The document discusses issues with the US food safety system and questions for the government. It notes that food poisoning incidents have increased in recent decades despite some improvements. It argues that food safety was not made a high priority and industries limited their responsibilities. Revising the fragmented system into a coordinated, well-funded agency will be a major challenge and it may take significant time before the public sees progress. Imported foods also pose difficulties for ensuring safety.
Food Insecurity and Government Intervention for Sustainable Food Access in Od...IJLT EMAS
This paper aims to find out the status and causes of food insecurity and policy measures taken by the government to reduce insecurity in Odisha. The data used in this paper have been collected from different secondary sources like books, journals, news papers, government reports etc.
The study shows that the main cause of food insecurity in Odisha is absence of purchasing power of people to purchase adequate amounts of foods to meet basic minimum food requirements. Purchasing power is absent because of poverty. 9%of the population are extremely food insecure consuming less than 1800 kcl per day. The vulnerability is high in southern and northern regions of the state as well as among SC and ST communities and is more experienced in rural areas than urban areas.
Government of Odisha intervene the situation to counter insecurity through different measures like subsidized distribution of food grains, nutrition provisioning through Anganwadis and mid-day meals, food for work programmes etc. Because of implementation of these measures calories intake of people of KBK regions has increased from 1674.6 kcl in 2004-05 to 1819.0 kcl in 2011-12 and that of non-KBK regions has increased from 2046.5 kcl in 2004-05 to 2076 kcl in 2011-12. Finally, the paper suggests that the government should focus on development of agriculture and employment generation and price stability.
Food Insecurity and Government Intervention for Sustainable Food Access in Od...IJLT EMAS
This paper aims to find out the status and causes of food insecurity and policy measures taken by the government to reduce insecurity in Odisha. The data used in this paper have been collected from different secondary sources like books, journals, news papers, government reports etc.
The study shows that the main cause of food insecurity in Odisha is absence of purchasing power of people to purchase adequate amounts of foods to meet basic minimum food requirements. Purchasing power is absent because of poverty. 9%of the population are extremely food insecure consuming less than 1800 kcl per day. The vulnerability is high in southern and northern regions of the state as well as among SC and ST communities and is more experienced in rural areas than urban areas.
Government of Odisha intervene the situation to counter insecurity through different measures like subsidized distribution of food grains, nutrition provisioning through Anganwadis and mid-day meals, food for work programmes etc. Because of implementation of these measures calories intake of people of KBK regions has increased from 1674.6 kcl in 2004-05 to 1819.0 kcl in 2011-12 and that of non-KBK regions has increased from 2046.5 kcl in 2004-05 to 2076 kcl in 2011-12. Finally, the paper suggests that the government should focus on development of agriculture and employment generation and price stability.
This report was prepared for the Global Food Security Programme (GFS) by Mark Bond and Theresa Meacham, with inputs from Riaz Bhunnoo and Tim Benton. GFS is a partnership of the UK’s main public funders of research on issues around food security (see www.foodsecurity. ac.uk for details). This report should be cited as:
Bond, M., Meacham, T., Bhunnoo, R. and Benton, T.G. (2013) Food waste within global food systems. A Global Food Security report (www.foodsecurity.ac.uk).
Food security in focus: North America 2014 is an
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report
commissioned by DuPont. The report discusses the
major findings in the 2014 Global Food Security
Index (GFSI) for the three countries of North
America included in the index.
Public health is directly or indirectly affected by the food supply. Food safety is a public health
issue which has become a global problem. Since food is necessary for human survival, a food safety crisis can
cause widespread social panic and heavy casualties. Food safety has been a major concern for governments,
the food service industry, and academia. This paper provides an introduction to food safety.
