Links HIA Report: http://www.ph.ucla.edu/hs/health-impact/reports.htm       Background reports: Sumner D. (2003) Implications of the US Farm Bill of 2002 for Agricultural Trade and Trade Negotiations. The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. 46:3, pp. 99–122 http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/118852194/PDFSTART Contact

The ten titles of the Farm Bill mandate a wide range of changes that include:

• Expansion of agricultural commodity price support and marketing programs;
• Increased spending for conservation programs;
• New regulations governing international trade of agricultural products;
• Expansion of research programs in forestry and bio-energy;
• Increased funding for rural development;
• Expansion of the Food Stamp program.

Scope and Methods
This health impact assessment highlights aspects of the new Farm Bill most likely to influence health. The HIA aims to help policy makers understand the linkages between policy change, intermediates and health outcomes. The assessment investigates five major pathways through which the new legislation can impact health status:

1. Dietary Consumption
2. Food Safety
3. Rural Income and Quality of Life
4. Air Pollution
5. Environmental degradation

This HIA does not provide exhaustive documentation of all potential health impacts nor does it quantify the potential impacts, as appropriate data are currently unavailable. The health impacts of ethanol production and changes to farm subsidy policy are supported by the most data, however, and are detailed in the assessment.

Agriculture is intimately intertwined with a number of diverse areas; economics, environment, energy, nutrition, and rural development. As such, the 2002 Farm Bill will have far reaching direct and indirect affects on food production and consumption, land conservation, and air pollution levels all of which have potential health impacts.

Summary of findings

There is no clear relationship between changes in farm subsidy policy and consumption patterns.
In addition to a number of socio-cultural factors, price and available income drive consumer food choices.  The changes to commodity programs and subsidy-levels affect the costs of production, which can in turn affect the price consumers pay for food.  Despite the connection between subsidies and eventual food prices, farm prices make up only a small fraction of final retail prices and consumer responsiveness to price changes.  Therefore, changes in subsidies are unlikely to have a noticeable impact on consumer purchasing and consumption of affected goods, and the health impacts are likely to be minimal.

The effects of increased ethanol production on air quality are uncertain.
Although there is potential for ethanol production to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels in the future, thereby substantially reducing the emission of ground-level ozone-causing pollution, the current mechanisms for production and distribution of ethanol are not sustainable or energy efficient.  Currently, growing corn for ethanol production actually requires about 70% more energy than it yields.  Further, ethanol must be transported by truck, rail, or barge as it cannot travel through petroleum pipelines.  This transport will result in greater total emissions. Research and new technologies may reduce these inefficiencies in the future.

Updated 6/23/2008