Agriculture Policy Is Health Policy

Agriculture Policy Is Health Policy

The Farm Bill is meant to supplement and secure farm incomes, ensure a stable food supply, and support the American farm economy. Over time, however, it has evolved into a system that creates substantial health impacts, both directly and indirectly. By generating more profit for food producers and less for family farmers; by effectively subsidizing the production of lower-cost fats, sugars, and...

Policy Capacity Is Necessary but Not Sufficient; Comment on “Health Reform Requires Policy Capacity”

Policy capacity focuses on the managerial and organizational abilities to inform policy decisions with sound research and analysis, and facilitate policy implementation with operational efficiency. It stems from a view of the policy process that is rational and positivistic, in which optimal policy choices can be identified, selected, and implemented with objectivity. By itself, however, policy...

Health Policy WHAT IS A NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY?

Unfortunately, most nation states have taken “health policy” to mean “medical care policy.” Medical care, however, is only one variable in a nation’s health equation. The article describes what the main components of a national health policy should be, including (1) the political, economic, social, and cultural determinants of health, the most important determinants of health in any country; (2...

Sustainable Agriculture and Public Policy

Beyond nutrition and agriculture policy: collaborating for a food policy.

Global interest in food policy is emerging in parallel with mounting challenges to the food supply and the rising prevalence of diet-related chronic health conditions. Some of the foundational elements of food policies are agricultural practices, finite resources, as well as economic burdens associated with a growing and ageing population. At the intersection of these interests is the need for ...