undernutrition (read more at go.gwu.edu/globalsyndemic). The report calls on global leaders and policymakers to rethink economic incentives and commercial interests within the food, transportation and land use systems and recommends actions that would address these growing public health problems. "While many solutions will require policy change at the national or international level, cities play a critical role in implementing and testing strategies to create sustainable food systems that deliver healthy food to all people without jeopardizing the health of the planet," said Dietz, in response to the double-duty solutions proposed in the Zero Waste Act. Read full testimony here.