Food Policy Changes Research Articles

Changes in Food Policy after the Korean War

Changes in Food Policy after the Korean War

Abstract P611: A Multi-Sector, Collaborative Approach to Improve Diet in Mexican and Chinese American Immigrant Families

Introduction: Latinx and Asian American communities in the U.S. face unique yet similar structural barriers to maintaining adequate diet quality, contributing to an increased burden of diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in these groups. These inequities have been exacerbated in recent years due to overt anti-immigrant and anti-Asian sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic, invoking fear and cultural shame for these groups, and amplifying challenges towards accessing food and economic stability. Hypothesis: Herein we describe a community-centered, multi-level approach aligned with the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities Framework. We hypothesize our study will result in increased fruit and vegetable intake (self-report, measured via skin carotenoids), social cohesion and ethnic pride at the individual level and improved socioeconomic outcomes at the neighborhood level. Methods: Working collaboratively with 8 community-based and farm partners, the goal of the Building Access to Food through Systems and Solidarity (BASIS) Study is to improve diet and economic stability in Sunset Park—a neighborhood of Mexican and Chinese American families in Brooklyn, NY. This neighborhood has been hard-hit during the COVID-19 pandemic and lagged in economic recovery, and its residents are disconnected from government support. BASIS addresses food access, nutrition education, policy change, and hands-on learning (e.g., gardening, cooking) incorporating culturally appropriate values, foods, and taste preferences throughout each of these activities. Results: To date, we have held four group model-building workshops with partners to identify common priorities/goals towards improving nutrition in immigrant communities; co-developed Mexican and Chinese American-specific nutrition education materials; held eight virtual and in-person sessions with community members (n=291); conducted qualitative interviews (n=19) and quantitative data collection (n=175) amongst community residents to inform program development; and implemented a subsidized, community-supported agriculture pilot program for 20 weeks in 2022 (n=38). BASIS resources have been well-received by community members, with high engagement (90% attend weekly produce box pick-up events) and acceptance (100% indicated they would recommend the program to others). Conclusions: Planned evaluation will include mixed methods and administrative data analyses for assessment of multi-level outcomes. BASIS will expand to more participants (n=150), and will include additional program components (e.g., food policy assessment; workforce development; small business owner education). BASIS presents a powerful model to improve diet in immigrant communities applying systems thinking and community-centered best practices, lessons which may be gleaned for other immigrant communities.

Qualitative Exploration of Cultural Influence on a Rural Health-Promotion Initiative

ObjectiveTo develop a conceptualization of cultural influence on perceptions of a rural food and physical activity policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change project to inform public health research and practice. DesignBasic qualitative research design, semistructured phone interviews with community health coalition members. SettingFive rural Southern counties (obesity prevalence > 40%). ParticipantsThirty-nine community coalition members. InterventionThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention High Obesity Program. PSE initiatives to increase access to healthy food and physical activity opportunities through a community coalition model. Phenomenon of InterestSocial norms and cultural influences surrounding community members’ food preferences, physical activity behavior, and future hopes for community development. AnalysisAbductive content analysis. ResultsMajor categories on food social norms (subcategories: physical health, eating habits, and food preference), race relations, generational factors, physical activity social norms, and hopes for the community (subcategories: increased engagement, health, awareness, cohesion, and inspiration) were discussed in relation to the progress of PSE initiatives. Conclusions and ImplicationsBecause of community member perceptions, PSE initiatives became associated with factors beyond food and fitness, such as race relations, generational differences, and community cohesion. A focus on increased youth and church involvement, community values, relationship building, and input from diverse voices can be foundational to culturally-appropriate PSE efforts in rural settings.