Food is life and the global food sustainability is essential to human being survival. The global food system is highly
complex and is driven by various factors including environment, cultural, social and economic drive. It is vital to understand
these drivers and their interaction in order to help to improve the public food sustainability policies. Global polices and projects
desperately required in order improving the global food sustainability. Food sustainability is one of the unsolved global issues
and great commitment is required starting from global policy makers, national governments, and every individual home. This
research paper includes analysis and study of various elements such as global change science, policy, food crisis, factor affecting
and challenging food security, data on status and future projection and potential ways of solving problems. The goal of food
sustainability is to enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and have a reasonable quality of life without
compromising the quality of life of future generations. Agriculture sustainability is the best solution which can feed the world
without compromising the environment or threatening human health. Scientific evidence that global environment has changed
is overwhelming and indisputable. These phenomena have a direct impact on agriculture which in turn affects food
sustainability. The food price is always toward upward trend which is validated by the periodic average global food price
monitoring report released by the Food and agricultural organizations. The factors affecting and challenging the food security
are many including increased food consumption due to population increase, uneven distribution, changes in living styles, limited
resources, environmental problems, economic problems and others. The potential ways to solve food sustainability need to be
established and implemented effectively across the world.
Workshop 3: The Agriculture Nutrition Nexus and the Way Forward at The Caribbean-Pacific Agri-Food Forum 2015 (CPAF2015) taking place 2-6 November in Barbados with support from the Intra-ACP Agricultural Policy programme, organized in partnership with the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). http://www.cta.int/en/news/caribbean-pacific-agri-food-forum.html
International Journal of Engineering and Science Invention (IJESI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Engineering and Science Invention (IJESI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of computer science and electronics. IJESI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Engineering Science and Technology, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
This report was prepared for the Global Food Security Programme (GFS) by Mark Bond and Theresa Meacham, with inputs from Riaz Bhunnoo and Tim Benton. GFS is a partnership of the UK’s main public funders of research on issues around food security (see www.foodsecurity. ac.uk for details). This report should be cited as:
Bond, M., Meacham, T., Bhunnoo, R. and Benton, T.G. (2013) Food waste within global food systems. A Global Food Security report (www.foodsecurity.ac.uk).
Food security in focus: North America 2014 is an
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report
commissioned by DuPont. The report discusses the
major findings in the 2014 Global Food Security
Index (GFSI) for the three countries of North
America included in the index.
Public health is directly or indirectly affected by the food supply. Food safety is a public health
issue which has become a global problem. Since food is necessary for human survival, a food safety crisis can
cause widespread social panic and heavy casualties. Food safety has been a major concern for governments,
the food service industry, and academia. This paper provides an introduction to food safety.
Food is life and the global food sustainability is essential to human being survival. The global food system is highly
complex and is driven by various factors including environment, cultural, social and economic drive. It is vital to understand
these drivers and their interaction in order to help to improve the public food sustainability policies. Global polices and projects
desperately required in order improving the global food sustainability. Food sustainability is one of the unsolved global issues
and great commitment is required starting from global policy makers, national governments, and every individual home. This
research paper includes analysis and study of various elements such as global change science, policy, food crisis, factor affecting
and challenging food security, data on status and future projection and potential ways of solving problems. The goal of food
sustainability is to enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and have a reasonable quality of life without
compromising the quality of life of future generations. Agriculture sustainability is the best solution which can feed the world
without compromising the environment or threatening human health. Scientific evidence that global environment has changed
is overwhelming and indisputable. These phenomena have a direct impact on agriculture which in turn affects food
sustainability. The food price is always toward upward trend which is validated by the periodic average global food price
monitoring report released by the Food and agricultural organizations. The factors affecting and challenging the food security
are many including increased food consumption due to population increase, uneven distribution, changes in living styles, limited
resources, environmental problems, economic problems and others. The potential ways to solve food sustainability need to be
established and implemented effectively across the world.
Workshop 3: The Agriculture Nutrition Nexus and the Way Forward at The Caribbean-Pacific Agri-Food Forum 2015 (CPAF2015) taking place 2-6 November in Barbados with support from the Intra-ACP Agricultural Policy programme, organized in partnership with the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). http://www.cta.int/en/news/caribbean-pacific-agri-food-forum.html
International Journal of Engineering and Science Invention (IJESI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Engineering and Science Invention (IJESI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of computer science and electronics. IJESI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Engineering Science and Technology, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
IPSA International is a global risk advisory firm in the areas of anti-money laundering, anti-bribery/corruption, investigative due diligence and litigation support. Our uncompromising commitment is in helping clients reduce uncertainty and achieve greater success through increased transparency and risk mitigation. IPSA accomplishes this with our team of industry recognized experts and focused business strategies to ensure our clients receive the highest level of knowledge and insight required to discretely and effectively complete each assignment.
