A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System (2015) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
2 Overview of the U.S. Food System
2 Overview of the U.S. Food System
Pages 31-80
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 31... ...
. Nearly all contain some notion of a "food supply chain" through which raw materials and inputs are turned into edible food products that are consumed by end-users.
|
From page 32... ...
food supply chain.1 Primary production of food commodities usually originates in the farm production sector, in which farmers, fishers, and ranchers combine their land, water, and labor resources with capital, machinery, and manufactured inputs from an input supply sector to produce raw agricultural commodities (crops and livestock)
|
From page 33... ...
The retail food sector includes grocery stores, convenience stores, vending machines, and other retail outlets where individual consumers buy food products for home preparation and consumption. The food service sector includes restaurants, fast-food outlets, eating and drinking establishments, and institutional cafeterias where individuals purchase both
|
From page 34... ...
Supply Chain Material Flows Figure 2-1 also highlights the flows of food, services, and information about food (orange arrows) , which begin at the input and farm production sector and extend along the food supply chain until they reach the consumer.
|
From page 35... ...
Food loss and waste occur all along the food supply chain, from farm to fork. Examples of loss2 include farmers finding it economically unfeasible to send all of their product to market; food producers deciding not to use products that fail to meet qual 2 Loss is the edible, post-harvest food available for human consumption but not consumed for any reason.
|
From page 36... ...
, 9.4 8 3.5 4 20 36.6 68 50.5 Percentage of Total Food Expenditure Percentage of Calories Consumed FIGURE 2-3 Percentage of calories and food expenditures for food consumed at home and away from home. SOURCES: ERS, 2013a; Lin and Guthrie, 2012.
|
From page 37... ...
food supply chain, 2005-2012. NOTE: GDP = gross domestic product.
|
From page 38... ...
food supply chain has changed significantly over the past 100 years. Generally speaking, the economic importance of the farm production subsector has steadily diminished relative to the shares of the other components of the food supply chain.
|
From page 39... ...
SOURCE: ERS, 2014b. Figure 2-6 Bitmapped 80 percent of consumer food dollars pay for services throughout all of the post-harvest segments of the food supply chain; the remaining 17 percent is returned as gross receipts to farm producers.
|
From page 40... ...
Figure 2-7 also shows the distribution of value added to various factors of production for each subsector in the food supply chain. The farm production sector is notable for allocating most of its economic returns to capital inputs, while the food service sector is most focused on labor expenses.
|
From page 41... ...
Biophysical Environment Initially, it should be obvious that the natural resource base (e.g., land, water, nutrients, sunlight, energy, biodiversity, and genetic diversity) provide critical inputs to the farming sector that make possible the productivity and output that enter the rest of the food supply chain.
|
From page 42... ...
consumers through time. Shifts in the size, number, and organization of farm and food businesses over the past 50 years also have dramatically reshaped the ways that food products are produced and economic returns are distributed throughout the food supply chain.
|
From page 43... ...
These include farm commodity and risk management policies, nutrition programs, food safety regulations, labor regulations, environmental laws, and programs to promote or shape patterns of international trade in farm commodities and food products. The trajectory of change and performance of any food system requires an understanding of the configuration of public and private policies and the politics and resources behind them, and new laws, regulations, and changes in public spending can be major levers used by societal actors to alter food system behaviors.
|
From page 44... ...
Food System As described above, the committee's working definition of the U.S. food system includes both the core components of the food supply chain as well as key features of the broader biophysical and social/institutional context within which food production, processing, distribution, marketing, and consumption activities take place.
|
From page 45... ...
food system boundary Hydrosphere Trade Policy Markets, institutions, policies Market effects Migration Natural resource inputs U.S. Food Supply Chain Environmental disposal FIGURE 2-9 Conceptual model of connections between the U.S.
|
From page 46... ...