Food security and food access during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts, adaptations, and looking ahead.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to alter US household food consumption and food spending. Although terminology used to describe food insecurity has varied during the COVID-19 pandemic, many reliable estimates illustrate a dramatic increase in food insecurity from approximately 10% of US households before the pandemic to 25%-30% of households during the pandemic, with an even higher prevalence reported by more vulnerable and socially disadvantaged populations. To address the increase in food and economic insecurity, food and nutrition assistance policies and programs made innovative and temporary changes, and enrollment in these programs generally increased. However, some changes to food, nutrition, and income assistance programs are now expiring or contracting even as food insecurity prevalence is again on the rise and elevated food and nutrition assistance needs are expected to persist based on historical patterns. American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) practitioners can play an important role in identifying clients at elevated risk of food insecurity-related acute and chronic conditions and connecting high-risk clients to resources. ASPEN practitioners can contribute to the evidence base linking food insecurity and nutrition outcomes. ASPEN practitioners can also advocate for addressing the root social and structural determinants of food insecurity and for the continuation of effective food and nutrition policy changes and innovations.

A novel measure of developing countries' agricultural and food policy readiness

Positive agricultural and food policy environments are critically important to the success and inclusiveness of agricultural growth and transformation. Despite the catalytic potential of enabling policies, countries vary in their willingness, capacity, and ability to improve policy: in other words they have varying degrees of policy readiness. The profession has spawned a plethora of 'policy readiness' indices over the past decade. These indices are welcome first steps, but they are non-statistical compilations of a collection of inherently different measures with unclear relationships: to borrow Ravallion's term, they are mash-up indices.In this paper we propose a novel, empirically-based policy readiness index. In contrast to prior literature, we approach the problem from a measurement perspective. This perspective enables us to aggregate items into a multi-component index such that their combination achieves superior statistical properties and assures cross-country comparability, through the application of Rasch modeling. With these empirical qualities, the meaning and robustness of the scores then become clear. We apply the model to a unique data set of policy actions prioritized in 2012/13, and the extent to which these actions were executed by Fall of 2015. The results are statistically- and measurement-valid measures of both country policy readiness and the degree of difficulty of various dimensions of policy actions.The resulting policy readiness scores are a novel index that significantly advances the dialogue on countries' abilities to execute those agricultural and food policy changes that are priorities for accelerating agricultural transformation.Policy implications include continued support for capacity building in low-readiness countries and cross-country support through continental or global processes for lowering the burden across all countries of making progress in the most difficult policy areas.

‘Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Tunes?’ A Commentary on Food Regulation, Capture and Legitimacy

This article is a commentary on how food corporations expand their legitimacy by tactics which are rooted in undermining public health and nutrition policies. The move from public sector policy making to models which involve the food industry are set out along with some of the background rationale for such moves. This article picks up four developments driven and influenced by the private food sector and expands on them, these are: 1) the selective choice and reframing of evidence for food policy change; 2) the poor narrative framing by public health of the ‘story’; 3) the demands emerging from government and research councils for private sector involvement and 4) the lack of clear ethical principles on engagement with the food industry. Discussion of these four aspects is accompanied by some suggestions for future research into policy making.

The Solution Redefined: Agricultural Development, Human Rights, and Free Markets at the 1974 World Food Conference

The international society—developing countries, the Global North, and NGOs—convened at the 1974 World Food Conference to manage the 1972–1973 food crisis, devising changes in world food policy. From a broad perspective, the changes were an auxiliary aspect of the political reformulations in the 1970s, reshaping the entire pattern of the global food system so that it was grounded in commercialization rather than food aid and development projects driven by nation-states. This study traces the way in which the idea of human rights reformulated the discourse on world food policy. Instead of state-sponsored agricultural development projects, the individual food needs of poorer people were emphasized, which, in turn, redefined global food security. Basic economic rights previously derived from human rights discourse and postcolonial aspirations were reformulated significantly after becoming rooted in Western intellectual soil. Human rights provided common ground between leaders, policy makers, and the public in developed and developing countries for devising the market priority program as a solution to the food crisis in the 1970s and beyond.

