Food Policy in the United States

This 3rd edition is a timely update to the leading textbook dedicated to all aspects of food policy in the U.S. It is essential for students, researchers and policymakers seeking to understand U.S. food policy from a range of interdisciplinary backgrounds, including food studies, agricultural and food economics and policy.

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This 3rd edition of Food Policy in the United States offers a timely update to the leading textbook dedicated to all aspects of food policy in the United States.

This book begins with the economic interests of farmers and food producers and then moves on to also examine nutrition policy, food justice, food security and the environment. Finding motivation in real-world controversies and debates, chapters cover domestic agriculture, international agricultural trade, food and beverage manufacturing, food retail and restaurants, food safety, dietary guidance, food labelling, advertising and federal food assistance programs for the poor. Building on the success of the second edition, which received the Distinguished Quality of Communication award from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA), this new edition has been revised and updated, offering greater attention both to food justice issues and to economic methods. It covers policy changes since the 2018 Farm Bill, the publication of the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the 2022 White House Conference on Nutrition and Hunger and heightened interest in “Food as Medicine” policy innovations. The impact of COVID-19 and the continuing climate crisis are examined, alongside stalled child nutrition reauthorization legislation, reforms in food-labelling and immigration policy. Further resources can be found on the book’s companion website, including supplemental economic appendices, problem sets, activities and exercises: www.routledge.com/cw/Wilde. This book makes U.S. food policy more comprehensible to those inside and outside the agri-food sector whose interests and aspirations have been ignored.

This book is essential reading for all students, researchers and policymakers seeking to understand U.S. food policy from a wide range of interdisciplinary backgrounds, including food studies, agricultural and food economics and policy, public health and nutrition and public policy.