Department of Agriculture; services; food safety regulations; farm bills; irrigation in the Homestead and Land Grant Acts West; land retirement policies 1924: Iodization of salt; 1st U.S. Public Health Service; 1864: Pasteurization invented 1906: Food and Drug Act; Meat Inspection Act 1st Milk Ordinance 1800 1825 1850 1875 1900 1925 1950 1862: USDA established 1888: 1st refrigerated box cars 1933: Agriculture Adjustment Act 1941: Recommended 1936: Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act Dietary Allowances Manual labor; wagons; canal boats; Animal power; stream engines; Internal combustion tractor and power take-off, Science and agricultural fairs; public agricultural railroads; home processing of food; mechanizations; roads; refrigerated rail cars; commercial Technology research; home processing of food; steam power, but little food is meat and dairy processing; canned goods; domestic water-driven flour mills processed; local distribution except refrigeration; food processing technologies; grocery stores; for grains regional distribution of processed foods; regional wholesale markets for fresh produce Slavery and plantation agriculture; Creation of land-grant colleges; Rise of farm organizations; commodity groups in politics; Social Whiskey Rebellion formation of National Grange; formation of county extension system; rise of American Organizations height of populist movement Farm Bureau Federation; farm cooperative movement FIGURE 2-10 Major drivers and changes in food and agriculture in the United States from 1800s to 1960.
|
From page 47... ...
Environmental issues; microbiological food safety programs; toxicity of food additives and contaminants; pesticide safety; trade liberalization; bioenergy Policies mandates; carbon caps; health and nutrition; community food security; local and state food policies; U.S. Department of Agriculture National Organic Program 1990: Nutrition Labeling 2007: Energy Independence 1966: Child Nutrition Act 1980: Infant Formula Act and Education Act and Security Act 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 1964: Food Stamp Act 1970: EPA Established 2004: Food Allergy Labeling 2011: FDA's Food Safety 1972: Clean Water Act and Consumer Protection Act Modernization Act Science and Diesel engines; 4-wheel drive tractors; interstate highways; growing industrial use of agricultural products (high-fructose corn syrup, dried distillers grains)
|
From page 48... ...
During the 20th century, output continued to rise, but technological change and growth in farm size was associated with a steady drop in farm numbers and the size of the hired farm labor force. Meanwhile, total acres used in farming remained relatively stable, though the total available prime farmland has declined slowly as urban and suburban areas have expanded onto former farm fields at the outskirts of cities and small towns.
|
From page 49... ...
Percentage Obesity Among Adults Aged 20 and Over Percentage of Food Expenditures on Food Away from Home per Capita FIGURE 2-13 Trends in major indicators of food supply, expenditures, and nutrition in the United States, 1900-present.
|
From page 50... ...
Environmental Change The quality and spatial distribution of our natural resources -- soils, water, and climate -- have contributed to the overall development and regional character of farm production across the United States. Over the past 100 years, changes in resource conditions (e.g., soil quality and water availability)
|
From page 51... ...
This forced food production to lands characterized by fewer natural resources and less satisfactory growing conditions. The agriculture sector overcame this obstacle by substantially increasing yields on both prime and marginal farmland through the development and implementation of technological advances in the 1930s and 1940s, such as new genetics (e.g., hybrid corn)
|
From page 52... ...
The publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962 is credited with initiating the development of such landmark policies as the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970, the 1972 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act,4 and the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act5 (commonly known as the Clean Water Act)
|
From page 53... ...
Roughly 80 to 90 percent of U.S. food production is now provided by the 10 to 20 percent of farmers who farm full-time (Hoppe and Banker, 2010)
|
From page 54... ...
Similar changes -- consolidation, use of new technology, vertical integration, market expansion, and market differentiation -- have occurred in the organizational structure of many other parts of the food supply chain. Although some vibrant alternative food systems are emerging, most of the food produced today relies on the logistical coordination of elaborated sup
|
From page 55... ...
The competitive pressure to reduce prices has been a key goal stimulating greater efficiencies and organizational changes in the supply chain, from the retailer back to the farmer. The food processing sector provides a good illustration of the concentration of the material flows within the food supply chain in the United States.
|
From page 56... ...
. The pace and direction of mechanization in farm production and food processing have been linked to situations where global competition is intense and domestic labor costs are relatively high due to scarcity, changes in labor law, or efforts to unionize workers (Calvin and Martin, 2010; Fidelibus, 2014; Friedland et al., 1981)
|
From page 57... ...
perks for consumers (nonfood products, e.g., gas, electronics, car washes)
|
From page 58... ...
Small venues can perform well when they can differentiate themselves based on products and services offered. The development of a national infrastructure also has affected the evolution of the food supply chain.
|
From page 59... ...