Implementing policies and programmes to reduce the impact of globalisation on oral health in Pacific Island Countries and Territories

Very little research focuses explicitly on oral health in Pacific Islands countries and territories (PICT). However, oral health will continue to be a concern if policies, programmes, and strategies are not implemented to reduce poor oral health and inequitable outcomes that will affect many Pacific communities. A review of available studies written between 1969 and 2018 shows that dental caries and periodontal diseases were identified as the most significant oral health issue in PICT. The globalisation of imported food products that are high in sugary content has further exacerbated the increase in DMFT (decayed, missing or filled teeth). With the introduction of tobacco, there have also been many oral health issues with oral cancer, periodontal disease, and periodontitis. There is a need for a sugar tax policy, food policy changes, tobacco policy and the removal tax of oral health products in PICT. In addition, most oral health services are provided in the hospitals and often work within their own departments whereas they might be better working closely with other departments such as the public health team or the education sector so, therefore, there needs to be a coordinated collaboration approach with other services that can promote good oral health policies and health promotion activities.

Food sovereignty and the integral state: Institutionalizing ecological farming

This article takes up the question of how food sovereignty, and accompanying agricultural models that will help combat climate change, may be institutionalized through policy processes. I draw on the theories of Antonio Gramsci and his successors to discuss how the interwoven nature of the state and civil society, conceptualized as the ‘integral state’, can help inform an analytical approach to food policy change. Based on research that analyzes the work of Canada’s two member organizations of La Vía Campesina, Union Paysanne and the National Farmers Union (NFU), I highlight the differences and parallels between food sovereignty struggles taking place in Quebec and those underway elsewhere in the country. I argue that although agricultural policy has the potential to be an important tool in transitioning toward a climate-friendly food system, proponents of food sovereignty would benefit from disengaging from traditional food policy advocacy efforts as these will only lead to incremental reforms. Instead, I suggest that a ‘prefigurative institutionalization’ has the potential to be transformative within and beyond the food system. The concept offers both a political strategy as well as an analytical framework for assessing movements’ efforts related to policy formation and governance.

The importance of food systems and the environment for nutrition

ABSTRACTGlobal and local food system transformation is necessary in order to ensure the delivery of healthy, safe, and nutritious foods in both sustainable and equitable ways. Food systems are complex entities that affect diets, human health, and a range of other outcomes including economic growth, natural resource and environmental resiliency, and sociocultural factors. However, food systems contribute to and are vulnerable to ongoing climate and environmental changes that threaten their sustainability. Although there has been increased focus on this topic in recent years, many gaps in our knowledge persist on the relation between environmental factors, food systems, and nutritional outcomes. In this article, we summarize this emerging field and describe what innovative nutrition research is needed in order to bring about food policy changes in the era of climate disruption and environmental degradation.

Отмена продовольственной разверстки в деревне и повстанческое движение в Тамбовской губернии

The paper aims to analyse how the decision on abolition of the surplus-appropriation system influenced the course of Tambov rebellion of 1920-1921. Scientific originality of the study lies in the fact that changes in food policy of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) are analysed by the example of Tambov rebellion of 1920-1921, one of the most significant peasants’ protest movements of that period. The conducted research allows concluding that abolition of the surplus-appropriation system during transition to New Economic Policy did not have a significant impact on Tambov peasants’ political moods and did not reduce combat activity of the peasants’ rebel squads.

The Impacts of COVID-19 on Dutch Food Banks: A Call on Government to Guarantee the Right-to-Food

Research Article| August 01 2020 The Impacts of COVID-19 on Dutch Food Banks: A Call on Government to Guarantee the Right-to-Food Jeroen Candel, Jeroen Candel Jeroen Candel is Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Policy at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. His research focuses on food and agricultural policy change. He frequently advises national and European Union policymakers about possibilities for improved food governance. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Ingrid de Zwarte Ingrid de Zwarte Ingrid de Zwarte is Assistant Professor of Rural and Environmental History at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Her research focuses on the role of food and famine in modern armed conflict, with a particular interest in the wartime political use of hunger. Her book The Hunger Winter is forthcoming from Cambridge University Press. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Gastronomica (2020) 20 (3): 72–73. https://doi.org/10.1525/gfc.2020.20.3.72 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Jeroen Candel, Ingrid de Zwarte; The Impacts of COVID-19 on Dutch Food Banks: A Call on Government to Guarantee the Right-to-Food. Gastronomica 1 August 2020; 20 (3): 72–73. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/gfc.2020.20.3.72 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentGastronomica Search This content is only available via PDF. © 2020 by the Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press's Reprints and Permissions web page, https://www.ucpress.edu/journals/reprints-permissions.2020The Regents of the University of California Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Understanding policy change for obesity prevention: learning from sugar-sweetened beverages taxes in Mexico and Chile.

