Chapter 1 - Making Food Policy in the United States
Problem Set
Problem Set Problem Set answersRole-play exercise
Instruction Sheet and Student HandoutAnnotated links
U.S. Food Policy: A Public Interest Perspective. Since 2004, this blog has provided links and commentary on U.S. food policy issues. It grew out of the Tufts University class “Determinants of U.S. Food Policy” (NUTR 303), on which the text is based. Tags in the right sidebar link to multiple posts on the same topic.
http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/
USDA Economic Research Service. The economics agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is the best single source for data and reports across the spectrum of topics covered in the text.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/
Congressional Research Service Reports. The CRS provides excellent summaries of issues, budgets and past legislation, mainly for Congressional staff. Although the agency does not publish reports itself, Congressional offices are permitted to share the reports with other organizations, who may post them. One well-organized collection of reports related to U.S. food policy is from the National Agricultural Law Center.
http://nationalaglawcenter.org/crs/
Chapter 2 - Agriculture
Problem Set
Problem Set Problem Set answersRole-play exercise
Instruction Sheet and Student HandoutEconomic appendices
Appendix S2.1 Appendix S2.2 Appendix S2.3Program summary tables
Table S2.1Annotated links
U.S. Food Policy: A Public Interest Perspective. The tag on “agricultural policy” contains links and news on subsidy programs and related topics.
http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/search/label/agricultural%20policy
Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report. Politico provides excellent brief news updates in a daily morning report.
https://www.politico.com/morningagriculture/
American Enterprise Institute. In its research and communications program titled “American Boondoggle,” this conservative think tank extensively covers agriculture subsidy programs that it perceives as wasteful.
http://www.aei.org/american-boondoggle/
USDA Economic Research Service. The topic page for farm and commodity policy provides data and reports on farm incomes, the Farm Bill, and subsidy programs.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-commodity-policy/
Chapter 3 - Food Production and the Environment
Problem Set
Problem Set Problem Set answersProgram summary tables
Table S3.1 Table S3.2Annotated links
U.S. Food Policy: A Public Interest Perspective. The tag on “environment” contains links and news on subsidy programs and related topics.
http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/search/label/environment
Environmental Working Group. The EWG has farm policy as one of the organization’s key areas of emphasis. It provides a remarkable searchable database of subsidy payments at the individual level.
https://www.ewg.org/agmag#.Wkla89-nGUk
USDA Economic Research Service. The topic page for natural resources and the environment covers climate change, conservation programs, environmental quality, organic agriculture, and many other topics.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/natural-resources-environment/
Chapter 4 - Food and Agricultural Trade
Problem Set
Problem Set Problem Set answersAnnotated links
U.S. Food Policy: A Public Interest Perspective. The tag on “international trade” considers trade policy debates from multiple perspectives, including the interests of U.S. producers, U.S. consumers, and people in other countries.
http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/search/label/international%20trade
Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This organization plays a coordinating role for the world’s high-income countries. It takes an outsider’s perspective on U.S. trade barriers, which has the side effect of providing a useful source of information about farm subsidies as well.
http://www.oecd.org/agriculture/
Oxfam America. This nongovernmental organization advocates for the interests of low-income people, especially farmers, around the world. As a consequence, the organization takes great interest in U.S. food aid and trade policy reforms that could help reduce poverty elsewhere.
https://policy-practice.oxfamamerica.org/work/food-agriculture-livelihoods/
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). A skeptical perspective on trade agreements and international trade.
https://www.iatp.org/
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Part of a network of international organizations working on food and agriculture research, IFPRI has an economically savvy perspective on agriculture and trade in economic development.
http://www.ifpri.org/
Chapter 5 - Food Manufacturing
Problem Set
Problem Set Problem Set answersAnnotated links
U.S. Census Bureau. Data sources on manufacturing include the Annual Survey of Manufactures and the Economic Census.
