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Building the Good Food Building the Good Food “Toolkit,” – Healthy “Toolkit,” – Healthy

Daryll E. RayUniversity of Tennessee

Agricultural Policy Analysis Center

Food Systems and Public Health ConferenceAirlie Center, Warrenton, Virginia

April 2, 2009

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Agricultural PolicyAgricultural Policy

• As mentioned by a number of the background papers…

– Current commodity policy is a low-price policy

• Motivating force: To expand exports; agribusiness

– Impacts livestock producers & host of other users of cheap grains and edible oils

• Want to pick up on the ‘export reason’ and some of the ‘impacts’

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Exports: The Key to Prosperity?Exports: The Key to Prosperity?

Index of US Population, US Demand for 8 Crops and US Exports* of 8 Crops

1979=1.0

US Population

US Exports *Adjusted for grain exported in meat

US Domestic Demand

1970s Syndrome

•Soviet Union policy change

•Oil money flowed to banks

•Banks lent money to less developed countries

•Those countries bought food

•Result: Grain import demand exploded

•US had capacity to capture most of the demand.

•And then….

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Loans Came Due But US Thought 70s Loans Came Due But US Thought 70s Outsized exports were “ours” foreverOutsized exports were “ours” forever

Index of US Population, US Demand for 8 Crops and US Exports* of 8 Crops

1979=1.0

US Population

US Exports

US Domestic Demand

*Adjusted for grain exported in meat

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Impacts of Agricultural PolicyImpacts of Agricultural Policy

• Made grains and oilseeds unrealistically cheap

– Which:• Enables processors to purchase raw commodities at a

fraction of their total production cost

• Greatly hastened the concentration of feeding operations (and associated problems)

– But without the policy change• Cattle, chickens and hogs would NOT have gone to a

primarily grazing and range fed finishing operations

• Prices would have been higher for whole grains, sweeteners, and cooking oils but still available in plentiful supplies at reasonable prices

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Things to Remember…Things to Remember…

• Cheap fossil fuel and technologies influenced

– Crop production (ever increasing machine sizes, inexpensive fertilizer, pesticides, etc.)

– Food transport costs, economies of size, packaging and assembly

• Cultural changes affected food consumption

– Two-income households; premium on convenience

– Jobs requiring less physical exertion

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(Other) Random Thoughts(Other) Random Thoughts

• I could buy five greasy hamburgers and a pound of french fries at a “Henry’s” fast food restaurant for $1.00 40 years ago

• Question: Over the centuries have our bodies become engineered to deal with famine not abundance?

• Agricultural policy hurried the trend toward less healthy food but…

– The fossil fuel revolution, more two-income families, need for convenience, time constraints, changing work habits and so on likely would have affected eating habits regardless…

• None of this gets agricultural policy off the hook!

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Quickening the Journey to an Quickening the Journey to an Alternative Food SystemAlternative Food System

• Research

• Extension and coordination

• Commodity program changes

• Awareness programs/food assistance programs

• A comment or two

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ResearchResearch

• Quantitatively estimate the connections between farm prices, food prices, corporate marketing practices and food consumption

• Quantitatively estimate the total social costs and benefits of alternative nutritional food structures

• Investigate ways to optimize the health benefits of food assistance programs

• National effort to develop locally-adapted, highly-nutritional varieties of vegetables and other specialty crop (resistant to diseases, optimized to climate, etc.)

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More ResearchMore Research

• Additional research on:

– Sustainable practices that enhance nutrition as well as other characteristics (productivity, environment, etc., etc.)

– Grazing systems for cattle; Hoop structures on pastureland for hogs…

– Vegetable greenhouse systems

– Practices and technologies appropriate for:

• Family farms; low-capital small commercial operations

• Community Supported Agriculture operations

• Community gardens

• Family gardens

• Coordinating and management issues; interfacing with agribusinesses

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ExtensionExtension

• Opportunity to refocus the mission of Extension

– Urban areas are underserved relative to rural areas

– Develop opportunities, coordinate, provide information to community gardens, CSAs, family specialty-crop operations, family gardeners

– Develop marketing programs to expand sales for small specialty operations

– Provide a “clearing house” function to link dispersed specialty production operations to commercially viable markets

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Commodity ProgramsCommodity Programs

• Ensure adequate commodity prices—de-emphasize payments

– Reserves

– Price supports

– Supply Control

• Safety net products for specialty crop circumstances

• Special encouragements, dispensations, allowances and considerations

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Volunteer Awareness ProgramsVolunteer Awareness Programs

• At Schools: PTA, nutrition classes, elementary classes

• At Churches: special or part of ongoing programs

• At civic organizations

• Non-credit classes

• Spread the word anywhere and everywhere

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Food Assistance ProgramFood Assistance Programss

• More Funding, more funding, more funding

• Make all Federal food assistance programs (e.g. WIC) entitlement programs

• Continued pressure to observe federal dietary guidelines in school lunch and other programs

• Update procurement procedures

• Make USDA one of several food suppliers but NOT have it administer the programs??

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A (Side) CommentA (Side) Comment

• Not sure it is wise to be 4-square against:

– Pasteurization

– Irradiation

– Trace Back

• Why, you ask…

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Don’t Throw Things at Me—I’m Just Don’t Throw Things at Me—I’m Just Mentioning PossibilitiesMentioning Possibilities

• Confusing message to the masses

– Public may view all or some of these as paramount to ensuring a safe and HEALTHY food supply

– Makes people question your “White Hat” status

– Could be disastrous to the “movement” if a severe problem surfaces

• Signed waivers or other devices?

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Agricultural Policy Analysis Center The University of Tennessee 310 Morgan Hall 2621 Morgan Circle Knoxville, TN 37996-4519

www.agpolicy.org

Thank YouThank You

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