This article examines the policy change process that resulted in the current sugar-sweetened beverages taxes in Mexico and Chile, using the Kaleidoscope Model for Policy Change, a framework developed for nutrition and food policy change analysis. We used a qualitative study design, including 24 key informant (KI) interviews (16 researchers, 5 civil society representatives and 3 food/beverage industry representatives), encompassing global and in-country perspectives. The analysis shows concurrence with the Kaleidoscope Model, highlighting commonalities in the policy change process. These included the importance of focusing events and coalitions for agenda-setting. Both top-down executive leadership and bottom-up pressure from civil society coalitions were important for the policy adoption as were flexible framing of the tax, and taking advantage of windows of opportunity. In both countries, the tax resulted from national, revenue-seeking fiscal reforms and in sub-optimal tax rates, as a result of the industry influence. KIs also discussed emerging evaluation results, highlighting differences in interpretation concerning the magnitude of change from the tax, and shared potential modifications to the current policies. This analysis contributes to a greater understanding of the policy change process focused on obesity prevention, using an innovative theoretical framework developed specifically for food and nutrition policy.

Mechanisms for policy (dis)integration: explaining food policy and climate change adaptation policy in the Netherlands

Recent years have witnessed increased political interest to the challenge of organizing policy integration to govern societal problems that crosscut the boundaries of traditional government sectors and levels, including climate change, food insecurity, terrorism, and the instability of financial markets. Public policy scholars have recently suggested to study such attempts by conceptualizing policy integration as a multi-dimensional process. Although such a processual perspective has helped to comparatively assess policy (dis)integration, the mechanisms of (dis)integration over time remain undertheorized. Past studies have reported a number of relevant factors, but these have remained rather functionalistic observations that lack explanatory value. To address this gap, we propose a mechanism-based approach that uncovers the political processes that underlie policy (dis)integration over time. Rooted in different strands of social science literature, the mechanistic approach offers a model of causation to assess the plausible chain of key processes that are triggered under particular contextual conditions. We illustrate the framework by empirically investigating the mechanisms that explain the policy (dis)integration of food and climate change adaptation policy in the Netherlands. We end the paper with discussing various implications of our findings for processual approaches to policy integration.

Eating More Broccoli Doesn’t Stop Bullets: Learning PSE Approaches from Decades of Community-led Food Justice Organizing (P04-168-19)

ObjectivesWhile federal nutrition programs have just begun to allow some policy, systems and environmental (PSE) approaches, social movements for community food justice have been working for PSE change for decades. This presentation gleans lessons and examples for PSE approaches from their work. MethodsParticipatory research with community leaders in food justice work in US communities, including case studies over 7 years with 5 community-based food justice organizations, supplemented with literature and practice reviews. ResultsFood justice organizers begin with the end in mind, and their end is not behavior change or even food security, but community-led food systems that deliver equity and health. Their work is not evidence based, but ethics based and evidence informed. Their strategies do not center food, nor even food systems, but people and communities; e.g., they design food production strategies not to maximize vegetable yields (though these are still substantial), but to nourish leadership development, relationships, and dignity. Organizers invest heavily in networking, mentoring, and advocating activities. Any attention to individual behavior change outcomes, such as vegetable consumption, is forced by grantors; and though these organizations struggle financially, many pass up funding with such requirements. Starting in the 1970 s, food justice organizations and collaborations have emerged in thousands of US communities. Without any core funding or other infrastructure support, collectively they have secured national food policy changes such as WIC farmers market programs, community food project funding streams, and school food improvements. They have transformed community landscapes with gardens, farms, markets, cooperatives, and community kitchens by nurturing community leadership and power to reshape their own local physical, political and social environments. They have helped found food policy councils, to institutionalize these powers. This presentation will share practical PSE strategies. Conclusions1) Those interested in PSE approaches to create public health nutrition and reduce health disparities can learn from expertise in this movement. 2) To change PSEs for these ends, a top investment priority should be supporting organizations who have been doing this work for decades. Funding SourcesUSDA/NIFA/AFRI & NIH.

