Abstract
This chapter is a new addition that focuses on a highly salient and engaging topic: the politics of food. In the last ten years, an emphasis on food, from how it is grown and transported to how it arrives on the plates of Americans has gained particular emphasis. Former first lady Michelle Obama ignited controversy as she endeavored to shift conversations about school food programs and their nutritional value. In many ways, food politics is a manifestation of core American values (individual liberty in particular) and commands a gigantic regulatory apparatus that is a fascinating product of its history. This chapter provides a history of the regulatory structure and overview current topics from school lunch programs to genetically modified organisms and organic labels at grocery stores.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Various names have been used for specific farm bills, including the Food, Conservation , and Energy Act of 2008 or the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. The term “farm bill” refers to a category of legislation that is the primary means of federal government policy surrounding agriculture and food.
Suggested Resources
Angelo, Mary Jane, Jason J. Czarnezki, and William S. Eubanks. Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Law. Washington, DC: ELI Press, 2013.
Bosso, Christopher. Framing the Farm Bill: Interests, Ideology, and the Agricultural Act of 2014. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2014.
Food, Inc. Directed by Robert Kenner. 2008. Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media, River Road Entertainment.
Levine, Susan. School Lunch Politics: The Surprising History of America’s Favorite Welfare Program. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008.
Neff, Roni, editor. Introduction to the US Food System: Public Health, Environment, and Equity. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2015.
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2007.
References
Anderson, Molly. “Ecological Threats to and From Food Systems.” In Introduction to the U.S. Food System: Public Health, Environment, and Equity, edited by Roni Neff, 51–78. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2015.
Angelo, Mary Jane, and James F. Choate. “Agriculture and the Clean Water Act.” In Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Law, edited by Mary Jane Angelo, Jason J. Czarnezki, and William S. Eubanks, 147–161. Washington, DC: ELI Press, 2013.
Beam, Christopher. “Organic Panic: Michelle Obama’s Garden and Its Discontents.” Slate.com. 2009. Accessed January 11, 2018. Available at http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2009/06/organic_panic.html.
Bosso, Christopher J., and Nicole E. Tichenor. “Eating and the Environment: Ecological Impacts of Food Production.” In Environmental Policy: New Directions for the 21st Century, edited by Norman J. Vig and Michael E. Kraft, 194–214. Washington, DC: CQ Press Sage, 2015.
Burros, Marian. “Obamas to Plant Vegetable Garden at White House.” The New York Times. March 19, 2009. Accessed December 4, 2017. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/dining/20garden.html.
CDC. 2018a. Accessed February 13, 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm.
———. 2018b. Accessed February 16, 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/index.html.
———. 2018c. Accessed February 16, 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/cdc-and-food-safety.html.
Christaldi, Joanne, and Diana Cuy Castellanos. “Child and Adult Food Insecurity in the United States.” In The Intersection of Food and Public Health: Current Policy Challenges and Solutions, edited by A. Bryce Hoflund, John C. Jones, and Michelle C. Pautz, 15–31. New York: Routledge, 2018.
Clemmer, Teresa B. “Agriculture and the Clean Air Act.” In Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Law, edited by Mary Jane Angelo, Jason J. Czarnezki, and William S. Eubanks, 163–184. Washington, DC: ELI Press, 2013.
Confessore, Nicholas. “How School Lunch Became the Latest Political Battleground.” The New York Times Magazine. October 7, 2014. Accessed March 2, 2015. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/magazine/how-school-lunch-became-the-latest-political-battleground.html.
Danilova, Maria/Associated Press. “Trump Administration Halts School Lunch Salt Reduction.” Bloomberg News. November 29, 2017. Accessed December 4, 2017. Available at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-29/trump-administration-halts-school-lunch-salt-reduction.
Evich, Helena Bottemiller. “Michelle Obama Sets Her Garden in Stone.” Politico. October 5, 2016. Accessed December 4, 2017. Available at https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/michelle-obama-garden-changes-white-house-229204.
