Organic Food "Made in China"

China joined the international organic movement comparatively late. Challenged by the scarcity of arable land and a large population to feed, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) for many years has been reluctant to support organic farming that might result in a drop of agricultural output. On the contrary, China’s “Green Revolution” catapulted the country to a leading producer and user of agrochemicals in the world. This development came at a high cost for the country’s environmental quality and food safety. In recent years, accumulating public complaints about environmental pollution, food poisoning, sickness and death of farmers poisoned by agrochemicals as well as increasing difficulties with agricultural exports rejected as a result of excessive chemical residues are observed. It is not only because of the problems mentioned above that recently the MoA became more supportive towards the organic food development, authorities also realized the growing opportunities for healthy food in the international as well as the domestic market. In fact, China’s organic food development cannot be analyzed without taking into account the fast development of organic food industries in industrialized countries during the past decade. At present organically grown food “made in China” is still a small - though fast growing - sector. The article takes a look at the development and current status of organic agriculture and organic food industry in China and discusses the prospects and limitations of the sector

Sustainable diets in the UK—developing a systematic framework to assess the environmental Impact, cost and nutritional quality of household food purchases

Sustainable diets should not only respect the environment but also be healthy and affordable. However, there has been little work to assess whether real diets can encompass all three aspects. The aim of this study was to develop a framework to quantify actual diet records for health, affordability and environmental sustainability and apply this to UK food purchase survey data. We applied a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to detailed food composition data where purchased food items were disaggregated into their components with traceable environmental impact data. This novel approach is an improvement to earlier studies in which sustainability assessments were based on a limited number of “food groups”, with a potentially high variation of actual food items within each group. Living Costs and Food Survey data for 2012, 2013 and 2014 were mapped into published figures for greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE, taking into account processing, transport and cooking) and land use, a diet quality index (DQI) based on dietary guidelines and food cost, all standardised per household member. Households were classified as having a ‘more sustainable’ diet based on GHGE, cost and land use being less than the median and DQI being higher than the median. Only 16.6% of households could be described as more sustainable; this rose to 22% for those in the lowest income quintile. Increasing the DQI criteria to >80% resulted in only 100 households being selected, representing 0.8% of the sample. The framework enabled identification of more sustainable households, providing evidence of how we can move toward better diets in terms of the environment, health, and costs

Food cost and availability in a rural setting in Australia

Introduction: The burden of chronic diseases is rapidly increasing worldwide. In&nbsp; Australia rural populations have a greater burden of disease. Chronic diseases are largely preventable with diet as a key risk factor. With respect to diet-related chronic disease, dietary risk may be due to poor food access, namely, poor availability and/or the high cost of healthy food. It is likely that poor food access is an issue in rural areas. Objective: To assess food access in rural south-west (SW) Victoria, Australia.Methods: A total of 53 supermarkets and grocery stores in 42 towns participated in a survey of food cost and availability in the rural area of SW Victoria. The survey assessed availability and cost of a Healthy Food Access Basket (HFAB) which was designed to meet the nutritional needs of a family of 6 for 2 weeks.Results: Seventy-two percent of the eligible shops in SW Victoria were surveyed. The study found that the complete HFAB was significantly more likely to be available in a town with a chain-owned store (p&lt;0.00). The complete HFAB was less likely to be available from an independently owned store in a town with only one grocery shop (p&lt;0.004). The average cost of the HFAB across SW Victoria was AU380.30 ± 25.10 (mean &plusmn; SD). There was a mean range in difference of cost of the HFAB of $36.92. In particular, high variability was found in the cost of fruits and vegetables.Conclusions: Cost and availability of healthy food may be compromised in rural areas. Implications: Improvements in food access in rural areas could reduce the high burden of disease suffered by rural communities.<br /

Use of Linear Programming to Develop Cost-Minimized Nutritionally Adequate Health Promoting Food Baskets

Background Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs) are developed to promote healthier eating patterns, but increasing food prices may make healthy eating less affordable. The aim of this study was to design a range of cost-minimized nutritionally adequate health-promoting food baskets (FBs) that help prevent both micronutrient inadequacy and diet-related non-communicable diseases at lowest cost. [br/] Methods Average prices for 312 foods were collected within the Greater Copenhagen area. The cost and nutrient content of five different cost-minimized FBs for a family of four were calculated per day using linear programming. The FBs were defined using five different constraints: cultural acceptability (CA), or dietary guidelines (DG), or nutrient recommendations (N), or cultural acceptability and nutrient recommendations (CAN), or dietary guidelines and nutrient recommendations (DGN). The variety and number of foods in each of the resulting five baskets was increased through limiting the relative share of individual foods. [br/] Results The one-day version of N contained only 12 foods at the minimum cost of DKK 27 ((sic)3.6). The CA, DG, and DGN were about twice of this and the CAN cost similar to DKK 81 ((sic)10.8). The baskets with the greater variety of foods contained from 70 (CAN) to 134 (DGN) foods and cost between DKK 60 ((sic)8.1, N) and DKK 125 ((sic)16.8, DGN). Ensuring that the food baskets cover both dietary guidelines and nutrient recommendations doubled the cost while cultural acceptability (CAN) tripled it. [br/] Conclusion Use of linear programming facilitates the generation of low-cost food baskets that are nutritionally adequate, health promoting, and culturally acceptable

