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This book focuses on the developing field of valuing food safety
and nutrition. It evaluates the relative strengths, weaknesses, and
requirements of the major methodologies employed in valuation
research. The book includes a discussion on key factors such as
information on consumer attitudes.
This book focuses on the developing field of valuing food safety
and nutrition. It evaluates the relative strengths, weaknesses, and
requirements of the major methodologies employed in valuation
research. The book includes a discussion on key factors such as
information on consumer attitudes.
Public concern about the safety and healthfulness of the food
supply grew markedly during the 1980s. Numerous government,
academic, interest group, and media reports questioning the
adequacy of the food safety regulatory system formed the basis for
this increase in concern. While public concern focused most
directly on pesticide residues in food, scientists emphasized the
risks of illness associated with microbiological contamination of
food. Much additional attention was focused on the food supply as a
result of the striking consensus on dietary recommendations that
emerged in the late 1980s based on increased scientific knowledge
of linkages between diet and health. Relatively little research on
the economic aspects of food safety and nutrition issues had been
conducted up to the mid-1980s. These aspects are complex. On the
consumer demand side, they include consumers' perceptions of the
risks associated with particular food products, how demographic
characteristics influence consumers' processing of risk information
and subsequent changes in food demand behavior, and the monetary
value consumers might place on changes in the risk profiles of
products. The economic benefits and costs associated with current
food consumption patterns are a major determinant of demand for
improved food safety and dietary change through government
regulation. While a more complete picture of risks, benefits, and
costs has been emerging recently, much is yet unknown.
For many Americans who live at or below the poverty threshold,
access to healthy foods at a reasonable price is a challenge that
often places a strain on already limited resources and may compel
them to make food choices that are contrary to current nutritional
guidance. To help alleviate this problem, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) administers a number of nutrition assistance
programs designed to improve access to healthy foods for low-income
individuals and households. The largest of these programs is the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called
the Food Stamp Program, which today serves more than 46 million
Americans with a program cost in excess of $75 billion annually.
The goals of SNAP include raising the level of nutrition among
low-income households and maintaining adequate levels of nutrition
by increasing the food purchasing power of low-income families. In
response to questions about whether there are different ways to
define the adequacy of SNAP allotments consistent with the program
goals of improving food security and access to a healthy diet,
USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) asked the Institute of
Medicine (IOM) to conduct a study to examine the feasibility of
defining the adequacy of SNAP allotments, specifically: the
feasibility of establishing an objective, evidence-based,
science-driven definition of the adequacy of SNAP allotments
consistent with the program goals of improving food security and
access to a healthy diet, as well as other relevant dimensions of
adequacy; and data and analyses needed to support an evidence-based
assessment of the adequacy of SNAP allotments. Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program: Examining the Evidence to Define
Benefit Adequacy reviews the current evidence, including the
peer-reviewed published literature and peer-reviewed government
reports. Although not given equal weight with peer-reviewed
publications, some non-peer-reviewed publications from
nongovernmental organizations and stakeholder groups also were
considered because they provided additional insight into the
behavioral aspects of participation in nutrition assistance
programs. In addition to its evidence review, the committee held a
data gathering workshop that tapped a range of expertise relevant
to its task. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction
and Conceptual Framework 2 History, Background, and Goals of the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 3 Food Security and
Access to a Healthy Diet in Low-Income Populations 4 Individual,
Household, and Environmental Factors Affecting Food Choices and
Access 5 Impact of Program Design on Allotment Adequacy 6
Conclusions and Recommendations Appendix A: Acronyms,
Abbreviations, and Terms Appendix B: Open Session with Sponsors
Appendix C: Workshop Agenda Appendix D: Approach to Literature
Review Appendix E: Questions Related to the Statement of Task
Appendix F: Questions on theCore Food Security Module Appendix G:
Key Recommendations of the *Dietary Guidelines for Americans*
Appendix H: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
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