Food and Nutrition Council

The Food and Nutrition Council was established by Columbia University’s Institute of Human Nutrition (IHN) in 2000. The Council acts as a catalyst to create partnerships between academia, government and non-government organizations, and food, nutrition, and pharmaceutical companies. 

Council Goals

The goals of the Food and Nutrition Council are:

- to inform members of new advances by Columbia University scientists in nutrition-related research;

- to review potential national and international nutrition and health issues;

- to generate interactions between the participating groups in a wide range of nutrition-related areas, especially research and education; and

- to advocate for policies and practices that result in better nutrition and improved health.  In pursuit of these goals, the partnerships meet to explore new opportunities to positively affect human   nutrition from individual, community, public health and global perspectives.

In previous roundtable meetings, the Food and Nutrition Council established its shared vision and goals and defined mechanisms to work together effectively. Roundtable activities focus on support of on-going projects related to:

- the integration of nutrition education into medical curricula;

- the participation of Columbia students and faculty in the Institute of Human Nutrition and other schools/departments at Columbia University Medical Center in training opportunities in a variety of settings in order to gain a better understandings of national, international and industrial nutrition research, marketing, and consumer trends and behavior;

- discussion of, and collaboration in, nutrition-related research;

- conferences designed to lead to white papers for dissemination to health professionals on nutrition topics of importance to scientists, media and consumers; and

- new initiatives aimed at improving insights into determinants of consumers’ nutrition-related behavior.  Other activities can include discussion of nutrition policy, development of position statements, and review of nutrition education materials for health professionals and/or the general public.

Members and Meeting Participants

  • Abbott Laboratories
  • American Dairy Association
  • American Heart Association
  • Bali Biosciences, LLC
  • Bunge
  • Cadbury Schweppes
  • Campbell’s Soup
  • CGIAR
  • Cannon Company
  • Doctors Without Borders
  • Dupont Pioneer
  • Estee Lauder
  • GAIN ( Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition)
  • Gerber Products
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • Global Food and Nutrition, Inc.
  • GDP Global Group
  • Food and Nutrient Impact
  • Food minds
  • Frito-Lay
  • Kellogg
  • Kraft
  • Mars
  • McNeil Nutritionals
  • Merck
  • Nestlé
  • Nutrition 21
  • New York City Department of Health
  • New York Academy of Sciences
  • Pepsico
  • Porter Novelli
  • Proctor and Gamble
  • Quaker Oats
  • Rockefeller Foundation
  • Shaklee
  • Slimfast Company
  • Stone Barns
  • Synergies
  • Tabatchnick Foods
  • Tropicana
  • UNICEF
  • Unilever
  • Vitality
  • World Bank
  • Wyeth Consumer Healthcare