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Food Security in the U.S. - Key Statistics & Graphics

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Food Security in the U.S. - Key Statistics & Graphics

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13.5% of households in the United States experienced food insecurity at some point in 2023

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"Food Dyes Should Be Banned" by Michael Jacobson

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"Food Dyes Should Be Banned" by Michael Jacobson

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Argues that the government should ban the use of artificial food dyes because of their health risks

Mentions the amount of people, especially children, who are sensitive to many of these chemicals. They are also unhealthy overall with no added benefits and open risks to various illnesses.

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 "Financial Incentives and Purchase Restrictions in a Food Benefit Program Affect the Types of Foods and Beverages Purchased: Results from a Randomized Trial" by Simone A. French

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 "Financial Incentives and Purchase Restrictions in a Food Benefit Program Affect the Types of Foods and Beverages Purchased: Results from a Randomized Trial" by Simone A. French

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-The Supplemental Nutrition Aid Program (SNAP) provides food assistance to low-income groups.

-Households in SNAP purchased less healthy foods compared to households that were not a part of the program with similar incomes, demonstrating the ineffectiveness of the program (French et al).

-Solution: Restrict unhealthy foods from the benefits of the Supplemental Nutrition Aid Program to promote healthier food behavior

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“Big Food is making America Sick”
 
LAWRENCE O. GOSTIN

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“Big Food is making America Sick”
 
LAWRENCE O. GOSTIN

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African Americans and Hispanics face the highest obesity rates (47.8% and 42.5%, respectively)

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 "Association Between Dietary Factors and Mortality From Heart Disease, Stroke, and Type 2 Diabetes in the United States" by Renata Micha et al

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 "Association Between Dietary Factors and Mortality From Heart Disease, Stroke, and Type 2 Diabetes in the United States" by Renata Micha et al

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Unhealthy diets have significant health consequences, including elevated risks of heart disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes.

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“Does social class predict diet quality? by Nicole Darmon and Adam Drewnowski

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“Does social class predict diet quality? by Nicole Darmon and Adam Drewnowski

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-Social class predicts diet quality

-Low-income groups more likely to consume unhealthy foods

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Food Systems for Health: Information Brief by the World Health Organization

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Food Systems for Health: Information Brief by the World Health Organization

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The World Health Organization (WHO), a global public health agency of the United Nations, reports that 1.9 billion adults are overweight or obese, with unhealthy diets contributing to 11 million deaths per year. At the same time, nearly 3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet (World Health Organization 1).

By the World Health Organization

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In response to lower quality food being associated with lower prices, the government has taken incentives to try and encourage the consumption of healthier foods through policies. This includes the taxing of unhealthy foods while providing subsidies for healthier foods and restricting advertisements for unhealthy foods. Despite these efforts, Jayson Lusk, the vice president of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University, and Jill McCluskey, the director of the School of Economic Sciences at Washington State University, notes a common loophole: Commercial food systems redirect their funds that were previously spent on advertisement towards cost-cutting technologies, keeping unhealthy foods at a lower cost. (Lusk and McCluskey 7). Upon policy restrictions aimed to improve public health, food commercial systems will adapt through various strategies and loopholes to maintain profits. As policy efforts aimed at addressing the surplus of unhealthy diets get dismissed, lower-income groups who typically rely on unhealthier foods to stay within their budgetary means stay disproportionately disadvantaged. This displays how the commercial food system's ability to influence policy in favor of profits creates economic barriers that restrict lower-income groups’ access to healthier foods.

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GRAS program allows companies to conduct independent research for the safety of ingredients

companies have control over the research done

not mandatory to report findings to FDA

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"The dramatic rise of ultra-processed foods" by Agnes Ayton and Ali Ibrahim

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"The dramatic rise of ultra-processed foods" by Agnes Ayton and Ali Ibrahim

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“The past 50 years have seen a dramatic change in food consumption patterns, with ultra-processed products gradually displacing unprocessed and freshly prepared meals, initially in Western countries but increasingly worldwide” (Ayton, Ibrahim)

Pro: Shows the significance of this problem by showing how widely spread the consumption of ultra-processed foods are.

Con: Not specific to America or low income households, we may need to get more data from other sources

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"Ultra-processed foods and cancer" by Adriana Monge and Martin Lajous

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"Ultra-processed foods and cancer" by Adriana Monge and Martin Lajous

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“Fiolet and colleagues report a direct association between intake of ultra-processed food and incidence of total cancer and breast cancer.” (Monge, Lajous)

Pro: Shows direct proof of the cancer risks of ultra-processed foods

Con: No real cons

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"Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort" Fiolet, Thibault, et al. 

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"Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort" Fiolet, Thibault, et al. 

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“In this large prospective study, a 10% increase in the proportion of ultra-processed foods in the diet was associated with a significant increase of greater than 10% in risks of overall and breast cancer.” (Fiolet, et al.)

