Sean Cash, associate professor for the Friedman School of Nutritional Science & Policy at Tufts University, discusses food policies and the health of consumers. Food choices are neither solely individual choices nor solely societal ones. Some of the many factors are: the role of culture, availability of food, food policies, family influences and personal values. Food has become a policy question because of the increase in obesity in our society, and diet related disease, increasing health care costs, legal liability and budget concerns.
He talks about the ability of good policies to improve consumers’ dietary choices, and the different aspects of the food industry that can be targeted for policy changes. He provides many examples of food policies and their impacts to the consumer, such as the changes in consumption of milk when 1% milk was introduced. He concludes by stating that producers and consumers respond to policies and incentives – but not necessarily to the ones the policymakers intended. This presentation was a part of the Alberta Institute of Agrologists 11th Annual Banff Conference, March 31-April 2, 2015.
