Food policy
Encyclopedia
Food policy is an area of public policy
concerning the production, distribution, and consumption of food. The policy consists of setting goals for food production, processing, marketing, availability, access, utilization and consumption, and describes the processes for achieving these goals. Food policy can be on any level, from local to global, and by a government agency, business, or organization. In addition, food policy involves schools, regulations, and eligibility standards for food assistance programs; and it involves health and safety, food labeling, and even the qualifications of a product to be considered organic.
There are three main objectives for food policy: to protect the poor from crises, to develop long-run markets that enhance efficient resource use, and to increase food production that will in turn promote and increase in income.
Food policy comprises the mechanisms by which food-related matters are addressed or administered by governments, including international bodies or networks, and by public institutions or private organizations. Food policy is a sub field of public policy, which covers the entire food chain
: natural resources, production, processing, marketing, retailing, food hygiene, consumption, and nutrition.
and Kwashiorkor
. With increases in food production, consumption of energy-dense foods, and the reduction of physical activity, there has been an increase in the prevalence of obesity
in developed countries, in middle income families, and in some developing countries. Such issues are receiving greater attention from nutritionists and health economists in part because of the life-time costs of treating associated conditions such as diabetes and hypertension
. Also, gains in life expectancy
achieved in the last few decades can reduce premature deaths due to obesity and chronic diseases. From the standpoint of food policies, the diets of lower income families within developing countries need to contain higher quantities of nutrients such as dietary protein
, iron
, calcium
, vitamin A
, and vitamin C
, in relation to the overall energy intake. By contrast, food policies for developed countries should encourage lower consumption of energy-dense foods such as those high in dietary fat and sugars, while promoting higher intakes of dietary fiber
for improving health.
Food policy has been shaped tremendously by the First Amendment and the FDA. The First Amendment
of the Constitution of the United States (which involves the freedom of speech) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) control much of the information included on food labels. The FDA is responsible for monitoring food manufactures and processors to ensure they follow strict safety rules. Some safety rules for food include that it is: free of harmful chemicals, not exposed to improper or unclean processing, and safe to consume, etc. Other agencies besides the FDA help with regulations of food policy but the FDA is the main regulator.
Food safety rules change from time to time based on the public and its priorities.
A few requirements that change include: food quality, chemicals used in farming, and food additives. An example is that as research develops on chemicals, some have been found to be unsafe and are then banned from use.
in 1974. A year later, the International Food Policy Research Institute
began. Policy-makers gained an interest in the aspects of supply and demand and how supply and demand influence food security
. Food policy has been changing since the beginning due to various factors. One factor is the population size. Population size has changed from being rural to mostly urban. Also, jobs were mainly agricultural but have slowly changed to more non-agricultural. Problems with nutrition have also changed and food policy has had to change with it. Lack of nutrition was the only issue but obesity, diabetes, and heart disease have become an increasing problem; despite the fact that there are more nutritional products available.
Due to a constantly changing society, food policy must change to meet the needs and demands of society.
The solution to hunger and poverty can be found by increasing the amount of food intake per individual. The amount to increase by depends on how much food is needed to carry out day to day tasks. Some challenges that this solution faces are: having enough money to afford the cost of food, having the food supply, as well as having enough supply of nutritional foods. Also, having the education on what foods to buy and which are nutritional can be an issue. These are all factors that can cause a food policy to fail.
Food policy involves both consumers and producers. If prices are too high for consumers to afford nutritional food products then it reduces the amount they can purchase. High food prices can cause lower income households to have a poorer quality diet. Producers rely on food prices for income and therefore cannot make the prices so low that they are not able to survive. There is a fine line between supply and demand which creates a challenge for food policy.
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
concerning the production, distribution, and consumption of food. The policy consists of setting goals for food production, processing, marketing, availability, access, utilization and consumption, and describes the processes for achieving these goals. Food policy can be on any level, from local to global, and by a government agency, business, or organization. In addition, food policy involves schools, regulations, and eligibility standards for food assistance programs; and it involves health and safety, food labeling, and even the qualifications of a product to be considered organic.
There are three main objectives for food policy: to protect the poor from crises, to develop long-run markets that enhance efficient resource use, and to increase food production that will in turn promote and increase in income.
Food policy comprises the mechanisms by which food-related matters are addressed or administered by governments, including international bodies or networks, and by public institutions or private organizations. Food policy is a sub field of public policy, which covers the entire food chain
Food chain
A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological community. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called trophic levels: 1) the autotrophs, and 2) the heterotrophs...
: natural resources, production, processing, marketing, retailing, food hygiene, consumption, and nutrition.
Food policies and population health in a global setting
In most settings, food policy is linked to the health of a population. The early literature in under-nutrition involving developing countries was concerned with the effects of food shortages on diseases such as marasmusMarasmus
Marasmus is a form of severe protein-energy malnutrition characterized by energy deficiency.A child with marasmus looks emaciated. Body weight may be reduced to less than 80% of the average weight that corresponds to the height . Marasmus occurrence increases prior to age 1, whereas kwashiorkor...
and Kwashiorkor
Kwashiorkor
Kwashiorkor is an acute form of childhood protein-energy malnutrition characterized by edema, irritability, anorexia, ulcerating dermatoses, and an enlarged liver with fatty infiltrates. The presence of edema caused by poor nutrition defines kwashiorkor...