5+ years ago, Marc Andreessen famously wrote ""software is eating the world" in a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece. Some have chosen to declare the IT profession as declining towards irrelevance. Nothing could be further from the truth! This presentation stakes the claim that the skills and experience of IT - like many evolving tech trades before it -- professionals have changed and, along the way, become even more essential to business success.
Rehabilitación de edificio destinado a albergue de peregrinos en Santiago de Compostela (A Coruña)
Ezcurra e Ouzande arquitectura | 2013
http://www.ezcurraouzande.com/2013/02/rehabilitacion-albergue-santiago-de-compostela-last-stamp/
Enabling Fast Data Strategy: What’s new in Denodo Platform 6.0Denodo
In this presentation, you will see the new functionalities of the Denodo 6.0 detailing dynamic query optimization engine, managing enterprise deployments, and using information self-service for discovery and search.
This presentation is part of the Fast Data Strategy Conference, and you can watch the video here goo.gl/DzRtkg.
A granular look into The Do's and Don't of Post Incident Analysis, featuring Jason Hand - DevOps Evangelist - from VictorOps and Jason Yee - Technical Writer/Evangelist - from Datadog.
Topics include a breakdown of the process in the following order:
- Service disruptions
- Detection
- Diagnosis
- Post-incident analysis
- Framework
Environmental Health PBHL-3400Food Safety Instructions you’re.docxSALU18
Environmental Health PBHL-3400
Food Safety
Instructions: you’re reconstructing the papers with new ideas and your own thinking, along with what you find from outside sources. Please don’t forget it has to come from EDU, ORG OR GOV. please read the other document for further instructions
Introduction
Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation and storage of food in the way that prevent foodborne illnesses. Nowadays, there is much advancement in the process of product control and practices which are aimed to produce wholesome and safe food. Government have imposed very strict quality and food safety assessment parameters or food establishments. However, all food establishment have not adopted practices to ensure food safety. In order to survive, people must eat. Unfortunately the food that is needed for survival is not always available, safe, or nutritious for individuals, families, consumers and communities. Sometimes, the food we love and count on for good health are contaminated with germs that causes sickness and can even be deadly. More progress is needed to protect people and to reduce foodborne illness in America. New challenges to food safety will continue to emerge largely because of: changes in our food production and supply, including more imported food, changes in the environmental leading to food contamination, and changes in consumer preferences and habits.
Statement of the problem
Why food safety matters? Each year, roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people get sick) 128,000, are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases. The U.S Department of Agriculture estimates that foodborne illnesses cost $15.6 billion each year. In addition, it is important for people to understand how their behavior and activities contribute to the safety and how they can decrease the risk of foodborne illness. From processes on to farm, to practices in the kitchen, human activities play an important role in food safety. Food is also highly perishable commodity which can directly affect the health of the consumer. To ensure availability, of safe and hygienic food to consumers is challenge for service establishments and regulatory authorities. Reforms need to protect Americans from foodborne illness. The United States has been a leader in food safety, yet despite the efforts, there are some significant gaps. For example, even though the U.S. has national reporting requirements for 20 foodborne pathogens many of our states public health departments do not have the resources to comply with the reporting mandates.
Literature Review
The problem of foodborne illness is well known to the general public, due to the media’s frequent coverage of outbreak. For example, the local newspaper will occasionally print stories about foodborne illness outbreaks that happen in restaurants in our communities; even the major restaurant chains are not immune to such incidents. Foodborne illness can be both acute and long term. Som ...
