Do Farm Subsidies Cause Obesity? Dispelling Common Myths About Public Health and the Farm Bill

It is often argued that farm subsidies have led to the overproduction of commodity crops, and removing these subsidies would help combat obesity by discouraging overproduction of crops that are the base ingredients of unhealthy foods. This white paper analyzes the public health and agricultural economic literature and primary and secondary agriculture policy documents to More

Planting the Seeds for Public Health: How the Farm Bill Can Help Farmers to Produce and Distribute Healthy Foods

Resulting from a detailed legal analysis of the 2008 Farm Bill, this report finds that lack of information about yields and prices for fruits and vegetables has undermined farmers’ ability to make them more widely available and accessible. The report highlights the barriers the agriculture community faces in providing access to healthy foods, and provides More

Food Systems and Public Health: Linkages to Achieve Healthier Diets and Healthier Communities

The Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition produced a special journal issue highlighting papers and discussions from the April 2009 conference, “Food Systems and Public Health: Linkages to Achieve Healthier Diets and Healthier Communities.” The conference convened more than 100 leading researchers and practitioners nationwide from the health, nutrition, obesity and health policy arenas, as More

Economies of Size in Production Agriculture

The concept of economies of size refers to the ability to lower cost of production by increasing production. This article discusses economies of size in production agriculture and the consequences economies of size have on food production and rural America’s future.

Planning for Food Access: A National Scan and Evaluation of Local Comprehensive Planning and Zoning

Low-income, underserved communities are often plagued with unhealthy food environments. A community’s comprehensive plan directly influences urban design and land-use regulations, which affect neighborhood food availability. While some local governments are including food access goals and policies in their local plans, little is understood about the quality, specificity and comprehensiveness of these goals and policies. More

Food Systems and Public Health Disparities

This article reviews literature examining the impact food systems have on creating and exacerbating health disparities in the United States. It highlights directions for future research and policies to address the health disparities created by food systems.

Assessing How Agricultural Policy Can Be Changed to Help Farmers Succeed in Producing and Distributing Healthy Food to Children and Their Communities

This project will identify laws and policies affecting production and distribution of healthier foods to local communities’ schools, institutions, farmers’ markets, and grocery stores. It will analyze policies that currently discourage farmers from producing and distributing healthy foods, and identify policies that could encourage farmers to produce and distribute healthy foods in a community-based system, More

The Farm Bill and Public Health: An Overview

This paper was written before the passage of the 2007 Farm Bill in December 2007, but the text effectively describes how this new bill (written in anticipation of the legislation’s passage) affects not only farmers and rural communities but the environment, public health, and even socioeconomic variables. In addition to presenting a background on the More