Is the Food Good for Me and the Planet?

Securing food has been a challenge ever since hunting and gathering. We have come a long way since. But from running after food to storing it in refrigerators, we compromised our health and that of the planet, and as a result, our immune system barely keeps up with disease. Is the available food good for us and the planet? From genes and trees to ecosystems and the biosphere, food disrupts many levels of life's organization; most covid patients suffered metabolic dysregulation that may have precipitated their illness or death. A function of the pandemic, the crisis prompted many to look for better lifestyles to optimize health, which requires more than vaccines, and now we have an opportunity to address it as a consumer concern is being expressed with behavioral changes like mindful eating, observed mostly amongst digital millennials. This chapter will discuss these issues from the perspective of holistic and planetary health. The chapter suggests a framework for integrating holistic health in food policy to reduce PM2.5CO2 and improve planetary health.

Healing Spaces: Designing Physical Environments to Optimize Health, Wellbeing, and Performance

This Special Issue on Healing Spaces includes eight articles consisting of studies at the interface between design and health. The articles address some of the latest findings using state-of-the-art technologies, important outcomes for human health and wellbeing, and suggest exciting directions for the future of this research field.