Running head FOOD AND DRUG REGULATION IN USA 1FOOD A.docxjeanettehully
Running head: FOOD AND DRUG REGULATION IN USA
1
FOOD AND DRUG REGULATION IN USA
15
Food and Drug Regulation in the USA
Sample Policy Analysis Paper
University Name
Introduction
Every day across the United States, people purchase foods, groceries, eat out and prepare their families’ meals. It is expected that all food is safe, and the role of the FDA is to ensure food safety. The FDA has the authorization of ensuring the safety of the immeasurable range of foods eaten by the Americans, which is about 80% of all the foods that are sold in the Country. The food includes everything except the processed egg products, poultry, and meat that are controlled by the Department of Agriculture in the US. The FDA was given the mandate of developing an integrated and comprehensive FDA Food Protection Plan (Thomas, 2014). The plan was to make sure that the safety supply of the nation’s food from deliberate and unintended contamination. Inspired by the science and the modern technology, the Food Protection Plan aim is to identify the likely hazards and deal with them before they can harm human health. The center of such a progressive effort is the augmented focus on hazard prevention. The Food Protection Plan was developed to create safety measures that address the risks in the entire life cycle of a product, from the time a product is produced to its distribution and consumption. The plan directs the efforts of FDA on the prevention of problems and then applies interventions that are risk-based to make sure that the preventive approaches used are successful (Thomas, 2014). The plan requires a fast response as soon as there is a detection of contaminated food or products or when people or animals are harmed. The policy is a public/social health policy. The purpose analysis of the Food Protection Plan policy is to establish if the plan is effective in accomplishing preventing the problem of food poisoning. The analysis intends to answer the questions of the effectiveness of the policy in the prevention of food poisoning.
Background
Changing demographics and consumption trends
The changing consumption and demographics have raised the susceptibility of consumers to food poisoning. It was approximated that 20% of the American people were 60 years or more (Halabi, 2015). The older people are usually at a higher risk of foodborne diseases. It thus indicates that due to changing demographics the number of susceptible consumers has increased and the factors of convenience mean that small problems can result in great outbreaks. Consequently, there is a need for changes to ensure a high degree of food protection.
Convenience trends
More Americans are now consumers of convenience foods. Foods that are prepared away from home are likely to be cross contaminated from the other foods and contaminated by the food workers (Halabi, 2015). With more Americans eating ready food, it means that vulnerability to foodborne diseases has increased.
The consump ...
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Food Safety
Overview Objectives Interventions & Resources National Snapshots
View HP2020 Data for:
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Are In!
Check out our interactive
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and other Healthy People topic
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Home » 2020 Topics & Objectives » Food Safety
Goal
Reduce foodborne illnesses in the United States by improving food safety-related behaviors and
practices.
Overview
Foodborne illnesses are a burden on public health and contribute significantly to the cost of health
care. Each year foodborne illnesses sicken 48 million Americans (approximately 17% of people in
the United States) and lead to 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths. A small percentage of
these illnesses are the result of identified foodborne outbreaks, which happen when two or more
cases of similar illnesses result from eating the same food. Investigations of foodborne outbreaks,
along with analyses of data on the germs that make us sick and behaviors that contribute to food
contamination, help us identify where we can make improvements in the country’s food safety
system. This system spans from growing the food on the farm through processing, packing,
distribution, transportation, and storage, to preparing it to be eaten.
Why Is Food Safety Important?
Foodborne illnesses are a preventable and underreported public health problem. These illnesses
are a burden on public health and contribute significantly to the cost of health care. They also
present a major challenge to certain groups of people. Although anyone can get a foodborne illness,
some people are at greater risk. For example:
Children younger than age 4 have the highest incidence of laboratory-confirmed infections from some foodborne pathogens,
including Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157, Shigella, and Yersinia.
People older than age 50 and those with reduced immunity are at greater risk for hospitalizations and death from intestinal pathogens
commonly transmitted through foods.
Safer food promises healthier and longer lives and less costly health care, as well as a more resilient food industry.
Back to Top
Understanding Food Safety
Physical Determinants of Food Safety
Food hazards, including germs and chemical contaminants, can enter the food supply at any
point from farm to table. Most of these hazards cannot be detected in food when it is
purchased or consumed. In addition, a food itself can cause severe adverse reactions in people who are allergic to it. In the United States,
food allergies are a significant concern, both among children under age 18 and some adults.
