The last 10 days have been a productive time for the Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF). On April 13, the AFF was proud to sponsor a session on diet and maternal health at the California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (CAND) Conference featuring Dr. Carl Keen, Professor of Nutrition, University of California, Davis and Elizabeth Shaw, MS, RDN, CLT, CPT and co-author of the Fertility Foods Cookbook.

Dr. Keen and Shaw emphasized studies and research which show the benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables on the health of pregnant women and their babies as well as the positive impact for women hoping to become pregnant.

Dr. Keen also discussed how produce safety fears may be negatively impacting efforts to promote consumption. His presentation included research published in Nutrition Today, which found that messaging regarding residues and the so-called “dirty dozen” list resulted in low income consumers stating they were less likely to purchase any produce – organic or conventional.

Shaw’s presentation provided RDs and nutritionists with some ideas for counseling pregnant or time-stressed new moms with some easy and quick ways to improve their diets and include more fruits and veggies each day. As a new mom herself, Shaw can relate firsthand to the stresses women face as they navigate feeding themselves and their babies.

Our thanks to Carl and Elizabeth for their interesting and insightful presentation and to the CAND for their inclusion of this session in their conference.

This week the AFF launched a new version of safefruitsandveggies.com. We invite you to look around and enjoy the improved usability, layout and function of the updated site. We also have some new pages we hope you will visit, including “Five Facts About Produce,” and “A Dozen Reasons to Eat Organic and Conventional Fruit and Veggies.” The popular Safety Standards section has also been updated with new information about the regulations governing the approval and use of organic and conventional pesticides.

We are proud that the safefruitsandveggies.com receives tens of thousands of visitors each year and would appreciate any feedback that will help us improve the site, retain visitors and attract new users.