Introduction to Food Policy - Coursework Example

?Introduction to Food Policy Public policy covers a wide range of issues. So long as it concerns the welfare of the public in any way, shape or form,it can be classified under this heading. Generally speaking, public policy is meant to ensure the welfare of the public by implementing certain standards to follow. Food policy is no exception, given what it is about. Such policies are aimed at regulating the operation of food and agriculture systems, and are generally about the production, distribution and purchase of food. Goals are set with respect to all processes relating to the production, access and consumption of food, and the pursuit of these goals is also embarked upon in a certain manner. Issues falling under this heading involve such things as health and safety, food labeling and even what constitutes 'organic' food (Drake University, 2012). Food policy has many benefits, all of which are multiplied when the policies themselves are especially effective. Such systems spark changes in dietary energy and nutritional balance, in effect helping to promote child growth, while staving off all manner of diseases. Apart from this, having a good policy also helps to increase a country's income through agricultural development, which also works recursively by improving the nutritional status of people - a phenomenon most readily observable in developing countries. The need for food policy, on the other hand, should be readily obvious. Atkins and Bowler (2001) note the instrumentality of food in economic, political and socio-cultural issues, as well as its role in ensuring health and pleasure in everyday life. Lang and Heaseman (2004) add to this, talking of the significant impact of the emergence of global markets not only on the kind of food being consumed, but also on issues such as health, food security, social justice and overall quality of life. In fact, food policy has been globally acknowledged as an important facet of public policy (Cardwell, 2004; Conway, 1997; Coleman et al, 2004). Needless to say, while food policy is not quite as thrust into the limelight as other global issues such as terrorism, its far-reaching implications and consequences make it equally important, if not even more so. One especially important food policy issue in this day and age is malnutrition. Contrary to popular belief, however, malnutrition does not always refer to a lack of food, but may also come about as the result of eating too much of the wrong kinds of food, and too little of the right kinds. This means that while those who eat too little are most likely malnourished, it will not necessarily follow that one who eats a lot can automatically be assumed to be healthy - on the contrary, one who falls under the latter description could very well be classified as obese. This paper, then, shall aim to connect the issue of obesity and, to a lesser extent, malnutrition to the hospitality industry, and to come up with ways in which it can be addressed. Malnutrition and Obesity: A Food Policy Issue Malnutrition in general is said to result from a poorly balanced diet, wherein one's consumption of nutrients is skewed in some way, shape or form (Sullivan and Sheffrin, 2003). A report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2009 told of more than a billion people dying of hunger, with 17,000 children specifically dying everyday (CNN, 2009). In fact, it has been attested that malnutrition kills upwards of 9.5 million school-aged children each year. Such a high body count becomes even more understandable - and more terrifying - when one accounts for the interaction between malnutrition and certain killer diseases. Malaria, for instance, is already known to claim many lives on its own; combined with malnutrition, however, it becomes capable of racking up a mortality rate comparable to that of the infamous Black Plague. Malnutrition usually, but not always, refers to a lack of food intake; however, as Pinstrup-Andersen and Watson (2011) point out, malnutrition can easily be about taking in way too much food, or even not taking the right kind of food. The latter in particular is something that very much concerns the hospitality industry, given how certain establishments have come under fire in connection with the issue. For instance, McDonald's has consistently come under fire for the high content of saturated fat in its food, which gives rise to obesity - a form of malnutrition as mentioned above (Croft, 2006). And while food choices available at establishments in the hospitality industry would likely be better than those at fast food chains, the same problem still tends to crop up from time to time. In general, the kind of food taken in by a given person or household is of course dependent on certain factors such as income and prices, but food systems nevertheless have a major, major role, given their responsibility in the supply of food. This becomes even more important when one remembers that younger victims of malnutrition tend to suffer the worst - as already exemplified by the aforementioned 9.5 million. Given that no less than the World Health Organization has identified malnutrition as the single greatest threat to the world's public health, it should definitely be taken as an issue in need of legislation. In this regard, improvement of nutrition is probably the best solution - not only are the immediate causes of undernutrition addressed through the use of such an approach, it also presents the best value for money. Among the solutions advocated by authorities such as WHO and UNICEF for severe acute malnutrition would be the distribution of ready-to-use therapeutic food, seeing as severely malnourished individuals could very much use the near-instantaneous weight gain brought on by such food products (Bhutta et al, 2008). Nor are the mortality rates associated with malnutrition or obesity to be trifled with. Apart from the aforementioned 9.5 million dead children, malnutrition tends to claim millions more. In fact, 36 million deaths were said to have been recorded in 2006 alone (Ziegler, 2007). While nowhere near as much as the greater problem of malnutrition, obesity has also claimed its own share of lives each year (Fried et al, 2007). Even those who do not die of malnutrition or obesity