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· The Hard Side of Change ManagementIntroduction to the Lesson w.docxodiliagilby
· The Hard Side of Change Management
Introduction to the Lesson with the author’s summary:
Everyone agrees that managing change is tough, but few can agree on how to do it. Most experts are obsessed with "soft" issues, such as culture and motivation, but, say the authors, focusing on these issues alone won't bring about change. Companies also need to consider the hard factors-like the time it takes to complete a change initiative, the number of people required to execute it, and so forth. When the authors studied change initiatives at 225 companies, they found a consistent correlation between the outcomes of change programs (success versus failure) and four hard factors, which they called DICE: project duration, particularly the time between project reviews; integrity of performance, or the capabilities of project teams; the level of commitment of senior executives and staff; and the additional effort required of employees directly affected by the change. The DICE framework is a simple formula for calculating how well a company is implementing, or will be able to implement, its change initiatives. The framework comprises a set of simple questions that help executives score their projects on each of the four factors; the lower the score, the more likely the project will succeed. Companies can use DICE assessments to force conversations a bout projects, to gauge whether projects are on track or in trouble, and to manage project portfolios. The authors have used these four factors to predict the outcomes and guide the execution of more than 1,000 change management programs worldwide. Not only has the correlation held, but no other factors (or combination of factors) have predicted outcomes as successfully.
Instructions
Please follow the APA style for your writing. Postings should be a minimum of 300 to 400 words in length. Discussion postings are expected to be more than just “I absolutely agree” or “Excellent point!” to receive credits.
Discussion Questions:
1. When there is change, is it possible to minimize the risk of failure? How?
2. How can the people-side of change be managed effectively?
Running head: FOOD AND DRUG REGULATION IN USA
1
FOOD AND DRUG REGULATION IN USA
17
Food and Drug Regulation in the USA
Sample Policy Analysis Paper
University Name
Introduction
Every day across the United States, people purchase foods, groceries, eat out and prepare their families’ meals. It is expected that all food is safe, and the role of the FDA is to ensure food safety. The FDA has the authorization of ensuring the safety of the immeasurable range of foods eaten by the Americans, which is about 80% of all the foods that are sold in the Country. The food includes everything except the processed egg products, poultry, and meat that are controlled by the Department of Agriculture in the US. The FDA was given the mandate of developing an integrated and comprehensive FDA Food Protection Plan (Thomas, 2014). The plan was to make sure ...
Introduction 10 points Generally define & describe the polic.docxvrickens
Introduction
10 points
Generally define & describe the policy issue to be addressed. Identify the purpose of analysis, the targeted level of policy (i.e., clinical practice, health care systems, or public/social health) & significance of topic. Identify questions the policy analysis is intended to address.
Background
10 points
Provide details of the issue or problem, including its nature/scope, relevant literature & history, & the context within which the issue exists. Describe existing policy addressing the issue, if any. Discuss strengths & shortcomings in existing policy. Identify & describe key stakeholders (individuals & groups) that are or will be affected by the policy & why.
Analysis
15 points
Identify alternative policies to achieve objectives. Establish/identify criteria that will be used for selection of “best” policy. Evaluate each alternative & its potential impact relative to the healthcare & patient outcomes. Assess the trade-offs between alternatives.
Recommendations
15 points
Based on the analysis, identify the “best” alternative to address the current issue & policy situation. Provide rationale for selection. Describe possible strategies to implement selected alternative. Identify barriers to implementation of selected alternative. Describe methods to evaluate policy implementation.
Discussion
20 points
Discuss analysis & recommendations relative to the original questions identified, & the level of policy it is intended to address (i.e., clinical practice, health care systems, or public). Identify limitations of analysis. Discuss implications for practice, education, research, & policy-making.
Conclusion
15 points
Summarize findings & recommendations of analysis Identify questions to be addressed in future studies or policy analyses.
References
5 points
List all references cited in paper. Must be completed in APA format.
