At a time when obesity, diabetes and other diet-related diseases are epidemic, the U.S. government should retool subsidy programs to encourage healthy diets, says policy expert Josh Miner in the January-March 2006 issue of the University of California's California Agriculture research journal.

In a peer-reviewed research perspective, Miner proposes policy changes for two agencies within the U.S. Department of Agriculture - the Food Stamp Program and the Farm Services Agency. The former provides money for food without promoting healthy diets, Miner says, while the latter promotes unhealthy diets without reducing the cost of food.

"Does it really make sense to support the production of products such as high-fructose corn syrup by giving corn growers direct subsidy payments, and to support the purchase of products like Coca-Cola by giving food stamp recipients benefits but no incentives to spend extra for nutrients instead of maximize calories?" Miner writes. The full article is posted online at http://californiaagriculture.ucop.edu.

In a carefully researched article, Miner notes that obesity and diet-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease disproportionately affect low-income consumers. Yet food assistance programs like food stamps do little to promote the consumption of healthy fruits and vegetables, nuts and whole-grain products, while U.S. commodity payments encourage the consumption of high-calorie, unhealthy, processed foods.

"Why not instead invest in the health and good dietary habits of low-income Americans, while providing marketplace support for producers of health-promoting food products?" writes Miner, former UC Cooperative Extension analyst and current policy fellow in the W.K. Kellogg Food and Society Program.

Miner lays out a proposal to reduce payments for large-scale commodities such as corn, soybeans and rice, and replace them with a compensation system for retailers who sell fruits, vegetables and other nutritious products to low-income consumers at reduced prices. "By linking incentives directly to products that have health benefits, there is a high likelihood that these redirected subsidies would result in additional future cost savings, in the form of improved health, increased productivity, and other economic and social benefits," Miner writes.

Also in this issue of California Agriculture, three policy experts discuss the 2007 Farm Bill in an "Outlook" roundtable. They note that changing the current commodity-payment structure to promote healthier eating might not be as far-fetched as it sounds. (In early 2005, President Bush proposed placing a $250,000-per-grower cap on commodity payments.) In a wide-ranging discussion about the coming overhaul of the 2007 Farm Bill, Ralph Grossi of the American Farmland Trust noted: "If you accept that large government programs and payments influence human behavior, then the Farm Bill has the potential to have a major impact on dietary habits."

Also in the January-March 2006 issue of California Agriculture:

Food ethics. A survey finds that Central Coast consumers want more information about "ethical" aspects of food production, such as environmental impacts, the humane treatment of animals, and social justice for farmworkers.

Evaluating nutrition education. A new food-behavior checklist is making it easier for UC Cooperative Extension nutrition educators to evaluate the impact of their programs on fruit and vegetable consumption among recipients of government food support (such as food stamps).

Vine mealybug control. Lower-toxicity insecticides, insect growth regulators and biocontrol programs are promising alternatives to standard organophosphate chemicals to control the vine mealybug, a newly invasive pest of California vineyards.

California Agriculture is the University of California's peer-reviewed journal of research in agricultural, human and natural resources. For a free subscription, go to http://CaliforniaAgriculture.ucop.edu call (510) 987-0044 or write to calag@ucop.edu. For a printed copy of California Agriculture, media should e-mail janet.byron@ucop.edu or call (510) 987-0668.