may not be much better off, as their quality of life tends to leave much to be desired. Among other things, malnutrition and obesity have been known to cause mental and cognitive impairment. Aside from this, already debilitating personality disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and OCD are further aggravated (Laus et al, 2011; Lakhan and Vieira, 2008). From what has been said, the danger and lethality associated with malnutrition these conditions should no longer be disputed. While people who are malnourished are usually those who have little to eat, those whose viable food choices are lacking with respect to quality and nutritional value also fit the bill. As such, this is clearly a matter of global concern in need of a strong global response. Malnutrition / Obesity: International Policy Malnutrition being a problem of great magnitude, it has inevitably attracted attention on a global scale. As already noted above, no less than the World Health Organization has acknowledged the threat posed by malnutrition to public health, and various nations, most notably Canada and the United States, have come up with clinical practice guidelines specifically aimed at countering the rising rates of obesity in their respective territories (Lau et al, 2007; Snow et al, 2005). For instance, the clinical practice guideline made by the American College of Physicians contain certain recommendations as to management of obesity (Snow et al, 2005). For instance, they strongly recommend that those with a BMI exceeding 30 receive counseling on diet and exercise, as well as setting realistic weight loss goals, with pharmacotherapy serving as an option should they fail in achieving such goals. Depending on the severity, drug therapy may also be an option, not to mention bariatric surgery in especially extreme cases. No matter what happens, though, the individual should first be informed of the complications likely to arise from such procedures. Such initiatives had already been set into motion since 2004, where policymakers all over the United States tirelessly worked to come up with solutions in a similar vein to the anti-smoking campaigns of the previous decade (Connolly, 2004). Their efforts yielded some interesting proposals, the first being to require fast food chains to post nutrition information on their products. Another notable proposal was to restrict the availability of soda and candy at public schools, while certain parties in Alabama and Seattle went a step further in their campaigns for the elimination of junk food ads aimed at children. Meanwhile, the proposition in the state of New York was to tax not only fatty foods, but even such things as videogames, movie tickets and DVD rentals. One will notice that all these things find common ground in their association with the so-called sedentary lifestyle. Such proposals may - and do - sound extreme and drastic, even draconian at first. However, the extremity of such measures is explained somewhat when one notes how obesity has become an epidemic-level threat in the US alone (Balentine, 2012), as well as the significantly higher risk factors for diseases that obese individuals have to deal with. First and foremost, obesity is known to result in heightened insulin resistance, which in turn opens the door for the onset of diabetes. Hypertension has also been associated with obesity, as has stroke, cancer, heart attack and heart failure. Given all the dangers obese individuals are faced with, it makes perfect sense for the US in particular to step up legislative efforts to counter obesity. Other countries, too, have taken steps to counter the enormous threat posed by obesity. As was the case in America, England's Department of Health (2012), too, has recognized this problem, and has begun rendering measures of its own. Just this past March, they announced their intent to devote 4 million pounds in total to the development of technological solutions to health problems brought on by obesity. Australia, too, has made its own efforts courtesy of its Obesity Policy Coalition (2012), whose agenda includes changes in policy and regulation intended to curb obesity, especially among children. This being the case, it can be said that the world's nations themselves have very much acknowledged the threat posed by obesity to the health of their respective citizens, and have demonstrated their commitment towards a realistic yet effective solution to the problem. Given that they all possess the same goals, collaborations between these various groups would not be out of the question. Obesity - Collaborations, Oppositions, Alliances Obesity being a global issue of paramount importance, it is of no surprise that so many parties - such as those mentioned above - have expressed intentions to address it. This being the case, it should also be expected that some of these parties would also bring up the need for collaboration in order to make concerted efforts towards the achievement of their shared goals. Two heads, as they say, are better than one, especially when it comes to working towards a solution for an issue of such magnitude as obesity. Such collaborative campaigns do exist, and have had varying levels of success. Among the more recent ones is the Let's Move! Campaign, led by none other than First Lady Michelle Obama herself, with the full support and endorsement of the President (Grier, 2009). This movement sought specifically to curb childhood obesity through the encouragement of a healthy lifestyle, chiefly by encouraging healthier food choices in school cafeterias, better food labeling and more physical activity for children. That President Obama himself supported and endorsed this campaign effectively ensured its legitimacy, and various parties have followed suit to lend their own support as well. Luminaries such as Beyonce Knowles and Swizz Beatz have heartily endorsed the project, in which various government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture, aside from other, independent bodies. In truth, the Let's Move! Campaign itself is actually a spiritual successor of the HealthierUS School Challenge of 2004. Like its successor, the HUSSC was also a government-backed campaign against obesity, though it instead focused on recognizing those schools which were able to successfully