Disability inclusion: A missing ingredient for food system equity

Abstract

Disability is the largest minority group in the world and includes over 1 billion people worldwide. Although people with disabilities are part of all our communities, health disparities remain largely unaddressed for this population, including food inequities. Current research has focused on documenting food access disparities for people with disabilities, but there are limited interventions that address food inequities for this population. To be effective, these interventions must go beyond the individual, and should include a food systems approach that advances equity for people with disabilities. The World Health Organization (WHO) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls for the disability community to be integrated into food system research and policy efforts. However, the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit is absent of disability perspectives. This is a missed opportunity, and people with disabilities must be invited to this table in order to advance food equity for everyone in our communities.