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Feb. 23, 2018

Professor Julian M. Alston and Abigail M. Okrent won the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) Quality of Research Discovery Award for The Effects of Farm and Food Policy on Obesity in the United States.

This book uses an economic framework to examine the consequences of U.S. farm and food policies for obesity, its social costs, and the implications for government policy. Drawing on evidence from economics, public health, nutrition, and medicine, the authors evaluate past and potential future roles of policies such as farm subsidies, public agricultural R&D, food assistance programs, taxes on particular foods (such as sodas) or nutrients (such as fat), food labeling laws, and advertising controls. The findings are mostly negative—it is generally not economic to use farm and food policies as obesity policy—but some food policies that combine incentives and information have potential to make a worthwhile impact.

Julian is a distinguished professor in the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE). Abigail earned her Ph.D. from ARE in 2010. She's currently a research economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service.

Citation:

Alston, Julian M. and Abigail M. Okrent. The Effects of Farm and Food Policy on Obesity in the United States. Palgrave Studies in Agricultural Economics and Food Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, U.S., 2017.

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