The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a core component of the social safety net for low-income children in the United States. The proposals implemented through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 have the potential to reduce the effectiveness of the NSLP in improving the well-being of low-income children. The NSLP operates in over […]
Managing Environmental Uncertainty Created by Global Warming
Scientists agree: the Earth is warming. Efforts are under way to cut greenhouse gas emissions and hence reduce the warming that occurs in the next hundred years. However, some warming is likely to occur even with major policy changes and greenhouse gas reductions. Overall, this means that average temperatures will increase, oceans will rise, damaging […]
A Brief History of Farm Conservation Policy
Across the divide from the challenging realities of regulating nonpoint source pollution and agriculture reside the natural resource conservation policies for farmers contained in the omnibus legislation commonly known as the farm bill. The suite of conservation programs tend to avoid the sharp-edged debate surrounding environmental regulation, as well as the harsh criticism aimed at […]
Exploring Environmental Regulation of Agriculture
Recently the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grabbed attention when it attempted to clarify the Clean Water Act by defining the term “waters of the United States.” Many in agriculture have raised concerns about the definition and how it would impact farming and property owners, adding a new chapter to the long-running debate regarding environmental […]
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Part 2 : TTIP, Regulatory Harmonization, and Non-tariff Barriers to Trade
The stated aims of the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations between the United States and the European Union are to increase jobs, profits, and worker incomes on both sides of the Atlantic. At this still early date, four key studies have quantitatively assessed the projected economic benefits of such an accord (Ecorys, […]
Policy brief – food aid and small farmer subsidies
Governments and international aid agencies are transforming how food aid is procured and disbursed in the developing world. Agencies including the World Food Program now source some food aid within the region where it will be disbursed (for example, purchasing maize in Uganda for disbursal in other parts of East Africa). The 2014 Farm Bill […]
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Part 1
The proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a trade and investment agreement currently being negotiated by the United States and the 28 nations forming the European Union. President Obama announced upcoming TTIP talks on February 13, 2013, and negotiations started in July 2013. The negotiations aim at reducing trade barriers in a wide […]
The Current State of Bees
June 16-22 is National Pollinator Week! Bees are a valuable asset to modern agricultural systems pollinating approximately one third of the crops in our diets. The value added to the agricultural system by insect pollination, mainly from bees, was estimated to be US$190 billion in 2005 worldwide or about 9.5% of total agricultural production. For […]
FDA Proposes New Nutrition Facts Label
In March 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a “refreshed” nutrition facts label – the standard label seen on the back of most pre-packaged foods and beverages. The need for an updated label stems from new dietary recommendations as well as changes in the average portion sizes consumed by Americans. Source: FDA Consumer […]
Because policies matter
Policy Matters was created as a new way to deliver discussions and analysis about policies that affect our state, country, and world. If you’ve followed agricultural policy stories on our parallel site farmdocdaily, you’ll recognize the similarities in look, feel, and function. The reason behind this is that farmdocdaily and Policy Matters have a similar […]