健康安全:健康食品讓企業與孩子雙贏

For years, America's childhood obesity crisis was viewed as an insurmountable problem, one that was too complicated and too entrenched to ever really solve. According to the conventional wisdom, healthy food simply didn't sell─the demand wasn't there and higher profits were found elsewhere─so it just wasn't worth the investment.

多年來，美國的兒童肥胖危機一直被人們視作一個不可逾越的難題，一個過於複雜、過於根深蒂固因而永遠不可能真正解決的問題。傳統看法認爲，健康食品就是無法成爲受歡迎的暢銷商品──市場沒有需求，利潤空間不及其他的商品──因此，就是不值得投資。

But thanks to businesses across the country, today we are proving the conventional wisdom wrong. Every day, great American companies are achieving greater and greater success by creating and selling healthy products. In doing so, they are showing that what's good for kids and good for family budgets can also be good for business.

然而，在全美衆多企業的努力下，如今我們證實了，這個傳統觀點是錯的。日復一日，那些了不起的美國公司通過生產並銷售健康產品，獲取了越來越大的成功。這些企業用他們的實際行動證明，那些讓孩子受益、對家庭支出有利的事，也可以給企業帶來好處。

Take the example of Wal-Mart WMT +2.12% . In just the past two years, the company reports that it has cut the costs to its consumers of fruits and vegetables by $2.3 billion and reduced the amount of sugar in its products by 10%. Wal-Mart has also opened 86 new stores in underserved communities and launched a labeling program that helps customers spot healthy items on the shelf. And today, the company is not only seeing increased sales of fresh produce, but also building better relationships with its customers and stronger connections to the communities it serves.

以沃爾瑪(Wal-Mart)爲例。就在過去兩年裏，這家公司表示，他們幫助消費者將用於購買水果和蔬菜的花費減少了23億美元，並將其所售產品中糖的含量降低了10%。沃爾瑪還在那些購物不方便的社區開設了86家新店，並通過一項貼標籤的措施，幫助消費者辨認貨架上的健康食品。而今，這家公司不僅新鮮農產品的銷量大增，而且還與消費者建立了良好的關係，與他們所服務的社區建立起更緊密的聯繫。

Wal-Mart isn't alone in discovering that healthier products sell. DisneyDIS +0.85% is eliminating ads for junk foods from its children's programming and improving the food served in Disney theme parks. Walgreens is adding fresh fruits and vegetables to its stores in underserved communities. And restaurants around the country are cutting calories, fat and sodium from menus and offering healthier kids' meals.

發現健康產品也能銷路很好的企業，不只是沃爾瑪一家。迪尼斯公司(Disney)如今正在將該公司所製作出品的兒童電視節目中的垃圾食品廣告清理出去，還改善了迪斯尼主題樂園內所出售食品的質量。沃格林斯(Walgreens)則在那些所處社區購物不是很方便的連鎖店內，開始出售新鮮水果和蔬菜。全美各地的餐館都在降低所提供菜品中的卡路里、脂肪和鈉的含量，並出售更爲健康的兒童餐。

These companies and so many others are responding to clear trends in consumer demand. Today, 82% of consumers feel that it's important for companies to offer healthy products that fit family budgets, according to the Edelman public relations firm. Meanwhile, a study conducted by Nielsen revealed that even when many families are operating on tight budgets, sales of fresh produce actually increased by 6% in 2012. And in 2011, the Hudson Institute reported that in recent years, healthier foods have generated more than 70% of the growth in sales for consumer packaged-goods companies─and when these companies sell a high percentage of healthier foods, they deliver significantly higher returns to their shareholders.

