Food Policy and Legal Battles—The ECA and PDS in Kerala

What is food policy? Miller and Deutsch (2009) discuss what constitutes food studies; they say that food studies are not really the study of food itself but the study of the relationship between food, the human experience, and food (Brillat-Savarin 1976; also see▶Brillat-Savarin and Food). Miller and Deutsch (2009) outline areas of study such as food science, agricultural science, culinary arts, public health nutrition, and agro-economics, to name but a few areas which they see as incorporating food studies. Food policy incorporates all of the areas but is more than even the study of the relationship between food and the human experience. Food policy is more than health and more than just agricultural policies or even nutrition policy as individual strands; it is the interconnectedness and sometimes even the disconnect between these various areas (see also “▶Agricultural and Food Research Policy”; “▶Agricultural Policy and Governance: Overview”; “▶ Food Trade and World Trade Organization: Agriculture Agreement”). Food policy, as an academic subject, is the study of the relationship between all these areas of study and how policies are formed or not developed despite the weight of the evidence (Lang et al. 2009). For a long time, transport polices were not considered as having much to do with food policy; however, now they are seen as integral in terms of how food is transported from where it is grown to where it is consumed. Food policy can also be defined by the absence of a written policy or even benign neglect of an area. The failure to relate food production to oil and oil prices was for a long time amajor commission in food policy; the food system relies on oil, oil to produce fertilizers for food, oil to power the machines to harvest it, oil to process it, and oil to distribute it. There is an argument that food policy should not become a distinct area of endeavor seeking instead to become part of and embedded in other policies. Like the concept of health in all policies, food should be in all policies. This in reality is difficult to achieve, and the fallback position is to develop a separate food policy. This usually takes the form of a nutrition-based policy (Milo andHesling 1998; Caraher andCoveney 2004). It becomes clear that healthy food-related policies can have an impact on other issues such as environment, considering the example of campaigns to increase fruit consumption in the global north. Fruit consumption has increased significantly since the mid-1970s; this has been largely accounted for by the very sharp rise in purchases of fruit juice which does not provide equivalent nutrition to its fresh counterpart. This fruit juice consumption, however, is often of juices from longdistant fruit, notably oranges from Brazil. A study by the Wuppertal Institute in Germany calculated that 80 % of Brazilian orange production is consumed in Europe. Annual German consumption occupied 370,000 acres of Brazilian productive land, three times the land devoted to fruit production

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of Russian food policy. Food policy is defined as the way government policy influences food production and distribution. Russia’s food policy is important for several reasons. The first and most obvious reason is that a dysfunctional food policy is symptomatic of larger political and societal problems. A failing food policy is often the precursor to political instability. Russian food policy is also important is due to the agricultural recovery since 2004 that has allowed Russia to become self-sufficient in grain production. Being food-sufficient in grain means that Russia is not drawing upon global grain supply. Even more important, Russia now produces surpluses and has become a global grain supplier. Moreover, the agricultural recovery has made the country food secure, traditionally defined as having enough food for a healthy life. An analysis of food policy reveals that the structure of food production has changed with the emergence of mega-farms called agroholdings that are horizontally and vertically integrated. Agroholdings represent a concentration of capital and land, with a small number of farms producing large percentages of total food output. The book explores alternatives to the industrial agricultural model by discussing different variants of sustainable agriculture. A final importance of Russian food policy concerns food trade. Russia has become more protectionist since 2012. The food embargo against Western nations (2014-2017) is one example, so too is import substitution that is a core component of food policy. The book demonstrates the politicalization of external food trade. Food trade and denial of access to the Russian market is used as an instrument of foreign policy to punish countries with whom Russia has disagreements. Current Russian policymakers have food resources to augment, support, and extend national interests abroad. Russia historically has cycled through periods of integration and isolation from the West. This book raises the question whether a new normal has arisen that is characterized by the permanent withdrawal from integration, as evidenced by its nationalist and protectionist food policy. The book is entirely original, rich in detail and broad in scope. It is based on field work, survey data, a wide reading of primary sources and the secondary literature, all of which are linked to important policy questions in development studies and food studies. It is destined to become a classic book on Russian food policy.

