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Improved nutrition has been a key goal of all modern societies.
Sound nutrition frees a nation and its people to pursue goals that
improve the human condition. A healthy and well-nourished population
is more productive and able to focus its energies on the provision
of goods and services associated with a highly developed society.
In 1900, households relied primarily on local food production, and
the predominant nutritional problems were low caloric intake and
inadequate intakes of certain vitamins and minerals. Today, a hallmark
of the American agricultural system is that consumers enjoy year-round
abundance of nutritious and affordable foods. With prosperity, however,
comes new challenges.
Not
all households choose to consume food in accordance with dietary
recommendations. In recent years, the focus of nutrition and health
policy has shifted, because for many Americans, the problem is now
one of overconsumption of certain foods or components. In fact,
4 of the top 10 causes of death in the United States are associated
with diets that are too high in calories, total fat, saturated fat,
or cholesterol or too low in dietary fiber. Improvements in diet
and health can reduce illness and productivity losses, improve educational
attainment, and prevent premature death. Solutions center on understanding
consumer behavior and the factors influencing food choices.
ERS maintains indicators of annual per capita food supplies, analyzes
and reports food expenditures, and conducts research that examines
dietary quality, nutrient intake, and the effects on consumer dietary
choices of government policies and programs, nutrition knowledge,
and economic and sociodemographic factors.
In 1900, familiar household routines included cooking from scratch
and canning preserves for the winter. In less than three generations,
the American food system has been completely restructured. Today,
an intricate network of specialized food processors, refiners, manufacturers,
wholesalers, and retailers transform agricultural and marine products
into the items that households purchase. The world's most sophisticated
food marketing system provides an impressive array of options: households
can purchase a complete ready-to-eat dinner or the dinner's assorted
ingredients—which themselves are pre-processed and packaged
for enhanced safety and convenience.
A healthy, well-nourished population relies on a food system that
responds to consumer preferences and uses economic resources efficiently.
ERS examines changes in the organization, technology, and production
costs of food markets and how changes in those factors affect farm
prices, food prices, and product qualities. ERS economic analysis
of changes in the food sector's industrial organization, such as
consolidation of firms, contributes to a better understanding of
how changes in prices affect consumer choices and firms' production
decisions.
A healthy, well-nourished population is predicated not only on
the processing and delivery of nutritious foods, but also on access
to food for households that are nutritionally at risk. Even though
agricultural and commercial advances have resulted in abundant food
at ever-lower prices, some households face obstacles in securing
a diet that sustains an active, healthy lifestyle. Barriers include
a lack of resources or limited understanding of nutrition. USDA
spends over $40 billion annually on 15 food and nutrition assistance
programs designed to alleviate those barriers and improve the nutrition,
well-being, and food security of needy Americans. ERS addresses
the research needs of the Nation's food assistance and nutrition
programs, conducting both internal and external research in order
to meet the critical information needs of the Administration, Congress,
program managers, policy officials, clients, the research community,
and the public at large.
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