"Healthy soil, healthy food and healthy eaters Ð nourishing our natural resources is the optimal health insurance plan."

While it's uncommon for voices in the good food movement to come from a hard sciences background, Iowa's Angela Tagtow defines the balance between environment and nutrition - educating eaters, health professionals and policy makers on cultivating and participating in sustainable food systems that promote good health, vibrant communities and environmental stewardship.

Tagtow entered the movement as a nutritionist, but upon observing the damage to her Iowa farmland from years of monoculture and pesticide inputs, she realized helping individuals understand what you put in the land is as essential as knowing what you put on your plate.

A former Fellow with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Food and Society Policy Fellows program, Tagtow operates Environmental Nutrition Solutions (www.environmentalnutritionsolutions.com), a consulting firm aimed at leveraging partnerships and policies to build resilient and sustainable food systems that advance public health. She co-convenes the Iowa Food Systems Council and is the coordinator of the Iowa Food Access and Health Working Group. She works directly with regional food and farming coalitions, not-for-profit organizations, professional associations, government agencies and universities to provide community assessment and engagement, strategic planning, event management, policy analysis and expertise in other essential areas.

Tagtow is the founder and managing editor of the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, which coalesces local, national and international hunger and environmental nutrition issues. Her "Good Food Checklist" - featuring dozens of everyday healthful and environmentally sustainable choices for families - has been distributed to audiences around the world.

She is co-author of "Healthy Land, Healthy People: Building a Better Understanding of Sustainable Food Systems for Food and Nutrition Professionals" and co-producer of "Healthy Land, Healthy Food, Healthy Eaters - Dietitians Cultivating Sustainable Food Systems," the online continuing education module for dietitians.

Oft-cited in the media, Tagtow has been featured in such outlets as Today's Dietitian, Washington Post, Civil Eats and IDEA Fitness Journal in addition to radio, television and podcast appearances.

Tagtow has more than 18 years of experience working in community and public health nutrition arenas. Her work within public health focused on researching the extent of food insecurity and hunger among WIC participants, conducting community health needs assessments and health improvement plans, and establishing public health performance standards.