Food supply system dynamics in the Galapagos Islands: agriculture, livestock and imports

AbstractLike many other oceanic islands around the globe, environmental conditions, social circumstances and forces of globalization combine to challenge the sustainability of the Galapagos Archipelago of Ecuador. This paper describes a food-supply system in Galapagos that is mainly controlled by population growth, weak local agriculture, imports from mainland Ecuador and the influence of a growing tourism industry. We use system dynamics (SD) as a modeling technique in this paper to identify the main driving forces operating on the Galapagos food system to create a series of future scenarios and to examine the subsequent implications across the supply system structures. We model the supply side of the food system using secondary data collected from governmental and non-governmental sources. We find that the consumption profile of the local inhabitants of the Galapagos is on average higher than consumption in the Ecuadorian mainland. This fact, plus rapid growth of the local population fueled by the tourism industry, has created a decrease in per capita local food production and an increase on food import dependence that now, challenges the sustainability of the archipelago. Imports are the largest source of food in the archipelago. Approximately 75% of the agricultural food supply was transported from the mainland in 2017. Our model projects that this fraction will increase to 95% by 2037 with no changes in food policy. Moreover, any plan to increase tourism arrivals must be accompanied by a plan to address the subsistence needs of the new population that the tourism industry attracts. Policies to promote local agricultural growth should be central to the development strategy implemented in the Galapagos.

How can health, agriculture and economic policy actors work together to enhance the external food environment for fruit and vegetables? A qualitative policy analysis in India

The benefits of fruit and vegetables are well established, particularly their role in preventing general micronutrient-deficiencies and chronic diseases. However, global food systems are not delivering diverse and high quality diets: healthy food is unavailable and too expensive for many. Creating food environments that foster consumer access to fruit and vegetables will require coordinated policy action across sectors, mostly outside of the health sector. The aim of this paper is to identify opportunities to strengthen food system policy for nutrition, through an analysis of the policies relevant to the external food environment for fruit and vegetables in India. We conducted interviews based on policy theory with 55 stakeholders from national and state level, from within government, research, private sector and non-government agencies, and from health, agriculture and economic sectors. Specific strategies identified in this study to improve consumers’ external food environment for fruit and vegetables in India were: development of strategic Public-Private Partnerships to increase access to diverse expertise across the supply chain; linking health and economic/agricultural policy agendas; and strengthening surveillance of policy impacts on consumer access to fruit and vegetables. We also found that public health actors can play an important role in advocating for ‘consumer oriented’ fruit and vegetable supply policy. This study demonstrates the usefulness of ‘policy learning’-oriented qualitative policy analysis in identifying ‘points of entry’ for food policy change, and extends understanding of political dynamics in engendering agricultural policy change for nutrition. Improving access to affordable fruit and vegetables is a global priority, and given common global food supply challenges, the findings from this study are also likely to be relevant for other low and middle income countries.