上述企業、以及其他很多公司都是在迎合消費需求中所出現的明顯變化趨勢。根據愛德曼國際公關公司(Edelman)的數據，如今，82%的消費者認爲企業提供符合家庭支出水平的健康商品很重要。與此同時，尼爾森公司(Nielsen)所進行的一項調查顯示，儘管目前許多家庭的日常開支吃緊，但新鮮農產品的銷售卻在2012年增加了6%。哈德遜研究所(Hudson Institute)在2011年發佈報告稱，近年來，在快速消費品的銷售額增長中，更健康的食品所實現的銷售增長佔到70%以上──而且，當這些企業所出售的更健康食品在全部商品中佔到較高的百分比時，他們能夠爲股東所帶來的回報也顯著增加。

These trends don't just matter for businesses that produce and sell food. They matter for every business in America. We spend $190 billion a year treating obesity-related health conditions like diabetes and heart disease, and a significant portion of those costs are borne by America's businesses. That's on top of other health-related costs like higher absenteeism and lower worker productivity, costs that will continue to rise and threaten the vitality of American businesses until this problem is solved once and for all.

這些趨勢不只是與那些生產和銷售食品的企業有關，而是關乎美國的每一家企業。每年爲了治療糖尿病和心臟病等等各種肥胖相關疾病，我們的醫療支出高達1,900億美元，而這其中很大一部分開支是由美國的企業來承擔的。除此之外，還有各種與健康有關的開支，比如病假增加、員工生產效率降低等所帶來的成本，除非這一問題被一次性地徹底解決，否則這類成本還會繼續增加，並威脅到美國企業的生存。

That's why American businesses are stepping up to invest in building a healthier future for our kids. In doing so, they are joining leaders from every sector across the country. Over the past few years, through Let's Move!─our nationwide campaign to help kids grow up healthy─we've seen teachers bringing physical education back into schools. We've seen mayors building safe spaces where children can play, faith leaders educating their congregations about healthy eating, and parents preparing healthier meals and snacks for their kids. And we've seen Republicans and Democrats working together in Congress to pass groundbreaking legislation to improve school lunches.

這就是爲何美國的企業界開始在爲我們的孩子構建一個更健康未來的方面增加了越來越多的投入。企業的這一做法與美國各行業各部門領袖的努力方向不謀而合。在過去幾年裏，通過“舞動起來”(Let's Move!)這個覆蓋範圍遍及全美的兒童健康成長計劃，我們已經看到，學校的老師們開始將體育教育帶回校園。我們看到，市長們在爲孩子修建可以讓他們放心安全玩耍的地方，宗教領袖們在教導他們的教衆學會健康飲食，父母們則爲孩子準備更健康的三餐與零食。而且，我們看到，國會的共和黨和民主黨人齊心協力，共同通過了一項開創性的立法，幫助學校改善午餐質量。

And we're starting to see real results. In Mississippi, obesity rates have dropped by 13% for elementary school-aged kids. States like California, and cities like New York and Philadelphia, have also seen measurable declines in childhood obesity.

而且我們開始見到切實的成效。在密西西比州，小學學齡兒童的肥胖人口比率下降了13%。在加利福尼亞州等州以及紐約、費城等城市，兒童的肥胖人口比率也明顯下降。

So it's clear that we are moving in the right direction. But we also know that the problem is nowhere near being solved. We need more leaders from all across the country to step up, and I stand ready to work with business leaders who are serious about taking meaningful steps to forge a healthier future. We need every business in America to dig deeper, get more creative, and find new ways to generate revenue by giving American families better information and healthier choices. We know this can be done in a way that's good for our kids and good for businesses.

因此，很顯然我們正在朝着正確的方向前進。不過我們也很清楚，要徹底解決問題，還有一段漫漫征途要走。我們需要全國上下有更多的領袖人物走出來採取行動，而我本人隨時準備與那些真正有誠意採取切實措施來推進一個更健康未來的商界領袖們共同努力。我們需要美國的每一家企業都深入挖掘，發揮創造性，找到更多途徑來爲美國家庭提供更好的信息和更健康的選擇。我們知道，這一切可以以一種讓我們的孩子和企業實現雙贏的方式來實現。

That's why, even though we still have a long way to go, I have never been more optimistic about our prospects for solving this problem. And I am confident that, with leadership from America's business community, we can give all our children the bright, healthy futures they so richly deserve.

這就是爲何儘管我們還有很長的路要走，但我依然比以往任何時候都要樂觀，相信我們未來必將能夠徹底解決這一問題。而且我相信，在美國企業界的帶動下，我們可以給我們的孩子一個他們理所應得的光明、健康的未來。