Appendices
10 points
Table displaying results of analysis, including, for example, a list of alternatives & the degree to which each alternative may be most effective. Other tables & appendices as needed to support analysis.
Running head: FOOD AND DRUG REGULATION IN USA
1
FOOD AND DRUG REGULATION IN USA
17
Food and Drug Regulation in the USA
Sample Policy Analysis Paper
University Name
Introduction
Every day across the United States, people purchase foods, groceries, eat out and prepare their families’ meals. It is expected that all food is safe, and the role of the FDA is to ensure food safety. The FDA has the authorization of ensuring the safety of the immeasurable range of foods eaten by the Americans, which is about 80% of all the foods that are sold in the Country. The food includes everything except the processed egg products, poultry, and meat that are controlled by the Department of Agriculture in the US. The FDA was given the mandate of developing an integrated and comprehensive FDA Food Protection Pla ...
Running head FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SECTOR .docxwlynn1
Running head: FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SECTOR 1
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SECTOR 6
Food and Agriculture Sector
Shaimika Jones
Waldorf University
HLS 3305
Jamie Gauthier
March 5, 2019
Critical infrastructure refers to cyber and physical systems and assets that the United Stated highly depends to the extent that their destruction or incapacity would have a significant and adverse effect on the physical and economic security or the public health of the United States and Safety of the Americans (Homeland Security, n.d). The identified sector is the Food and Agriculture Sector. The largest percentage of this sector is under private ownership and comprises slightly above 2 million farms, 935,000 restaurants and more two hundred thousand facilities that manufacture, process and store food. This sector is important because it gives to approximately one-fifth of the economy. Dependencies upon by many other sectors including water and wastewater systems, chemical, energy, and transportation systems.
The assets of the sector are important to a mixture of the government and private industry. It is important to the private industry as the industry owns that largest portion of the sector and disruption of the sector affects the revenues of the private industry. It is important to the government as it significantly contributes to the performance of the American economy and public health. The subsectors in this sector are agricultural and food processing product distribution, supply, regulatory, oversight and industry organizations, agricultural and food supporting facilities, agricultural and food product storage, agricultural food product transportation, and processing, packaging and production.
Criticality of the Sector
This sector is a critical asset as the interruption of its operations has the potential to adversely affect the United States economy and public health. In addition, the sector contributes to approximately 20 percent of the United States economic activities. The sector is a critical asset to the United States as a fifth of the American agricultural products is exported to other countries which contribute to the growth of the economy and in creating a positive trade balance. For instance, exportation of agricultural products created a positive trade balance of approximately $40 billion in 2013 (Department of Homeland Security, 2015). The sector is important to the economy of the nation as it employs thousands of American citizens who work in stores selling groceries, restaurants, supermarkets, institutional food selling facilities and other food outlets. The sector also has a positive contribution to the humanitarian actions in the world and significantly plays a role on food security as the country provides food aid during disasters and to poverty-stricken areas around the world.
The co.
Carter 1Why Are The US Citizens Rapidly Becoming More Obes.docxannandleola
Carter 1
Why Are The US Citizens Rapidly Becoming More Obese?
Results of a first-of-its-kind trend data analysis involving 188 countries worldwide indicate that the highest percentage of people with obesity – 13 percent of the world’s total – reside in the United States, a nation that accounts for just 5 percent of the overall global population. Approximately 160 million US citizens are either overweight or obese, with almost 60 percent of adult women and 75 percent of grown-up men living in the country constituting this population group. American youngsters are not spared either, as nearly 30 percent of girls and boys aged 20 years or younger are plump and flabby, indicative of an 11 percent increase in the number of obese American children since 1980 (Murray et al.). Indeed, a majority of US citizens is currently fatter than the recommendation of medical science, and weights are still on the rise despite efforts to educate individuals about the health risks associated with obesity. Why are Americans rapidly becoming more obese? This paper argues that the US citizens are becoming more overweight because of American culture, technical changes in the preparation of food, and inactivity.