. With increases in food production, consumption of energy-dense foods, and the reduction of physical activity, there has been an increase in the prevalence of obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
in developed countries, in middle income families, and in some developing countries. Such issues are receiving greater attention from nutritionists and health economists in part because of the life-time costs of treating associated conditions such as diabetes and hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
. Also, gains in life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
achieved in the last few decades can reduce premature deaths due to obesity and chronic diseases. From the standpoint of food policies, the diets of lower income families within developing countries need to contain higher quantities of nutrients such as dietary protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
, vitamin A
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a vitamin that is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of a specific metabolite, the light-absorbing molecule retinal, that is necessary for both low-light and color vision...
, and vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
, in relation to the overall energy intake. By contrast, food policies for developed countries should encourage lower consumption of energy-dense foods such as those high in dietary fat and sugars, while promoting higher intakes of dietary fiber
Dietary fiber
Dietary fiber, dietary fibre, or sometimes roughage is the indigestible portion of plant foods having two main components:* soluble fiber that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts, and* insoluble fiber that is metabolically inert, absorbing water as it...
for improving health.
Food labeling
There are many requirements on how a product is labeled and the information is required to provide to consumers. Food labeling laws require that labels have information of the weight of the product, nutrition facts, and the manufacturer of the product. There have been debates on whether to require information on the country where the food product originated and whether the product contains genetically modified ingredients.Food policy has been shaped tremendously by the First Amendment and the FDA. The First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
of the Constitution of the United States (which involves the freedom of speech) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
(FDA) control much of the information included on food labels. The FDA is responsible for monitoring food manufactures and processors to ensure they follow strict safety rules. Some safety rules for food include that it is: free of harmful chemicals, not exposed to improper or unclean processing, and safe to consume, etc. Other agencies besides the FDA help with regulations of food policy but the FDA is the main regulator.
Food safety rules change from time to time based on the public and its priorities.
A few requirements that change include: food quality, chemicals used in farming, and food additives. An example is that as research develops on chemicals, some have been found to be unsafe and are then banned from use.
History
Food policy came about after the first meeting of the World Food CouncilWorld Food Council
World Food Council was a United Nations organization established by the UN General Assembly in December 1974 by recommendation of the World Food Conference. Its headquarter was in Rome, Italy. WFC's goal was to serve as coordinating body for national ministries of agriculture to help reduce...
in 1974. A year later, the International Food Policy Research Institute
International Food Policy Research Institute
The International Food Policy Research Institute is an international agricultural research center founded in the early 1970s to improve the understanding of national agricultural and food policies to promote the adoption of innovations in agricultural technology...
began. Policy-makers gained an interest in the aspects of supply and demand and how supply and demand influence food security
Food security
Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past...
. Food policy has been changing since the beginning due to various factors. One factor is the population size. Population size has changed from being rural to mostly urban. Also, jobs were mainly agricultural but have slowly changed to more non-agricultural. Problems with nutrition have also changed and food policy has had to change with it. Lack of nutrition was the only issue but obesity, diabetes, and heart disease have become an increasing problem; despite the fact that there are more nutritional products available.
Due to a constantly changing society, food policy must change to meet the needs and demands of society.
Criteria table
| A food system can be judged by whether it | ||
|---|---|---|
| is technically efficient in social prices | is good for nutrition | offers security |
| is allocatively efficient in social prices | supports higher standards of education | reduces vulnerability |
| leads to increased consumption by the poor | enables people to have status | is good for the environmental sustainability |
| leads to increased asset-holding by the poor | enables people to have dignity | promotes equality in general |
| is good for health | enables people to have rights | promotes social inclusion |
| promotes gender equality | enables people to have influence | underpins freedom |
Conflicts
Food policy has both political and economic factors that contribute to the challenges it faces. Food policy is not completely based on politics but politics have an impact. Countries that have more political involvement typically have more of an influence on solving issues dealing with hunger and poverty. Countries that have less political involvement may not have as much to do with food policy.The solution to hunger and poverty can be found by increasing the amount of food intake per individual. The amount to increase by depends on how much food is needed to carry out day to day tasks. Some challenges that this solution faces are: having enough money to afford the cost of food, having the food supply, as well as having enough supply of nutritional foods. Also, having the education on what foods to buy and which are nutritional can be an issue. These are all factors that can cause a food policy to fail.
Food policy involves both consumers and producers. If prices are too high for consumers to afford nutritional food products then it reduces the amount they can purchase. High food prices can cause lower income households to have a poorer quality diet. Producers rely on food prices for income and therefore cannot make the prices so low that they are not able to survive. There is a fine line between supply and demand which creates a challenge for food policy.
See also
- International Food Policy Research InstituteInternational Food Policy Research InstituteThe International Food Policy Research Institute is an international agricultural research center founded in the early 1970s to improve the understanding of national agricultural and food policies to promote the adoption of innovations in agricultural technology...
- Toronto Food Policy CouncilToronto Food Policy CouncilThe Toronto Food Policy Council is a citizen body of food activists and experts responsible for generating food policy for the City of Toronto....
- Vancouver Food Policy Council