The Intersection of Food and Public Health: Current Policy Challenges and Solutions

Presently, ideas about food are in flux from a variety of sources. Examples of this evolution include recognizing the importance of food on health by public health and medical professionals; changing consumer desires around the production methods and components of their food; a greater focus on injustices within the national food system; evolving knowledge of how the food system impacts the environment; and, shifting economic and technological realities that underpin where and how food is produced, distributed and sold.

These shifting ideas about food exist in contrast to the narrative of the highly functioning, industrialized, global food system that emerged in the second half of the 20th century. This edited volume fills a void by presenting a comprehensive and engaging coverage of the key issues at the intersection of public health, policy, and food. The Intersection of Food and Public Health is comprised of research that examines current problems in food studies and how various stakeholders are attempting to address problems in unique ways.

The book will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of disciplines, including public administration, public policy, public health, economics, political science, nutrition, dietetics, and food studies.

A. Bryce Hoflund is an associate professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

John C. Jones is a doctoral candidate at the joint Urban Systems program hosted by Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Michelle Pautz is an associate professor of political science and director of the MPA program at the University of Dayton.