The importance of researching why Americans are increasingly becoming overweight is manifest in the costs of obesity for individuals and the nation at large. Obesity, which in simple terms refers to an excess of body fat that causes adverse effects in the health and overall wellbeing of individuals, exacerbates the risk for contracting various illnesses and impairs life quality for both children and adults (Rippe 1131). The health risks include heart disease, osteoarthritis, polycystic ovarian disease, sleep apnea, gout, and a wide range of cancer types, such as liver, kidney, pancreatic, and breast cancers, all of which can lead to death, causing pain and distress to the relatives and friends of the deceased person. Fatness also increases the possibility of developing metabolic conditions, such as diabetes, fatty liver syndrome, and hypertension (Cusi). The burden of such illnesses is not trivial, as they can lead to premature death, disability, and lost productivity, all of which have significant implications for the obese individual, his or her family and friends, and the United States at large.
Obesity also leads to an increase in the financial resources that Americans spend on healthcare either as individuals or as a nation. Indeed, the medical costs associated with being grossly fat are enormous and increasing, evident in the findings of a study conducted by experts in the medical care sector from 2008 to 2015. The results of the research indicate that the United States expends at least $209 billion of its medical care budget on obesity (Kim, & Basu 602). Putting that into perspective, consider that the figure is nearly half of the estimated US deficit for the year 2018, implying that the country spends almost one in every five dollars allocated to h.
Note on Critical and Emerging Issues for Food Security and NutritionNE Kim
Committee on World Food Security (CFS) the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) has conducted a process to identify a wide range of issues of importance for food security and nutrition, as well as their interrelations, in a systemic way. Within the diversity of issues, the HLPE has identified, in addition to the nine issues that have already been the topic of an HLPE report, the following five critical and emerging issues of particular importance, both in their own right and as drivers of other issues.
1. Article Detail - Domestic Preparedness
http://www.domesticpreparedness.com/Industry/Standards/Food_Safety%3a_A_Few_Questions_for_the_U.S._Government/[7/29/2010 11:55:23 AM]
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by DIANA HOPKINS
Wed, April 08, 2009
The American public is still extremely concerned about the
deaths and illness caused by the Peanut Corporation’s food
poisoning debacle earlier this year. So, apparently, is
President Barack Obama – who in his 14 March radio
address described the U.S. food-safety system as “a hazard
to public health.”
From the U.S. taxpayer’s point of view, the president’s
statement, combined with the food poisoning caused by
peanuts – one of the most popular foods consumed by the
nation’s children – brings up three important and closely related questions: (1) How
did the U.S. government itself reach such a low point in safeguarding Americans’
food? (2) When can the public once again have confidence that its meals will not
include a generous helping of healthcare concerns? (3) What specific factors led to
what are obviously major deficiencies in safeguarding the nation’s food supply?
Probably the most important factor – which partially answers the first and third
questions posed above – is that food safety and security were not placed under the
aegis of the Department of Homeland Security, an omission that left this critical area
without the funding and attention that are obviously needed to safeguard the huge
quantities and seemingly limitless varieties of food that are consumed by the
American people each and every day. Another contributing factor, it seems, is that
food-industry lobbyists were also quite successful in recent years in limiting the legal
responsibilities of the food industries themselves.
What matters now, and what President Obama also discussed in his 14 March weekly
address, is that the U.S. government is today faced with what can only be described
as a monumental task of revising and re-assembling virtually all components of its
now fragmented food safety and security “system,” such as it is, into a well
coordinated, adequately funded, and well staffed cooperative and interdisciplinary
multi-agency whole that is partnered with academia and with the domestic and
international food industries. Moreover, because so many executive-branch
departments and agencies – the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS), for example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to name just a prominent few – are
assigned different aspects of the U.S. government’s food safety responsibilities, it is
only natural to ask another relevant question: namely, how long will it take to
unravel this – i.e., how long will it take before the American people will see
significant progress in food safety?