This work analyzes the sensitivity of agricultural production in relation to changes in precipitation and temperature levels in the Northeast region of Brazil. For that purpose, data from 2006 to 2016 were used for 952 municipalities in the area. The econometric methodology derived from Kunwar and Bohara (2017) and is applied to the production value of municipalities in the Brazilian Northeast, where it is assumed that the production value is also impacted by the interactions between precipitation and temperature. Thus, time and space data are used, applied to a spatial econometric methodology. The results suggest that the agricultural production of the municipalities of the Brazilian Northeast is spatially autocorrelated. There is indication that there are municipalities with high (or low) levels of production, which have neighbors with these same characteristics. It was also verified that, from 2006 to 2011, the agricultural production was more sensitive to changes in temperature levels than to changes in average precipitation. However, after the years 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016, agricultural production has become more sensitive to changes in the precipitation levels. It was also noted that in the analyzed period there was an increase in the average sensitivity of the agricultural production in relation to the precipitation levels, while the average temperature sensitivity showed a decrease.

The paper is devoted to the analysis of Visegrad coutries’ agricultural production and trade relationship. The objective is to analyze changes in agricultural production in relation to individual countries’ agricultural foreign trade performance and to identify the most important changes in area of Visegrad members’ agrarian production and trade performance and competitiveness. During the period 1993 – 2010, Visegrad countries’ agricultural production and trade were significantly affected. The volume of agricultural production was reduced especially in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The reduction of agricultural and foodstuff production volume in the Czech Republic and Slovakia resulted in the significant growth of imports. Hungarian trade was also negatively affected by its agricultural sector and foodstuff industry stagnation. Only Poland was able during the analyzed time period significantly improve its production and trade performance. Agricultural trade of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary does not have comparative advantages in relation to the EU and third countries market. Only Poland does have comparative advantages in the field of agricultural trade, both in relation to the EU market, as well as in relation to the global market. This paper was supported by the institutional research intentions MSM 6046070906.

Food policies: in times of COVID-19 and beyond

Shenggen FanInternational Food Policy Research Institute and Institute of AgriculturalEconomics of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesLinxiu ZhangCenter for Chinese Agricultural Policy of the Chinese Academy of SciencesXiaobo ZhangInternational Food Policy Research InstituteI. IntroductionChina is one of the few countries in the developing world that has madeprogress in reducing its total number of poor over the past 25 years.

Inclusive diets within planetary boundaries

Background: The global food system is not delivering affordable, healthy, diverse diets, which are needed to address malnutrition in all its forms for sustainable development. This will require policy change across the economic sectors that govern food systems, including agriculture, trade, finance, commerce and industry – a goal that has been beset by political challenges. These sectors have been strongly influenced by entrenched policy agendas and paradigms supported by influential global actors such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).Methods: This study draws on the concept of path dependency to examine how historical economic policy agendas and paradigms have influenced current food and nutrition policy and politics in Ghana. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with 29 relevant policy actors, and documentary data were collected from current policies, academic and grey literature, historical budget statements and World Bank Group Archives (1950-present).Results: Despite increased political priority for nutrition in Ghana, its integration into food policy remains limited. Food policy agendas are strongly focused on production, employment and economic returns, and existing market-based incentives do not support a nutrition-sensitive food supply. This policy focus appears to be rooted in a liberal economic approach to food policy arising from structural adjustment in the 1980s and trade liberalization in the 1990s, combined with historical experience of ‘failure’ of food policy intervention and an entrenched narrowly economic conception of food security.Conclusion: This study suggests that attention to policy paradigms, in addition to specific points of policy change, will be essential for improving the outcomes of food systems for nutrition. An historical perspective can provide food and health policy-makers with insights to foster the revisioning of food policy to address multiple national policy objectives, including nutrition.