Igniting Youth to Create Healthier Communities: Year 4 Policy Changes

ObjectiveThe growing rate of childhood overweight and obesity suggests a need for more effective obesity prevention programs. Community‐Based Participatory Research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that includes equal contributions from community members, organizational representatives and researchers in all facets of the research process. The approach allows participants to share their expertise in order to enhance knowledge and develop interventions that benefit the community. Ignite is five‐year, multiple‐state (Ohio, South Dakota and Kansas) program using the CBPR process to address overweight and obesity among 6–8th grade youth. As part of the Ignite program, virtual dialogues were held with key stakeholders (community leaders, school administrators, and adolescents) who were actively involved in the CBPR project to identify policy and program changes attained during Ignite implementation.Study Design, Setting, and ParticipantsAt the end of year four of programming, a virtual forum with steering committee members (7 school administrators and staff, 2 community members, 10 youth) and 11 researchers from the three intervention communities was conducted. Participants identified priority issues and program implementation associated with Ignite.Outcome, Measures and AnalysisVirtual forum discussion was recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed using NVivo software (QSR International Pty Ltd. Version 10, 2012).ResultsPolicy and program changes that support healthful eating behaviors and physical activity (PA) were identified. The school food and nutrition policy changes included enhancing availability of breakfast and healthful snacks and adding nutrition education to physical education (PE) class. The PA policy changes included increasing the number of programs to support walking and more physical activities. In addition, policy changes related to both nutrition and PA included incorporating wellness into curriculum, devoting time and space to wellness, and exploring funds for sustainability of programing beyond the grant.Conclusions and ImplicationsCBPR programming promoted positive policy and program changes related to healthier dietary and physical activity environment in the intervention schools and communities.Support or Funding InformationThis material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2012‐68001‐19619

Building an Airplane While Flying It: One Community's Experience with Community Food Transformation

Across the country, local and regional food policy councils are collaborating to make healthy, afford­able food more available to everyone. What ingre­dients are needed for a true collaboration that changes social and racial equity dynamics? How can these collaborations influence systems, policy, and awareness in school food environments, specifically? This reflective case study describes some of the accomplishments and challenges faced by the multistakeholder Holyoke Food and Fitness Policy Council (HFFPC) for nearly a decade. Using a mixed-method participatory evaluation approach to lift up diverse partners’ insights, we conducted key informant interviews with people who were engaged with the project during its eight operating years; focus groups and participatory asset mapping with stakeholders; and reviewed meeting notes from the eight years of the HFFPC. We identify several crucial ingredients that sustain equitable community-based collaboration: changing the dominant narrative, community and youth leader­ship and advocacy, and aligned multistakeholder partnerships. We also discuss critical structural and values-based challenges to multistakeholder organizing, including issues of trust, transparency, resources, leadership development, and differences in perceptions of racial equity in an under­resourced, predominantly Latino community. As such, this case study investigates community engagement and effectiveness. It provides insights for those food policy councils and local coalitions endeavoring to build from within the community while accomplishing policy goals, and will help to further the practice of equity, community food policy and systems change, and governance.

IFF expands in natural food colours via purchase of David Michael/Daroma

Sub-standard nutrition is a leading risk factor for many non-communicable diseases and causes 11 million diet-related deaths annually worldwide. Arabic-speaking immigrants and refugees (ASIR) are at high risk for poor nutrition due to socio-cultural and economic-ecological factors. We reviewed the literature to explore the impact of acculturation on ASIR's dietary practices and to investigate barriers vs. facilitators to healthy eating among them. Five electronic databases (PsycINFO, Medline, Anthropology Plus, Embase and Sociology Database) were systematically searched. Only English articles from North America (the US and Canada), Europe, Australia and New Zealand were included. Twenty-four studies were included for evidence synthesis. North America is substantially ahead of Europe in ASIR-nutrition research, whereas Australia and New Zealand are lacking in this type of research. Acculturation into a Western lifestyle was associated with positive and negative changes to ASIR's diet, with increased fruit/vegetable intake, but also a significant increase in consumption of low nutrient, energy-dense foods. Personal barriers to healthful eating related to lack of nutrition awareness and language issues, whereas improved nutrition education was a strong facilitator. Children's preferences and religious dietary proscriptions were key sociocultural barriers to nutritious eating, whereas availability/accessibility of ethnic grocery stores was a powerful facilitator. Within North America, but not Europe, unaffordability of healthy foods and lack of genetically modified food labelling were leading barriers to eating nutritiously. Community-engaged and mixed methods research on diet, nutrition and food (in)security among ASIR is required to inform the design of effective, culturally acceptable dietary interventions. Western societies need to introduce major changes in food policy and financial support for progressive programs to ensure equitable access to nutritious, culturally appropriate food for ASIR and other similar minority groups.