Some Forward Progress – But More Needed
There are, of course, several ongoing processes and programs already in place in the
U.S. government that focus on securing the nation’s food supply, and several
important steps that have been taken since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001
Establishing
security measures
in the
management of
domestically
traded foods is
difficult enough,
but that difficulty
is compounded
exponentially by
trying to establish
similar measures
over the huge
volume of foods
imported into the
United States
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2. Article Detail - Domestic Preparedness
http://www.domesticpreparedness.com/Industry/Standards/Food_Safety%3a_A_Few_Questions_for_the_U.S._Government/[7/29/2010 11:55:23 AM]
to improve the safety and security of that supply. Among the most important of
those processes and/or post-9/11 improvements are: the FDA’s Protecting America’s
Food Supply Initiative and the same agency’s Food Protection Plan; the Import
Safety Action Plan; an 11 December 2007 agreement with China on food protection;
the establishment of a $450 million federal food-safety laboratory at Kansas State
University; and the formation of the FoodShield communications network.
These initiatives, and others that could be mentioned, are important in themselves –
but relatively lightweight when one considers that contaminated food outbreaks
within the United States have nearly tripled since the 1990s. Probably the best
publicized of those outbreaks and incidents, in addition to the peanut poisonings
earlier this year, were the unprecedented 2008 beef recall caused by a California
slaughterhouse situation involving “downer cows,” the 2008 and 2009 warnings
about the widespread and deadly Salmonella contamination of foods, and the 2006
E. coli outbreak linked to spinach. These and other less-publicized alarms and alerts
have amply demonstrated that, despite the helpful but relative modest forward steps,
noted above, that have been taken to improve the safety and security of the foods that
Americans eat, the United States is still falling short in its efforts to protect those
foods and ensure they are not only available, reasonably abundant, and healthful, but
also not intentionally or accidentally harmful.
Intentional threats to Americans’ food supply, such as the use of insects and
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as ecological weapons, are a separate
consideration, and of course require special attention. Nonetheless, unless and until
the Obama administration is able to fully grasp and act on the multi-faceted issue of
food security it seems very likely that: (a) significant new outbreaks will continue to
occur; (b) such outbreaks will have some extremely adverse health consequences –
and, quite possibly, cause additional deaths; (c) imported foods will remain a
significant (and probably growing) safety and security threat; (d) the clear “tracking”
of adulterated foods from source to table may well be impossible; (e) it is not only
human beings who will suffer (because animal feeds also will be at risk); and (f) the
average American consumer, who now spends approximately 20 percent of his
income on food, will have very little confidence in the safety and security of the food
he purchases.
Fortunately, President Obama himself seems to understand the dimensions of what is
a clear and present – but not well recognized – danger, and is on record as saying
that underfunding and understaffing in recent years were significant factors limiting
the FDA’s inability to keep up with food-safety dangers and difficulties. Even so, it is
important to remember that, even with adequate staffing and resources, food safety
and security is a very complex, multi-faceted area to manage. Moreover, it is even
more difficult to define and prioritize, on a continuing basis, all of the numerous
threats that must be considered – and protected against. Fluid factors such as
consumer demand, for example, frequent changes in production-to-consumption
processes (including those related to distribution), and the ever-increasing
centralization/globalization of food production, in almost every country in the world,
will continue to add to the complexity of any nation establishing firm and continuing
control over the safety and security of the food consumed by its citizens.
Turning to a New and Safer Course
Establishing security measures in the management of domestically traded foods in the
United States is difficult enough in itself, but that difficulty is compounded
exponentially by trying to establish similar security measures over the huge volume
of foods imported into the United States.
Imported foods will always require more focus and management for a number of
reasons – mostly, though, because import processes have a natural tendency to be
less transparent, and transparency is needed not only to safeguard foods but also to
speed up official reactions to events, enable the back-tracking of food-borne diseases,
and achieve accountability. The U.S. import volume has doubled since 2003 and
includes not only luxury items but also everyday staples as well as huge tonnages of
meat, grain, processed foods and beverages of all types, dairy products, fish, poultry,
fruit, and vegetables. A related concern is that importing an ever-increasing share of
the nation’s food supply, is slowly but steadily increasing the nation’s vulnerability in
many ways.
Another factor to consider with regard to food safety is that the United States has
gradually been changing the source of much of its food. One interesting aspect of food
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