As incomes rise in low- to middle-income populations globally, consumers demand more animal protein and the raising of more livestock demands greater crop production and generally higher prices. The demand for animal feed is a driver for increased crop production, yet as crop production becomes more efficient, the price per bushel can actually drop.
|
From page 60... ...
Changes in food processing, marketing, transportation, packaging, and retail sectors now have more impact on consumer food prices than do changes in production practices or variation in farm yields and output. As the complexity of the food supply chain increases, the price of food consumed by the public will reflect the gains from greater production efficiencies and the costs associated with increased processing and handling.
|
From page 61... ...
CPI is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. Field crop prices are represented by the production-weighted average farm price of corn, wheat, and soybeans in the United States.
|
From page 62... ...
The types of food products and markets available are driven by consumer demands, as they become stimulated by sellers. Alongside commodity, convenience, and staple products, conventional food companies have provided new offerings built around market segmentation and product differentiation.
|
From page 63... ...
Changes in food supply and demand in other countries promise to be a major driver of commodity prices and marketing opportunities for U.S. farmers and food processing and distribution firms.
|
From page 64... ...
agriculture has always been shaped by the policies and institutions that were developed to accomplish a wide range of public goals. The development of local, state, and federal policies to address farm production, food safety, and other public goals has played a pivotal role in the evolution of the current U.S.
|
From page 65... ...
During the 1970s, rapid growth in global market opportunities and rising commodity prices led to policy reforms to remove caps on acreage that could be planted with particular crops. When production exceeded demand, market prices for farm commodities were allowed to fall, which benefited food processors and consumers.
|
From page 66... ...
The 2014 Farm Act reduced funding for the Conservation Reserve Program, consolidated conservation programs, and linked crop insurance premium subsidies to conservation compliance. Debates among agricultural producers, environmental groups, and rural communities in regard to the strictness of the policies to manage animal waste by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)
|
From page 67... ...
, culminating in the 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.21 Other important laws are the Federal Meat Inspection Act,22 the Poultry Products Inspection Act,23 and the Egg Products Inspection Act,24 administered by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. In the 1960s, the Hazard Analysis and 17 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C.
|
From page 68... ...
space program but subsequently for the broader food supply. The HACCP's prevention-focused approach for pathogens and chemical and physical hazards has expanded voluntarily throughout many segments of the food industry.
|
From page 69... ...
In addition to advice for the general population, the DGA represents a statement of federal nutrition policy and forms the basis of all federal nutrition programs. The importance of nutrition assistance programs in relieving food insecurity cannot be overemphasized.
|
From page 70... ...
Some of the most significant technological changes that have transformed production agriculture over the past 100 years include • Mechanization, which freed up land from producing feed for draught animals for use to produce food while enabling individu als to farm more land;
|
From page 71... ...
foods, and ease of disposal have increased waste at points of consumption. Bar codes have facilitated inventory management as well as an awareness of consumer behavior, giving added impetus to some market segmentation and product differentiation.
|
From page 72... ...
Social Organizations The demand for food products is driven by consumer preferences as they are shaped by marketing and advertising, but important social organizations also contribute to product demand (and changes in policies)
|
From page 73... ...
Conventional food production companies have pursued growth through market segmentation and new product offerings for ever more selective tastes. Evidence also suggests that some companies have been able to find economic advantages from offering healthy options (Cardello and Wolfson, 2013)
|
From page 74... ...
This has resulted in a food system that is able to nourish the majority of the population and provide food exports to much of the rest of the world. In terms of supporting farmers' incomes and wealth, from its inception in the Great Depression, farm policy has reduced volatility in farm income and food prices and raised the incomes and wealth of many farm households and landowners (Cochrane, 1993, 2003; Gardner, 2002; Pasour and Rucker, 2005)
|
From page 75... ...
USDA-ERS Research Report 106. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ err-economic-research-report/err106.aspx (accessed November 25, 2014)
|
From page 76... ...
food supply 1909-2010. http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USFoodSupply.htm (accessed November 25, 2014)
|
From page 77... ...
http:// www.fns.usda.gov/pd/overview (accessed November 25, 2014)
|
From page 78... ...
https://www.msu.edu/~howardp/seedindustry. html (accessed November 25, 2014)
|
From page 79... ...
http://www.census.gov/prod/ www/decennial.html (accessed November 25, 2014)
|
From page 80... ...
United States. http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/ Publications/2012 (accessed November 25, 2014)
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.