Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 6/26/18

As the future of U.S nutrition programs is debated in Washington, representatives from the foundation of pasta maker Barilla visited New York last week to put many of these debates in a global context. Since Barilla's foundation encourages consumers to eat more plant-based foods to improve their health and the planet's health, they're spreading the word about their work through a report, releasing a book this week and hosting a fall conference.

Talking sustainability by the numbers: Luca Di Leo, a spokesman for Barilla, told your host that the group is updating a 2017 study it previously collaborated with The Economist showing that the U.S. ranked 21st out of 34 countries in terms of overall food sustainability. Di Leo said that's because the U.S. sets aside little land for organic farming. "Quite a large land is devoted to biofuels," he said. "On the nutritional side, the meat consumption is very high." He also called out the nation's poor dietary standards and overconsumption of sugar. The group plans to present its most recent data at a conference in Milan in November.

Talking sustainability with a book: On Thursday, the foundation is also publishing the book "Nourished Planet: Sustainability in the Global Food System" with Food Tank's Danielle Nierenberg, which explores sustainability success stories from around the world — like urban farmers in Nairobi who developed vertical gardens and a project in Egypt that cut grain waste from nearly 50 percent to nearly 5 percent. It also had some surprising facts about the rates of soil erosion compared with regeneration: In Iowa, it's eroding 10 times faster than it's regenerating. In Europe, it's three to 40 times faster. In China, it's 30 to 40 times faster.

What's next? On Sept. 28, the Barilla Foundation is holding an international forum in New York City to talk more about food and nutrition.