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A Food Systems Approach To Healthy Food And Agriculture Policy.
Roni A Neff1, Kathleen Merrigan2, David Wallinga3
1Roni A. Neff (rneff1@jhu.edu) is an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and program director of food system sustainability and public health at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, both in Baltimore, Maryland.
Health Affairs (Project Hope)
|November 4, 2015
Summary
US public health policy focuses on diet, not food production. This article explores agriculture's impact on health, highlighting farm-to-school programs, dietary guidelines, and antibiotic use for public health benefits.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Agricultural Science
- Food Systems
Background:
- US public health policy disproportionately emphasizes dietary intake over agricultural practices.
- The interconnectedness of food, health, and agriculture is an emerging, yet often marginalized, field of study.
- Understanding agriculture's influence on public health is critical for comprehensive policy development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline the multifaceted ways agriculture impacts public health.
- To examine key policy issues at the food-health-agriculture nexus.
- To illustrate the benefits and challenges of a food systems approach.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and policy analysis.
- Examination of three case studies: farm-to-school programming, sustainability in dietary guidelines, and antibiotic use in animal agriculture.
- Synthesis of research and policy activities within the food systems framework.
Main Results:
- Agriculture significantly influences public health through various direct and indirect pathways.
- Farm-to-school programs, sustainable dietary recommendations, and reduced antibiotic use in animals show promise for public health improvement.
- Integrating food, agriculture, and public health policies presents opportunities and challenges.
Conclusions:
- A food systems approach is essential for addressing complex public health issues related to food.
- Policy decisions in agriculture have profound implications for population health outcomes.
- Further integration of agricultural and public health policies can yield substantial public health benefits.
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