Highlights
Getting Consumers to Eat More Whole-Grains—The 2005 Dietary Guidelines were unique in offering quantitative recommendations for the consumption of whole grains. This case study found that the release of changed recommendations in the Guidelines and related media attention were responsible for the recent increase in retail sales and consumption of whole-grain food products. Reformulation of existing products, induced by competition among food suppliers, had a large impact on consumption. This study reveals the key role of product reformulation in inter-firm competition and attainment of recommended dietary changes. (See Mancino, Lisa, Fred Kuchler and Ephraim Leibtag. “Getting Consumers to Eat More Whole-Grains: The Role of Policy, Information, and Food Manufacturers,” Food Policy 33(6):489-96, December 2008). Contact Lisa Mancino for a reprint.
Effect of Nutrition Labels on Dietary Outcomes—The 1994 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) mandated that most packaged foods display a Nutrition Facts panel to disclose information on nutrients such as calories, total and saturated fats, cholesterol, and sodium in a standardized format. By providing nutrition information in a credible, distinctive, and easy-to-read format, the new label was expected to help consumers choose healthier, more nutritious diets. ERS examined whether the disclosure of nutrition information through the mandatory labels impacted consumer diets, taking into consideration the confounding of the label effect with unobserved label user characteristics. To address this self-selection problem, ERS examined models that excluded away-from-home food (the NLEA exempts away-from-home foods from mandatory labeling) and found that label users had increased fiber and iron intakes, compared with label nonusers. In comparison, a model that does not account for self-selection implies significant label effects for all but 2 of the 13 nutrients that are listed on the label. (See Jay Variyam. “Do Nutrition Labels Improve Dietary Outcomes?” Health Economics, 17:695-708, June 2008.) Contact Jay Variyam for a reprint.
 Taxing Snack Foods: What To Expect for Diet and Tax Revenues—Health policy advocates have proposed excise taxes on snack foods as a possible way to address the growing prevalence of obesity and overweight in the United States. Using household scanner data to examine the likely impacts of such a measure on consumption of salty snacks, the study finds that relatively low tax rates of 1 cent per pound and 1 percent of value would not appreciably alter consumption—and, thus, would have little effect on diet quality—but would generate $40-$100 million per year in tax revenues. A technical version of this study was published in the Review of Agricultural Economics. Contact Fred Kuchler for a reprint.
Recent Articles
Yen, Steven T., Biing-Hwan Lin, and Christopher Davis. “Consumer Knowledge and Meat Consumption at Home and Away From Home,” Food Policy 33(6):631-39 (December 2008).
Zhang, Frank, Chung L. Huang, Biing-Hwan Lin, and J.E. Epperson. “Modeling Fresh Organic Produce Consumption with Scanner Data: A Generalized Double Hurdle Model Approach,” Agribusiness: An International Journal 24(4):510-22 (October 2008).
Yen, Steven T., and Biing-Hwan Lin. “Quasi-Maximum Likelihood Estimation of a Censored Equation System With a Copula Approach: Meat Consumption by U.S. Individuals,” Agricultural Economics 39(2):207-17 (September 2008).
Ver Ploeg, Michele, Hung-Hao Chang, and Biing-Hwan Lin. “Over, Under, or Above Right: Misperceptions of Body Weight Among Food Stamp Participants,” Obesity 16(9):2120-25 (September 2008).
Lin, Biing-Hwan, Travis A. Smith, and Chung L. Huang. “Organic Premiums of U.S. Fresh Produce, “ Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 23(3):208-16 (September 2008).
Ver Ploeg, Michele, Lisa Mancino, Biing-Hwan Lin, and Joanne Guthrie. “U.S. Food Assistance Programs and Trends in Children’s Weight,” International Journal of Pediatric Obesity 3(1):22-30 (February 2008).
Lin, Biing-Hwan and Steven T. Yen. “Consumer Knowledge, Food Label Use and Grain Consumption in the U.S.” Applied Economics 40(1):437-48 (February 2008).
Huang, Chung L. and Biing-Hwan Lin. “A Hedonic Analysis of Fresh Tomato Prices Among Regional Markets,” Review of Agricultural Economics 29 (4):783-800 (Winter 2007).
Stevens-Garmon, John, Chung L. Huang, and Biing-Hwan Lin. “Organic Demand: A Profile of the Fresh Produce Market,” Choices (22):109-116 (2nd Quarter 2007).
Howarth, Nancy C., Terry K. Huang, Susan B. Roberts, Biing-Hwan Lin, and Megan A. McCrory. “Eating Patterns and Dietary Composition in Relation to BMI in Younger and Older Adults,” International Journal of Obesity (31):675–84 (April 2007).
Ver Ploeg, Michele, Lisa Mancino, Biing-Hwan Lin, Chia-Yih Wang. “The Vanishing Weight Gap: Trends in Obesity Among Adult Food Stamp Participants—1976-2002,” Economics and Human Biology 5(1):20-36 (March 2007).
Yen, Steven T., and Biing-Hwan Lin. “A Sample Selection Approach to Censored Demand Systems.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 88(3):742-49 (August 2006).
Lin, Biing-Hwan, Christopher Logan, Mary Kay Fox, and David Smallwood. “Data for Assessing Outcomes of Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs.” Nutrition Today 41(1):32-7 (January/February 2006).
Huang, Chung L. and Biing-Hwan Lin, “Prevalence of Childhood Overweight Among Low-Income Households,” The Southern Business & Economic Journal 28 (3&4):60-76 (Summer/Fall 2005).
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