When the world enters difficult times, our instinct is to look to our leaders for inspiration, solutions, and actions. When we find the messages we seek, our practice is to echo those messages in communication with “our” people. The more practiced we become at this skill, the more the people that we love, and serve come to rely upon us. I ask myself, Is this enough? Is this what is required to effect significant change, or even successfully adapt in uncertain times? Or are we creating an echo chamber whose results cannot be measured?
The Center for Creative Leadership defines leadership as “a social process that enables individuals to work together to achieve results that they could never achieve working alone.” Herein lies the truth that the power to change outcomes is not the responsibility of "leaders," but rather the collective energy of like-minded "actionists." Anyone who has participated in a lobby day on Capitol Hill has seen this in practice. Groups of 50-500 people carrying a unified message through the halls of Congress will tell you they feel the resonant force of their words being emitted. And yes, I can hear the collective sigh of my readers reminding me that despite that work, the change we seek remains undone.
Creating Success Looks Like…
I believe SENPA serves as the organizational savant for the retail industry. Its vision remains prescient since its founding day in 1965:
SENPA's vision is to nourish the human connection as the heart of the natural products industry through advocacy and education so independent retailers, leading manufacturers and consumers can thrive, in an ever-changing environment, rooted together in our experience of enhanced health and the power of personal relationships.
In other words, individuals are working together to achieve the unachievable and thus thrive.
We love to live in the lore of our success, as we should! The collective "we" (SENPA and its retailers, the brands, their manufacturers, the ingredient supply chain, and the nonprofit community at large) recently celebrated the industry’s most notable success: the passage of DSHEA 30 years ago. Its passage required unwavering commitment by the entire industry. Today, our industry is bigger and more heavily influenced by pharma interests. We are operating with a new Administration that sends conflicting messages on its definition of health and wellness. And now, we find the international supply chain, which the dietary supplement supply chain relies upon, could be severely disrupted by the imposition of tariffs.
Let’s Get Cooking
This is our moment to find ways for individuals to work together and achieve what could never be done by working alone. Let’s first acknowledge it’s not going to be as easy as it used to be to effect change. Today’s issues are inherently more complicated. It’s not just about access to quality supplements and food. Our recent history has been focused on ensuring Americans have access to our products, especially in federally funded programs like SNAP, and corporate programs like FSA/HSA accounts. We’ve also been hyper-focused on state mandates relating to the accessibility of certain products. Today’s primary issue is about our government using trade agreements to encourage the consumption of American-made goods. Today, when we talk about access to quality and effective products, we are focused on the ability to access our foreign partners to make the vitamins, minerals, and supplements consumed by nearly 75% of the entire population.
This will not be easy. It is not a normal political environment. Congress is not standing firmly in its shoes. And different sectors of the Administration have differing views of what constitutes health. Complicating advocacy efforts is the fact that the Agencies operate in different lanes when it comes to change. The head of HHS wants glyphosate out of our food supply, and the school lunch program. It recently announced a plan to rid the food supply chain of petroleum-based food dyes. However, the Agriculture Department is in charge of the school lunch program. Thus, change becomes harder. The Republican-led U.S. Senate is proposing legislation (The Eats Act) that would strip States and localities of their ability to enact legislation and the ability to mandate standards or conditions relating to the production or manufacturing of agricultural products. The implications are vast, ranging from the elimination of laws that protect small farmers to the repeal of laws prohibiting puppy mills.
It's a dizzying array of issues, politics, and players. Our collective message to Senators and Congress must speak to the health and welfare of the citizens of the United States who, without access to the products our industry produces, will suffer from nutrient deficiencies. In all likelihood, the number of preterm births will rise along with health-related costs to the government. One only must consider the fact that demand for fish oil in the United States cannot be met by fishing our lakes and rivers to begin to understand the international impact of tariffs, and their impact on human health. This is about people, not profit. Let’s collectively collaborate and convey our health-driven messages to the 535 elected representatives that absolutely must report back to their constituents.