Pro: Discusses a study showing direct proof of the cancer risks of ultra-processed foods

Con: It might be better to directly reference the study instead of using this source

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Regulatory gaps in the United States that put our health at risk -Maricel V. Maffini1 

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Regulatory gaps in the United States that put our health at risk -Maricel V. Maffini1 

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exposure to perchlorate --> documented health risks + research against overexposure

FDA has approved the use of perchlorate in the food industry twice despite the evidence against it

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Evaluating adverse effects of environmental agents in food: a brief critique of the US FDA’s criteria - Laura N. Vandenber

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Evaluating adverse effects of environmental agents in food: a brief critique of the US FDA’s criteria - Laura N. Vandenber

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FDA requires an effect of ingredients to be observed in both sexes to be considered an issue

does not acknowledge that males and females are physiologically and anatomically different

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1. directly addresses the production of unhealthy foods

2. long-term benefits

3. ensure lower income groups are eating healthier

4. proven to be a viable solution based on other countries and areas

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1. does not directly address lower income groups

2. could potentially raise prices of common food products

3. could pose issues with accessibility initially

4. could potentially require more government funding towards the FDA

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 “Health disparities: Using policies to rethink our strategies for eliminating the impact of food deserts..." by Edward Wallace

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 “Health disparities: Using policies to rethink our strategies for eliminating the impact of food deserts..." by Edward Wallace

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“Placing a higher tax on sugary beverages and unhealthy foods may serve as an alternative to changing unhealthy dietary patterns and eliminating food deserts…not only would we see a reduction in obesity, but also there would be a decline in cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and dental cavities... A recent study con- ducted in Berkeley, California found that the consumption of soda in low‐income neighborhoods declined by 21% due to soda taxes (Gostin, 2017)” (Wallace 4)

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Do these solutions resolve the problem in all cases or only for some places or people?- Specifically low low-income groups that are a part of the SNAP program

What are challenges or obstacles to implementing these solutions?

Some research suggests that restrictions will have adverse impacts to low income groups and their options. (CON)

What are ways to combat or overcome those challenges?

Increased accessibility through other solutions, pairing with restrictions. Such as policy changes or national bans on certain food ingredients.

3. Consider the implications (effect/results):

What are potential outcomes if these solutions are implemented?

Healthier diets in low-income groups are one possible outcome, as demonstrated by the findings of French. (PRO) Another outcome is decreased accessibility for individuals without access to supermarkets (CON).

What are ways to address those outcomes?

A potential way to address decreased accessibility would be to leverage federal funding for ameliorating food deserts and creating more supermarkets.

4. How feasible/practical is the solution in the real world? It is feasible as this solution by itself does not require any additional funding. It would simply limit the benefits of SNAP to healthier food options. (Pro)

5. Does the solution align with your TMP RQ? If they answer is no, revise your solution OR TMP RQ. Yes because it specifically targets low income groups. However, this solution would only target households that are a part of the SNAP program, which is a potential limitation. (Con)

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The goal:. In response to lower quality food being associated with lower prices, the state has taken incentives to try and encourage the consumption of healthier foods through policies. This includes the taxing of unhealthy foods while providing subsidies for healthier foods and restricting advertisements for unhealthy foods.

Con/limitation: Despite these efforts, Jayson Lusk, the vice president of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University, and Jill McCluskey, the director of the School of Economic Sciences at Washington State University, notes a common loophole: Commercial food systems redirect their funds that were previously spent on advertisement towards cost-cutting technologies, keeping unhealthy foods at a lower cost. (Lusk and McCluskey 7). Upon policy restrictions aimed to improve public health, food commercial systems will adapt through various strategies and loopholes to maintain profits. The BMJ agrees that when the profitability of such companies is reliant on high-volume sales of processed foods, profits come first, resulting in food governance and public health policy that does not adequately balance public interests (White et al. 3). As policy efforts aimed at addressing the surplus of unhealthy diets get dismissed, lower-income groups who typically rely on unhealthier foods to stay within their budgetary means stay disproportionately disadvantaged. This displays how the commercial food system's ability to influence policy in favor of profits creates economic barriers that restrict lower-income groups’ access to healthier foods.

Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44786508?seq=1

Pro: “Research demonstrates that emphasizing food quality “may be effective in long-term prevention of obesity.” Taxing food at the federal level is not a new phenomenon. During World War I and the Great Depression, levies were imposed on unhealthy foods to raise revenue. While many of these taxes have since been repealed, the rising obesity trends have spurred many governments to reconsider taxation as a means to impact public health. Taxes on unhealthy foods encourage healthy eating, providing a solution to curb the obesity epidemic. An appropriate food tax should be imposed at the national level and encompass ultra-processed foods with rates that vary in proportion to the added sugar content” (Baltz 604).

Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27007750?googleloggedin=true#

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1. funding would be required to enforce stricter and stronger regulations on Big Food corporations

2. limited impact on a healthy diet --> Unhealthy food options are still available

3. will cause resistance from powerful and large food corporations

4. could create confusion about products after stricter regulations are enforces, creating more chaos and disorder around what people buy and consume

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1. may initially have economic disadvantages for lower-income groups

2. does not address the gap in dietary education

3. initially disrupts the accessibility of inexpensive food products

4. not all ingredients can be accounted for at once --> regulations must be updated and reviewed some what frequently

5. could lead to the introduction of more harmful ingredient substitutions