ShopSmart 4 Health - protocol of a skills-based randomised controlled trial promoting fruit and vegetable consumption among socioeconomically disadvantaged women

BackgroundThere is a need for evidence on the most effective and cost-effective approaches for promoting healthy eating among groups that do not meet dietary recommendations for good health, such as those with low incomes or experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. This paper describes the ShopSmart 4 Health study, a randomised controlled trial conducted by Deakin University, Coles Supermarkets and the Heart Foundation, to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a skill-building intervention for promoting increased purchasing and consumption of fruits and vegetables amongst women of low socioeconomic position (SEP).Methods/designShopSmart 4 Health employed a randomised controlled trial design. Women aged 18&ndash;60 years, holding a Coles store loyalty card, who shopped at Coles stores within socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods and met low-income eligibility criteria were invited to participate. Consenting women completed a baseline survey assessing food shopping and eating habits and food-related behaviours and attitudes. On receipt of their completed survey, women were randomised to either a skill-building intervention or a wait-list control condition. Intervention effects will be evaluated via self-completion surveys and using supermarket transaction sales data, collected at pre- and post-intervention and 6-month follow-up. An economic evaluation from a societal perspective using a cost-consequences approach will compare the costs and outcomes between intervention and control groups. Process evaluation will be undertaken to identify perceived value and effects of intervention components.DiscussionThis study will provide data to address the currently limited evidence base regarding the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of skill-building intervention strategies aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among socioeconomically disadvantaged women, a target group at high risk of poor diets.<br /

Protein for Life: Towards a focussed dietary framework for healthy ageing

‘Ageing well’ has been highlighted as an important research area by the World Health Organization. In the UK, healthy ageing has been identified as a priority research area by multiple Research Councils and is a key NHS priority. Sarcopaenia, the decline of muscle mass/strength and a key component of healthy ageing, can have a major impact on quality of life and is associated with premature mortality. Increasing protein intake at all stages of the life course may help to reduce the rate of muscle decline and the onset of associated health conditions. However, there is a lack of understanding of the social, demographic and psychological drivers of food choices surrounding protein intake. This report describes the multidisciplinary approach that has been adopted by the Protein for Life project to create a framework for the development of palatable, cost-effective higher-protein foods suitable for an ageing population

The Links Between the Neighborhood Food Environment and Childhood Nutrition

Identifies key studies on the availability of, and residents' access to, healthy foods and how they influence the choices of low-income children and their families. Discusses efforts to bring about improvements and new research and policy priorities

Agriculture Policy Is Health Policy.

The Farm Bill is meant to supplement and secure farm incomes, ensure a stable food supply, and support the American farm economy. Over time, however, it has evolved into a system that creates substantial health impacts, both directly and indirectly. By generating more profit for food producers and less for family farmers; by effectively subsidizing the production of lower-cost fats, sugars, and oils that intensify the health-destroying obesity epidemic; by amplifying environmentally destructive agricultural practices that impact air, water, and other resources, the Farm Bill influences the health of Americans more than is immediately apparent. In this article, we outline three major public health issues influenced by American farm policy. These are (1) rising obesity; (2) food safety; and (3) environmental health impacts, especially exposure to toxic substances and pesticides

Caught in a ‘spiral’. Barriers to healthy eating and dietary health promotion needs from the perspective of unemployed young people and their service providers

NoThe number of young people in Europe who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) is increasing. Given that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds tend to have diets of poor nutritional quality, this exploratory study sought to understand barriers and facilitators to healthy eating and dietary health promotion needs of unemployed young people aged 16–20 years. Three focus group discussions were held with young people (n = 14). Six individual interviews and one paired interview with service providers (n = 7). Data were recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically content analysed. Themes were then fitted to social cognitive theory (SCT). Despite understanding of the principles of healthy eating, a ‘spiral’ of interrelated social, economic and associated psychological problems was perceived to render food and health of little value and low priority for the young people. The story related by the young people and corroborated by the service providers was of a lack of personal and vicarious experience with food. The proliferation and proximity of fast food outlets and the high perceived cost of ‘healthy’ compared to ‘junk’ food rendered the young people low in self-efficacy and perceived control to make healthier food choices. Agency was instead expressed through consumption of junk food and drugs. Both the young people and service providers agreed that for dietary health promotion efforts to succeed, social problems needed to be addressed and agency encouraged through (individual and collective) active engagement of the young people themselves