promote better nutrition and physical activity in order to create healthier school environments. Considering the campaign's many supporters, endorsers and partners, it can be said to have been rather successful. That being said, the Let's Move! Campaign - and, for that matter, other similar drives against obesity - is not without its critics and detractors. Among its biggest opponents is the Health at Every Size (HAES) movement, which decries its reinforcement of the thin ideal (Herndon, 2012). First Lady Michelle Obama's appearance on the TV show Biggest Loser was also criticized in this regard, on the ground that the campaign has actually increased the stigma against overweight children. A report by Smith (2009) just the previous year likewise told of a similar campaign launched by the state of Massachusetts, which specifically singles out restaurants and schools. Major restaurant chains were required to be more upfront about the calorie content of their food. Children identified as overweight were to be given detailed information on health conditions most commonly associated with obesity, most notably type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. Another article by Abrams (2012) questions obesity campaigns, alleging that a fine line exists between educating and shaming. Researchers at Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity conducted a study among members of the general public, asking them to assess some of the most notable campaign slogans they had seen based on how informative, motivating and credible these slogans were. In addition, respondents were questioned as to which of these ads they thought to be confusing, stigmatizing or otherwise inappropriate. Finally, the respondents were asked if they had any intention of following the advice and recommendations of the campaigns, based on their reactions to their ads. In all cases, the prevailing conclusion was that the more campaign slogans and advertisements focused on positive reinforcement, the better they would be received. Conversely, those slogans and ads perceived to shame, insult or otherwise blame the public were more likely to be rejected. The key observation throughout the study was that the most effective ads were those that focused primarily on the promotion of good health habits, as well as those that made no mention whatsoever of obesity or weight. Among the campaigns observed throughout the study, the aforementioned Let's Move! Campaign helmed by the First Lady was the best-received, and was in fact cited as the public's favorite due to its simplicity. Other slogans, however, were found to have been met with less enthusiastic reception, presumably because they were perceived as harassing, browbeating or otherwise nagging the public into a given course of action, without even giving clear advice as to how. It should be noted, however, that this study merely focused on the reception of these campaigns and slogans, and that the matter of actual compliance with the messages being conveyed was not given as much emphasis. Synthesis / Conclusion Obesity has become a far greater concern than ever before as the world's nations have become much more health-conscious. While in the past one could just eat anything with nary a second thought, people these days are much more likely to actually pay attention to what they eat. In short, customers these days have become much more critical and, to put it simply, smarter than they used to be. This being the case, the hospitality industry in particular needs to adjust to the shift in the demand of their consumers. One of the things separating food service providers belonging to the hospitality industry from commonplace fast food chains is that, where the latter establishments promise food at meager prices, establishments belonging to the first category instead guarantee quality corresponding to the greater prices they charge. This being the case, the offerings available at these establishments need to be in accordance with the demands of the health-conscious consumers of today. A possible argument against such a change on the part of establishments operating in the hospitality industry would be that these establishments cannot be held responsible for the poor lifestyle choices of their clientele. However, while this argument is not entirely without merit, it would easily fall apart in instances where consumers are not even given enough options - after all, it would not be much of a choice if there was only one option to be had. This does not necessarily mean that the less healthy food options ought to be removed from the menu. What it does mean, though, is that establishments operating within the hospitality industry would do well to provide healthier alternatives for their more health-conscious clientele. This becomes an even wiser option in light of the fact that the campaign against obesity has received backing from no less than national governments. In short, to provide for healthy food choices would not only be the socially responsible thing to do, but the pragmatic thing to do as well. References - Online: Abrams, L., 2012. "Obesity Campaigns: The Fine Line Between Educating and Shaming" [online] available at [Accessed 11 November 2012] Connolly, C., 2004. "Public Policy Targeting Obesity" [online] available at [Accessed 11 November 2012] CNN, 2009. "UN chief: Hunger kills 17,000 kids daily" [online] available at < http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/17/italy.food.summit/> [Accessed 11 November 2012] Department of Health, 2012. "?4 million for technological solutions to tackle healthcare problems" [online] available at [Accessed 11 November 2012] Drake University, 2012. "What is a food policy?" [online] available at < http://www.statefoodpolicy.org/?pageID=qanda#WhatIsAFoodPolicy> [Accessed 11 November 2012] Grier, P., 2009. "Michelle Obama says 'Let's Move' on obesity in American kids" [online] available at [Accessed 11 November 2012] Herndon, A., 2004. "My Beef with Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Campaign" [online] available at [Accessed 11 November 2012] Obesity Policy Coalition, 2012. "What we do" [online] available at [http://www.opc.org.au/whatwedo.aspx] [Accessed 11 November 2012] Smith, S., 2009. 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