Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #120507

Susan Roberts, JD, MS, RD, SUE ROBERTS HEALTH CONCEPTS, 8830 N.W. 35th Street, Des Moines, IA 50021, 515/480-5898, susan@susan-roberts.net

Food is central to the viability of the family farm, the safety of the food supply, food security, the environmental impact of industrial food production, the control corporations hold over the world food supply, and diet and health concerns. Food and agriculture policies throughout our entire food system, from production to consumption, have a role in this obesity epidemic and need to be addressed at local, state, and national levels. Our current agriculture policies support an industrialized production paradigm where the U.S. produces large amounts of food. But, this paradigm has consequences. It requires high inputs such as energy and high dollar payments by American taxpayers through subsidized payments to a few producers. It hurts small and midsize farmers in U.S. and world, often harms the environment, often produces unhealthy conditions for farm laborers, damages rural communities, allows processors and retailers to control much of the food system, and changes the US diet to one which fuels the obesity epidemic. For example, our agricultural production policy leads to increased commodity production of certain crops such as corn. Increased corn production leads to a large amount of available corn which leads to production of inexpensive high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). This inexpensive HFCS then becomes a component of many processed foods, typically of low nutritional value. Thus, agricultural policy = food policy = health policy. Health professionals must become aware, understand, and get involved with food and agricultural policies at the local, state, and national levels.

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