Everything in the food system is inter-related, from agriculture to nutrition to medicine to climate. And among these institutions, farms are the connective tissue that bind them together, panelists said at Climate Week NYC. The way food is grown, raised, and produced shapes its nutritional value and, ultimately, its impact on eaters’ well-being.
Ranchers, chefs, scientists, business leaders, and health experts joined an engaged crowd for the Food Tank Summit “Nourishing the Future: How Farming Practices Shape the Food We Eat, the Health We Build, and the Longevity We Seek,” in partnership with Diestel Family Ranch.
Watch the livestream recording on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.
“Everything starts in the soil; everything is grounded in the soil,” says Heidi Diestel, a 4th Generation Family Farmer at Diestel Family Ranch. “The family farmers are the ones who have figured out not just how to farm, innovate, and market the products, but help people understand the value (of healthy food).”
The connection between better farming practices and healthier food is not theoretical—it’s science. Everything from animal health to soil biology to regenerative production practices on the farm help shape the nutritional value of crops that leave the farm, which in turn shapes public health outcomes and societal well-being.
“For regenerative agriculture…there is pretty good evidence that crops are more nutritious, and even livestock that are pasture-raised are more nutritious,” says Dariush Mozaffarian, Cardiologist, Public Health Expert, and Director of the Tufts Food is Medicine Institute. “We have to link agriculture to human health to human productivity.”
As Paul Lightfoot, General Manager of Patagonia Provisions, said later in the Summit, we need to be engaging more in conversations about these nuances.
“Should we eat beef? That’s not the right question; not all beef is the same,” he says.
But understanding this reality relies on conducting—and communicating—strong research. For too long, Mozaffarian says, many of the most important nutrient markers were not the ones being measured. That’s changing now, thanks to large-scale efforts like the Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI).
“We now have the molecular tools to be able to profile foods beyond what’s conventionally on the back of the nutrition label…which allows us to elevate foods with nutrients that might not show up on a label,” says Nile Nair, Senior Program Manager for Health Science, Research, and Translation at PTFI.
This also means strengthening local food systems that bring farmers as close as possible to the end consumer.
“Getting closer to the source oftentimes is the very beginning of the choice to having a whole food, not as much processing involved,” says Kate Fullam, Team Lead for Food Systems Resiliency at the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. “Whose voice is not at the table yet that needs to be?”
Ann Marie Hourigan, Head of Quality Standards for Whole Foods Market, echoed this sentiment: “We need to invite farmers to the conversation and understand what their needs are,” she says.
Engaging farmers has the potential to transform entire nations, as Chef Andrew Zimmern, a Television Host, Author, and Food Advocate, said in a special fireside chat.
In Zambia, for example, changing “what they’re farming can change the landscape of a country economically,” he says.
At the same time, panelists said, creating stronger food systems also means engaging consumers—but effective ways to reach eaters are quickly changing, says Tambra Raye Stevenson, Founder of WANDA (Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics, and Agriculture).
“We are at a state of food system illiteracy, not truly understanding the impact of what’s happening to our food system,” she says. “The media and algorithms (such as TikTok) are becoming the determinant of our health.”
Interestingly, consumer interest in high-quality food is increasing—but for personal wellness reasons, not necessarily for its impact on environmental well-being. That opens up a huge opportunity for advocates to help consumers understand these links between the health of our bodies and the health of the planet.
“Consumers are sick and tired of being sick. They’re turning to food as health more and more,” says Kristine Root, Chief Strategist and Founder of Socha. “We’re seeing mass segments of consumers who care about food quality…but they need our help in communicating better.”
When we draw straight lines from farms to tables—and when we grow crops with sustainability in mind and feed our communities with care and love—the food we’re eating literally tastes better, panelists said.
“We believe that food is medicine, and therefore we work hard to grow food, provide quality food to families, and for the past five years, we’ve charged no one anything,” says Elder Raymond Bryant, Presiding Elder of AME Church and Co-Founder of San Antonio Million Gardens Project. “If the food is not good, people are not going to eat it. It doesn’t matter how healthy it is.”
From a family farm perspective, this could not be more true.
“Stewardship goes beyond just what we do. It’s really about the legacy of food and being intentional about the food that we’re producing,” says Jason Diestel, Farmer at Diestel Family Ranch. “I wish more people understood that what we eat matters, what we feed the soil matters. It’s just one long chain.”
Explore the entire Food Tank event schedule during Climate Week NYC 2026, and live-stream every Summit on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel.
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Photo by Ryan Rose for Food Tank.
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