{"title":"Theme Overview: The 2014 Farm Bill- An Economic Welfare Disaster or Triumph?","authors":"B. Goodwin, V. Smith","doi":"10.22004/AG.ECON.184271","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.184271","url":null,"abstract":"The farm program components of the 2014 Agricultural Act deserve careful, thoughtful, critical assessments with respect to their potential economic benefits and costs, and their overall effects on economic welfare. Too often, perhaps, agricultural economists are accused of focusing only on the effects of farm programs on the farm and closely related sectors. However, any program should be evaluated in terms of its consequences for all of the individuals who are affected by the policies embedded in that program. These impacts are not simply limited to concerns about economic efficiency. As has been the case from the inception of debates over U.S. farm income and price support programs, equity concerns with respect to transfers of income are also important. These are the issues examined by a sequence of six articles in this new Choices theme: The 2014 Farm Bill: An Economic Welfare Disaster or Triumph?","PeriodicalId":185368,"journal":{"name":"Choices. The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources Issues","volume":"45 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122292264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Can Taxes on Calorically Sweetened Beverages Reduce Obesity","authors":"Jessica E Todd, Chen Zhen","doi":"10.22004/AG.ECON.95754","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.95754","url":null,"abstract":"Enlightened by the success of using tobacco taxes to curb smoking prevalence, many have argued that large beverage taxes are an attractive policy tool in the fight against obesity because, unlike many other foods, calorically sweetened beverages (CSBs) have little nutritional value. However, unlike tobacco which is harmful at any level of consumption, CSBs may be consumed in moderation as part of a healthy diet. In the United States on average, CSBs make up a large share of total daily calories—about 13% for adolescents and young adults (Figure 1). Thus, reducing the consumption of CSBs may substantially reduce caloric intake, as long as individuals do not compensate by adding calories from other foods or drinks.","PeriodicalId":185368,"journal":{"name":"Choices. The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources Issues","volume":"109 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125442459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"U.S. Meatpacking: Dynamic Forces of Change in a Mature Industry","authors":"B. Buhr, B. Ginn","doi":"10.22004/AG.ECON.104210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.104210","url":null,"abstract":"Meatpacking in the United States is a mature industry. Overall domestic per capita meat consumption levels have been stable for the past 25 years. As typical of mature industries, meatpackers compete by reducing costs through technical change, increasing in size and scope through acquisition or vertical coordination and by expanding into developing international markets. Meatpackers have also gained subtle product differentiation and pricing advantages and modest brand loyalty by vertically coordinating genetics, feeding, and processing. This has resulted in improved ability to meet consumer demands; enhancing revenues rather than simply competing on costs.","PeriodicalId":185368,"journal":{"name":"Choices. The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources Issues","volume":"71 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122611621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E. Roche, J. Kolodinsky, Rachel K. Johnson, Meagan Pharis, Jenna Banning
{"title":"School Gardens May Combat Childhood Obesity","authors":"E. Roche, J. Kolodinsky, Rachel K. Johnson, Meagan Pharis, Jenna Banning","doi":"10.22004/AG.ECON.253379","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.253379","url":null,"abstract":"Obesity is a contributing factor to a variety of chronic diseases (Wang and Lobstein, 2006). Childhood obesity is particularly troubling because it is much more difficult to sustain weight loss than to maintain a healthy weight. Obese children are much more likely to become obese adults; further, restrictive diets for children could result in a diminished supply of nutrients necessary for healthy growth and development (Daniels, 2009; Han, Lawlor, and Kimm, 2010; Ogden et al., 2007). The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) has shown that one in six children are obese (Ogden et al., 2012), and the rate is higher among racial minorities and those with fewer economic resources (Ogden et al., 2014).","PeriodicalId":185368,"journal":{"name":"Choices. The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources Issues","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114362930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E. Peterson, P. Preckel, Edward Van Eenoo, Anya McGuirk
{"title":"Does Jack Sprat Really Know Much About Fat","authors":"E. Peterson, P. Preckel, Edward Van Eenoo, Anya McGuirk","doi":"10.22004/AG.ECON.131831","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.131831","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":185368,"journal":{"name":"Choices. The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources Issues","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129703344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"T.W. Schultz and Pamphlet No.5: The Oleo Margarine War and Academic Freedom","authors":"Raymond R. Beneke","doi":"10.22004/AG.ECON.132067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.132067","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":185368,"journal":{"name":"Choices. The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources Issues","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114718061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"bST & Milk: Benefit or Bane?","authors":"Anya McGuirk, H. Kaiser","doi":"10.22004/AG.ECON.130670","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.130670","url":null,"abstract":"Bovine somatotropin (bST), a genetically engineered hormone for dairy cows that could increase milk yields by as much as 10 to 25 percent, is currently in the final phases of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process. Anticipating its ultimate approval economists and industry analysts have concentrated their studies on the potential impact of bST on individual farmers, as well as on the dairy industry as a whole-the supply effects. In contrast, demand aspects have been largely ignored. But they shouldn't be because consumer backlash to bST in terms of lower demand could be substantial.","PeriodicalId":185368,"journal":{"name":"Choices. The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources Issues","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115847949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"FCS and S&Ls: Observations From the Front Lines","authors":"M. Duncan, G. Gajewski, P. Prentice","doi":"10.22004/AG.ECON.131038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.131038","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":185368,"journal":{"name":"Choices. The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources Issues","volume":"101 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132412630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"World Food in the Twenty-first Century","authors":"R. Pandya-Lorch, M. Rosegrant","doi":"10.22004/AG.ECON.131719","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.131719","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":185368,"journal":{"name":"Choices. The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources Issues","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130908150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Giri, Dipak Subedi, E. Peterson, Tia M. McDonald
{"title":"Impact of the Paycheck Protection Program on U.S. Producers","authors":"A. Giri, Dipak Subedi, E. Peterson, Tia M. McDonald","doi":"10.22004/AG.ECON.313117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.313117","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government implemented multiple assistance and stimulus packages to aid consumers and businesses, including agricultural producers. Agricultural operations qualified for assistance from three relief programs in 2020: The Coronavirus Food Assistance Programs (CFAP 1 and CFAP 2) are targeted exclusively at agricultural producers and include direct payments to eligible operations. With some exceptions, producers of agricultural commodities (crop, livestock, dairy, or aquaculture) for which prices declined by 5% or more were eligible for a CFAP payment (Johansson et al., 2020). Some commodities (such as hemp, alfalfa mustard, etc.), for which price data were not available, were also eligible for payments under CFAP (Johansson et al., 2020). A third program for which agricultural producers qualified was the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA). The PPP was designed to help small businesses keep employees on the payroll and offset some of their operating costs. The maximum loan amount, which was forgivable if used during the 24-week period following the first disbursement of the loan on eligible expenses (payroll and allowed overhead expenses), was 2.5 times the monthly average profit plus payroll costs, including eligible overhead costs (employer insurance payments, employer unemployment taxes, etc.) (SBA, 2020). PPP data on each of the loans, including agricultural businesses loans, were released on December 1, 2020. This article examines the PPP participation rate, the average amount received, and PPP distributions relative to labor cost at the state level for the agriculture sector.","PeriodicalId":185368,"journal":{"name":"Choices. The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources Issues","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133675836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}