Abstract
In recent years, the public health community has tuned in to the importance of agriculture and the Farm Bill. The American Public Health Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, and hundreds of other organizations all view crop choices, farming practices, animal welfare, and regional food security as key issues in promoting good health. The obesity epidemic may have been the catalyst, but the skyrocketing cost of healthcare has created a new national focus on reducing the need for medical treatment. In 2014, the top five most expensive and yet preventable chronic diseases cost the United States almost $495 billion, or more than 15 percent of healthcare expenditures.1 Many experts are looking to the Farm Bill for solutions to obesity and other debilitating but preventable diseases.
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Imhoff, D., Badaracco, C. (2019). Public Health. In: The Farm Bill. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-975-3_16
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