https://www.census.gov/econ/manufacturing.html
Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). Despite recent internal struggles, this is the leading trade association for U.S. food manufacturers.
http://www.gmaonline.org/
USDA Economic Research Service. The topic page on food and beverage manufacturing is a good source for data and reports on controversial issues such as vertical coordination in meat and poultry production.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-markets-prices/processing-marketing/
Chapter 6 - Food Retailing and Restaurants
Problem Set
Problem Set Problem Set answersEconomic appendix
Appendix S6.1Annotated links
USDA Economic Research Service. ERS coverage of food retailing issues includes interactive mapping utilities related to (a) food access and (b) the food environment.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-choices-health/food-access/
Food Marketing Institute. The leading trade association for the food retailing industry.
https://www.fmi.org/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS produces the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the official source for measuring price inflation.
Chapter 7 - Food Safety
Problem Set
Problem Set Problem Set answersAnnotated links
USDA Economic Research Service. ERS provides research reports on foodborne illness and food safety regulation. Like the text, ERS reports commonly address information failures as the source of food safety problems.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-safety/
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The main federal agency for food safety of meat and poultry production.
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/home
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The main federal agency for oversight of many other food products. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed in 2011, is the most important U.S. food safety legislation in recent years.
https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/default.htm
Food and Water Watch. A nongovernmental advocacy organization on food safety issues, generally critical of trade agreements and current oversight of new food technologies.
https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/
Chapter 8 - Dietary Guidance and Health
Problem Set
Problem Set Problem Set answersRole-play exercise
Instruction Sheet and Student HandoutAnnotated links
USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP). In conjunction with its counterpart at DHHS, this USDA agency is most responsible for producing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietary-guidelines
USDA Economic Research Service. ERS gives extensive coverage to the economics of food choices and health.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-choices-health/
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). A leading nongovernmental organization with an independent voice on dietary guidance issues.
Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. A research university with a long history of work on both nutrition science and nutrition policy.
Chapter 9 - Food Labeling and Advertising
Problem Set
Problem Set Problem Set answersAnnotated links
USDA Economic Research Service. ERS reports on labeling and information policy address nutrition facts labels, organic labeling, and third-party labeling, for example.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-safety/labeling-information-policy/
Consumer Reports. Published by Consumers Union, Consumer Reports provides resources on animal welfare labels, GMO labels, and many related topics.
U.S. Food Policy: A Public Interest Perspective. The tag on “checkoff” programs contains my years of reporting on the federal government’s generic commodity promotion programs, which funds advertising and public relations especially for beef, pork, and dairy products.
http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/search/label/environment
Better Business Bureau. The Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) is an industry self-regulatory body, taking a distinctly nonconfrontational approach to addressing the food industry’s marketing practices directed at children.
https://www.bbb.org/council/the-national-partner-program/national-advertising-review-services/childrens-food-and-beverage-advertising-initiative/
Chapter 10 - Hunger and Food Insecurity
Problem Set
Problem Set Problem Set answersRole-play exercise
Instruction Sheet and Student HandoutProgram summary table
Table S10.1Annotated links
USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The federal agency overseeing U.S. nutrition assistance programs has an extensive report series.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/
Food Research and Action Center. This nongovernmental organization is the highest-profile anti-hunger advocacy group working at the national level.
USDA Economic Research Service. ERS provides the federal government’s official statistics on the prevalence of household food insecurity.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/
Chapter 11 - Nutrition Assistance Programs for Children
Problem Set
Problem Set Problem Set answersRole-play exercise
Instruction Sheet and Student HandoutProgram summary tables
Table S11.1 Table S11.2Annotated links
USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). FNS reports on school meals programs include the high-profile Meal Cost Study and School Nutrition Dietary Assessment (SNDA) report series.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/ops/child-nutrition-programs
School Nutrition Association (SNA). This nongovernmental organization serves both as an advocacy organization for school meal funding and also as a trade association for the School Food Authorities (SFAs) that actually carry out school meal programs.