Since the Military Revolution in 1961 Korean government officials have been concerned about solving problems involved in agricultural or food policy. However, farmers are still kept in a predicament mainly due to the improperties contained in the policy-making process. In this study, to define the reasons for the difficulties involved in food policy, policy-making process as well as its specifications were examined based on the objectives, participants, and the contents of food policy in Korea. Because policy-making is largely dependent upon political or administrative structures, a comparative study was conducted to see the radical changes in food policy before and after the Yu-shin Revitalizing Reformation in 1972. Before the Reformation, farmers fell victim for the economic development which was the moral obligations of the military government. Thus top priority in food policy was set on price stabilization rather than achieving self-sufficient food supply or boosting farmers' incomes. Likewise government officials were more concerned about politics, that is, winning elections. However, political concern has become less decisive after the Reformation, and administrative power has become more dominant in terms of policy-making. In addition to such a change, food supply situation has deteriorated due to poor harvests and the public's improved diet. Therefore, rice price has been maintained at a considerably high level, and government officials have become aware of the importance of boosting farmers' incomes. But there still is a room for improvement on the part of participants.

Purpose. The aim of the article is theoretical and methodological substantiation of tools for regulating markets of agricultural products in conditions of economic uncertainty and possible models of their application in strategically important agricultural markets. Methodology of research. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is scientific positions that are reflected in the works of Ukrainian and foreign scientists. The following methods were used to achieve this goal: abstract and logical - to generalize the methods of regulation and diagnosis of the current state of research on the regulation of agricultural markets; inductions and deductions - to identify relationships in the process of grouping regulatory tools; epistemological and dialectical methods - to identify the most common problems of market regulation in conditions of uncertainty. Findings. The key problems of regulation of agricultural markets in the modern period are generalized and systematized. Based on this, the tools and methods of market regulation are analysed. The factors that determine the application of various methods and tools of market regulation in conditions of economic uncertainty are studied. Perspective directions of development of the organized market of agricultural products are considered. Originality. The market mechanism of regulation of agricultural production in relation to the specifics of agricultural markets is assessed, and the main methods of application of special market regulation tools are systematized, which allowed to substantiate the model of beef market development in Ukraine (by forming a cattle exchange and introducing an integrated quality system). Practical value. The results of the study can be a theoretical and methodological basis for the introduction of a specialized commodity market for agricultural products in Ukraine, as well as the subject of further research to address fundamental problems of agricultural markets in conditions of economic uncertainty, which will eliminate or reduce business risks. Key words: agricultural market, organized market of agricultural products, stock market, market regulation tools, economic uncertainty.

Nonfarm Activities and Household Production Choices in Smallholder Agriculture in Vietnam

Hungry for Revolution: The Politics of Food and the Making of Modern Chile

The last quarter of the 20th century was characterized by an increase in the consumer's interest in the nutritional aspects of health. As a result, governments began to develop dietary guidelines in addition to the traditional recommended dietary allowances, which have been superseded now by dietary reference intakes. In addition to governments, various scientific societies and nongovernmental organizations have issued their dietary advice to combat chronic diseases and obesity. Human beings evolved on a diet that was balanced in n-6 and n-3 essential fatty acid intake, whereas Western diets have a ratio of n-6/n-3 of 16.74. The scientific evidence is strong for decreasing the n-6 and increasing the n-3 intake to improve health throughout the life cycle. This paper discusses the reasons for this change and recommends the establishment of a Nutrition and Food Policy, instead of a Food and Nutrition Policy, because the latter subordinates the nutritional aspects to the food policy aspects. Nutrition and food planning comprise a tool of nutrition and food policy, whose objectives are the achievement of the adequate nutrition of the population as defined by nutritional science. The scientific basis for the development of a public policy to develop dietary recommendations for essential fatty acids, including a balanced n-6/n-3 ratio is robust. What is needed is a scientific consensus, education of professionals and the public, the establishment of an agency on nutrition and food policy at the national level, and willingness of governments to institute changes. Education of the public is essential to demand changes in the food supply.

(1949). Australian agricultural production in relation to world requirements. Australian Outlook: Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 9-21.

Aggregate estimates of food expenditure are consistent with such a possibility, implying income/expenditure elasticities close to one. However, the high degree of aggregation at which such estimates are made means that the considerable increase in price per nutrient as income increases is ignored, and the nutrient elasticities are therefore overstated. Estimates for a rural south Indian sample indicate that this bias is considerable and that the true nutrient elasticities with respect to income may be close to zero.