The following commentary was written by Indiana Governor Mike Braun and provided to Hoosier Ag Today by the Office of the Governor Mike Braun.
As debates about the intersection of health and agriculture policy go on in D.C., I want to take a moment to share with Hoosier farmers what my Make Indiana Healthy Again initiatives mean for Indiana agriculture.
Make Indiana Healthy Again creates fresh opportunities for farmers to diversify into new markets and empowers more Hoosiers to get involved in farming.
My administration sees Hoosier agriculture as the key partner in this initiative. To me, Make Indiana Healthy Again is about expanding opportunities for Hoosier farmers to get their products to consumers – not telling them how to grow it.
The steps we have taken to make our schools healthier are a good example of this approach. In addition to establishing the Governor’s Fitness Test and School Fitness Month to encourage physical activity in schools, we also started an initiative to encourage healthy, local food options.
Indiana’s farm-to-school programs are connecting students with fresh, local food while supporting Hoosier farmers and teaching the next generation where their meals come from. Whether livestock, poultry, dairy, or produce, our farmers should have meaningful access to their local institutional buyers.
It all goes hand in hand with our studies of the possible negative effects of artificial food dyes and our comprehensive study into diet-related chronic illness and preventions to help Hoosiers live longer, healthier lives. In fact, after I rolled out our initiative, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also announced new efforts to replace certain artificial food dyes with natural alternatives.
Across the board, we want to support Hoosier farms selling directly to consumers.
Nearly 2,735 Indiana farms sell $45 million worth of food directly to consumers, yet many face regulatory and infrastructure barriers.
Locally grown produce provides consumers with fresh and nutritious options that require shorter transportation and offer a local connection to farmers.
That’s why our Make Indiana Healthy Again initiative included an executive order to increase awareness, availability, and access to Indiana’s local fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy products.
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture was directed to start a comprehensive study on access to local foods and direct-to-consumer sales from Hoosier farmers.
A major priority for my administration is identifying opportunities to increase direct-to-consumer sales from local farmers and identify—and remove—ways the state may be getting in the way. If you have experiences in this area you’d like to share, I want to hear about them.
Our livestock, poultry, and dairy producers already engage in local and regional market chains, from your neighborhood grocery store to Hoosier-grown livestock feed that supports farms around the country. At the same time, homegrown agribusinesses like Corteva and Elanco have leveraged innovation and new technology to help local farmers do more with less. Our work is to grow these successes and build on them in other sectors.
We’re already seeing results on the big parts of the Make Indiana Healthy Again agenda rolled out in April. Last week, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins signed Indiana’s SNAP waiver enabling us to remove sugary drinks and candy from taxpayer-funded SNAP benefits. More SNAP dollars were spent on sugary drinks than on nutritious fruits and vegetables. Indiana agriculture will benefit as more of these dollars are spent on fresh produce rather than soda.
Make Indiana Healthy Again will empower Hoosiers to lead healthier lives, provide transparent information to help make better health decisions, make it easier to access fresh local food from Indiana’s incredible farms, and tackle the problems in government programs like SNAP and Medicaid that contribute to making our communities less healthy.
Hoosier agriculture is my biggest partner in this endeavor, and I’m proud to stand with Indiana farmers and producers to empower Hoosiers to live healthier, longer, better lives.
