This study examines the relative price of a standard market basket of food items and a market basket of healthier alternatives. Because people in low-income neighborhoods may have fewer grocery stores and transportation alternatives, the effects of store size and competition on the price of a market basket is estimated.Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,
This study measures the welfare changes in agriculture and to consumers should people eat the recommended levels of fruits and vegetables for a cancer prevention diet. An equilibrium displacement model is used to measure the change in welfare to fruit and vegetable industries, other commodities, and agricultural input markets.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,
This study will estimate the benefits to fruit and vegetable industries and consumers should people in the U.S. meet the USDA minimum dietary guidelines. Specifically the objectives of the study are to 1) estimate the benefits to fruit and vegetable industries and consumers should people eat the general and subgroup 7-a-day and 9-a-day recommendation; 2) estimate the benefits should smaller increases of only 10 percent or 25 percent be achieved; and 3) determine how agricultural inputs, including land and labor, would be affected by the increase in demand for fruits and vegetables. To protect against the incidence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer the 2005 USDA dietary guidelines recommend the consumption of 3 to 4 fruit servings and 4 to 5 vegetable servings a day. They also provide recommendations on the composition of fruit and vegetable consumption as well as the level. For example, almost one serving of dark leafy vegetables is recommended per day. Depite the known health benefits, many people do not eat the amounts recommended in the USDA dietary guidelines and low income consumers (those whose median household income is less than 25,000ayear)eatfewerservings.BasedontheNHANES4(Nationalhealthandnutritionexaminationsurvey)andNHANES5,averageconsumptionoffruitbylow−incomeconsumerswouldneedtoincreasebyatleast83percentatmeetthe3adayrecommendationand39percentinordertomeetthe4adayrecommendation.Peopleinhigher−incomehouseholdsonlyneedtoincreaseconsumptionbyonly60percentforfruitand30percentforvegetables.Theproportionalincreasesinconsumptionassumethatpeoplenolongereatpotatochipsorfrenchfriesinordertomeetdietaryguidelinesonfatconsumption.Ashiftinconsumptionpatternstotherecommendedlevelswouldcausethedemandforfruitsandvegetablestorisesignificantly,leadingtohigherpricesandincreasedproduction,shiftingtheuseofagriculturalresources(suchasland,labor,andwater)intotheproductionofthosecommodities,andbenefitingtheentireagriculturalsector.Despitethepotentialgainstoagriculture,thesevalueshavebeenignoredinpreviousstudiesofimprovednutrientintake.Suchabenefittoproducersmightjustifyadditionalpublicsectorinvestmentinpromotinghealthierdiets.Thechangesinprices,agriculturalproduction,agriculturalinputusage,andtradewillbesimulatedusinganequilibriumdisplacementmodel.Thedualapproachusedinthisanalysislaysoutbasicdemandandsupplyequationsfromdemandandcostfunctionstoshowhowequilibriumconditionschangeinresponsetoshocks,suchasanincreaseinthedemandforfruitsandvegetables.Thefunctionscharacterizethefinalmarket,allowforsubstitutabilitybetweenmarketingandnon−marketinginputsinthemarketingsector,includesthefarmsector,andchangesininputuseresultingfromchangesincropmixandsubstitutabilityinland,laborandotherinputs.Equilibriumdisplacementmodelshavebeenwidelyusedtoestimatethebenefitsofagriculturalresearchagriculturalpoliciesandthebenefitstothedairyindustryofasocialmarketingprogramtomiddleschoolchildren.Themodelisparameterizedwithfarm,marketandconsumptiondata.TheincreaseinfruitandvegetableconsumptionismodeledasashiftinthedemandcurvewiththeshiftequaltothepercentageincreaseneededtomeettheUSDAdietaryguidelines.Producersurplusisestimatedfromthechangesingrowerpricesandagriculturalproduction,lesschangesinthecostofinputs.Consumersurplusforpeoplelivinginlow−incomehouseholds(lessthan25,000 a year median income) and higher income households is estimated from the changes in retail prices and final market quantities consumed by each income group.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,
In the late 1990s, widespread outbreaks of Pierce's disease in grapevines were linked to transmission via the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), threatening California's multibillion-dollar table, raisin and wine grape industries. Government agencies responded to the crisis by implementing two control programs to manage GWSS. We analyzed the long-term economic impact of these two programs on citrus, grape and nursery producers. The net economic effects on all citrus producers and on grape producers in the southern San Joaquin Valley were insignificant, while all grape producers in the Temecula Valley saw an average increase in annual production costs of about 13.04anacre.BasedonoursurveyofnurseriesinSouthernCalifornia,approximately1112,238. Nursery producers also undertook a variety of pest control methods to prevent infestations and plant losses, and to meet quarantine regulations. Average annual per-acre costs of these approaches were 2,975forbarriermethodstopreventGWSSfromenteringapremises,1,032 in pesticide controls and $1,588 for in-house monitoring
In the late 1990s, widespread outbreaks of Pierce's disease in grapevines were linked to transmission via the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), threatening California's multibillion-dollar table, raisin and wine grape industries. Government agencies responded to the crisis by implementing two control programs to manage GWSS. We analyzed the long-term economic impact of these two programs on citrus, grape and nursery producers. The net economic effects on all citrus producers and on grape producers in the southern San Joaquin Valley were insignificant, while all grape producers in the Temecula Valley saw an average increase in annual production costs of about 13.04anacre.BasedonoursurveyofnurseriesinSouthernCalifornia,approximately1112,238. Nursery producers also undertook a variety of pest control methods to prevent infestations and plant losses, and to meet quarantine regulations. Average annual per-acre costs of these approaches were 2,975forbarriermethodstopreventGWSSfromenteringapremises,1,032 in pesticide controls and $1,588 for in-house monitoring
This study examines the relative price of a standard market basket of food items and a market basket of healthier alternatives. Because people in low-income neighborhoods may have fewer grocery stores and transportation alternatives, the effects of store size and competition on the price of a market basket is estimated