Food and Nutrition Service. U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Supplemental Assistance Program—National Level Annual Summary.” 2018a. Accessed February 23, 2018. Available at https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap.
———. “WIC Program—National Level Annual Summary.” 2018b. Accessed February 23, 2018. Available at https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/wic-program.
———. “National School Lunch Program.” 2018c. Accessed February 23, 2018. Available at https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program-nslp.
Hamblin, James. “A Brewing Problem: What’s the Healthiest Way to Keep Everyone Caffeinated?” The Atlantic. March 2, 2015. Accessed February 23, 2018. Available at https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/03/the-abominable-k-cup-coffee-pod-environment-problem/386501/.
Jones, Jeffrey M. “Worry About Hunger, Homelessness Up for Lower-Income in U.S.” Gallup. March 30, 2017. Accessed February 23, 2018. Available at http://news.gallup.com/poll/207521/worry-hunger-homelessness-lower-income.aspx.
Lee, Courtney Hall. “Grocery Store Inequity: Why Fresh Food Is Often a Scarce Commodity for Low-Income People.” Sojourners. April 2017. Accessed February 23, 2018. Available at https://sojo.net/magazine/april-2017/grocery-store-inequity.
Levine, Susan. School Lunch Politics: The Surprising History of America’s Favorite Welfare Program. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008.
Moshfegh, Alanna. “Food Consumption in the United States.” In Introduction to the U.S. Food System: Public Health, Environment, and Equity, edited by Roni Neff, 373–398. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2015.
Nestle, Marion. Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
NIDDK. 2018. Accessed February 13, 2018. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity.
NPR Staff. “The First Lady Cultivates ‘American Grown’ Gardening.” National Public Radio. May 29, 2012. Accessed December 4, 2017. Available at https://www.npr.org/2012/05/29/153705721/the-first-lady-cultivates-american-grown-gardening.
Paarlberg, Robert. Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know. 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Park, Timothy, Mary Ahearn, Ted Covey, Kenneth Erickson, J. Michael Harris, Jennifer Ifft, Chris McGath, Mitch Morehart, Stephen Vogel, Jeremy Weber, and Robert Williams. Agricultural Income and Finance Outlook. A Report from the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. December 2011. Accessed February 7, 2018. Available at https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/35822/12822_ais-91_3-1-12.pdf?v=41055.
Pautz, Michelle C., John C. Jones, and A. Bryce Hoflund. “On the Front Lines in School Cafeterias: The Trials and Tribulations of Food Service Directors.” In The Intersection of Food and Public Health: Current Policy Challenges and Solutions, edited by A. Bryce Hoflund, John C. Jones, and Michelle C. Pautz, 121–131. New York: Routledge, 2018.
Reilly, Katie. “Melania Trump Plans to Preserve Michelle Obama’s Vegetable Garden.” Time. 2017. Accessed December 4, 2017. Available at http://time.com/4668035/melania-trump-michelle-obama-vegetable-garden/.
———. “When Is Food (not) Functional?” In The Intersection of Food and Public Health: Current Policy Challenges and Solutions, edited by A. Bryce Hoflund, John C. Jones, and Michelle C. Pautz, 93–106. New York: Routledge, 2018.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Farms and Land in Farms 2016 Summary.” February 2017. Accessed February 7, 2018. http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/FarmLandIn/FarmLandIn-02-17-2017.pdf.
USDA. 2018a. Accessed January 31, 2018. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-markets-prices/food-service-industry/market-segments.aspx.
———. 2018c. Accessed February 13, 2018. https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/myplate.
———. 2018d. Accessed February 16, 2018. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx.
Wilde, Parke. Food Policy in the United States: An Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2013.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rinfret, S.R., Pautz, M.C. (2019). The Politics and Policies of Food. In: US Environmental Policy in Action. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11316-2_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11316-2_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-11315-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-11316-2
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)