How we produce and consume food has a bigger impact on Americans' well-being than any other human activity. The food industry is the largest sector of our economy; food touches everything from our health to the environment, climate change, economic inequality, and the federal budget. From the earliest developments of agriculture, a major goal has been to attain sufficient foods that provide the energy and the nutrients needed for a healthy, active life. Over time, food production, processing, marketing, and consumption have evolved and become highly complex. The challenges of improving the food system in the 21st century will require systemic approaches that take full account of social, economic, ecological, and evolutionary factors. Policy or business interventions involving a segment of the food system often have consequences beyond the original issue the intervention was meant to address.

A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System develops an analytical framework for assessing effects associated with the ways in which food is grown, processed, distributed, marketed, retailed, and consumed in the United States. The framework will allow users to recognize effects across the full food system, consider all domains and dimensions of effects, account for systems dynamics and complexities, and choose appropriate methods for analysis. This report provides example applications of the framework based on complex questions that are currently under debate: consumption of a healthy and safe diet, food security, animal welfare, and preserving the environment and its resources.

A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System describes the U.S. food system and provides a brief history of its evolution into the current system. This report identifies some of the real and potential implications of the current system in terms of its health, environmental, and socioeconomic effects along with a sense for the complexities of the system, potential metrics, and some of the data needs that are required to assess the effects. The overview of the food system and the framework described in this report will be an essential resource for decision makers, researchers, and others to examine the possible impacts of alternative policies or agricultural or food processing practices.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE ON A FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING THE HEALTH, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL EFFECTS OF THE FOOD SYSTEM
• Reviewers
• Preface
• Summary
  • THE TASK
  • THE FOOD SYSTEM: A COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEM
  • THE FRAMEWORK
  • LESSONS LEARNED
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • A CALL TO ACTION
• I. The U.S. Food System
  • 1. Introduction
    • ORIGINS AND NEED FOR THE STUDY
    • STATEMENT OF TASK AND APPROACH OF THE COMMITTEE
    • ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
    • REFERENCES
  • 2. Overview of the U.S. Food System
    • DEFINING AND MAPPING THE CURRENT U.S. FOOD SYSTEM
    • EVOLUTION OF THE U.S. FOOD SYSTEM
    • CONCLUDING REMARKS
    • REFERENCES
• II. Effects of the U.S. Food System
  • 3. Health Effects of the U.S. Food System
    • THE FOOD SYSTEM AND HEALTH EFFECTS
    • POTENTIAL SPECIFIC HEALTH EFFECTS OF THE FOOD SYSTEM
    • COMPLEXITIES ASSOCIATED WITH HEALTH EFFECTS OF THE FOOD SYSTEM
    • METHODOLOGIES TO MEASURE HEALTH OUTCOMES
    • SUMMARY
    • REFERENCES
  • 4. Environmental Effects of the U.S. Food System
    • CATEGORIES OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS AND ASSOCIATED MECHANISMS
    • COMPLEXITIES ASSOCIATED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
    • DRIVERS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR AFFECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
    • METHODOLOGIES TO QUANTIFYING SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
    • SUMMARY
    • REFERENCES
  • 5. Social and Economic Effects of the U.S. Food System
    • POTENTIAL SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS ON THE FOOD PRODUCTION SECTOR
    • POTENTIAL SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS ON THE FOOD INDUSTRY
    • POTENTIAL SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS ON U.S. CONSUMERS
    • COMPLEXITIES OF THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS
    • METHODOLOGIES TO LINK THE FOOD SYSTEM WITH SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS
    • SUMMARY
    • REFERENCES
• III. The Framework
  • 6. The U.S. Food and Agriculture System as a Complex Adaptive System
    • COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS
    • IMPLICATIONS FOR A FRAMEWORK TO ASSESS FOOD SYSTEM EFFECTS
    • REFERENCES
  • 7. A Framework for Assessing the Food System and Its Effects
    • FRAMEWORKS FOR ASSESSMENT
    • RECOMMENDED FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING HEALTH, ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE FOOD SYSTEM
    • ASSESSMENT STEPS
    • ANALYSIS: METHODS FOR ANALYZING FOOD SYSTEM EFFECTS
    • SYNTHESIS: INTERPRETATION, SYNTHESIS, AND TRADE-OFFS
    • BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
    • ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS
    • USING THE FRAMEWORK
    • SUMMARY
    • REFERENCES
  • 7-A. Annexes: Examples to Illustrate the Framework
  • ANNEX 1. DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FISH CONSUMPTION
    • Identify the Problem
    • Define the Scope of the Problem
    • Identify the Scenarios
    • Conduct the Analysis
    • REFERENCES
  • ANNEX 2. U.S. BIOFUELS POLICY
    • Identify the Problem
    • Define the Scope of the Problem
    • Identify the Scenarios
    • Examine Effects in All Domains
    • Conduct the Analysis
    • REFERENCES
  • ANNEX 3. ATTAINING RECOMMENDED AMOUNTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN THE AMERICAN DIET
    • Identify the Problem
    • Define the Scope of the Problem
    • Identify the Scenarios
    • Conduct the Analysis
    • REFERENCES
  • ANNEX 4. NITROGEN IN AGROECOSYSTEMS
    • Identify the Problem
    • Define the Scope of the Problem
    • Identify the Scenarios
    • Conduct the Analysis
    • REFERENCES
  • ANNEX 5. COMPARING HEN HOUSING PRACTICES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON VARIOUS DOMAINS
    • Identify the Problem
    • Define the Scope of the Problem and Identify the Scenarios
    • Conduct the Analysis
    • REFERENCES
  • 8. Epilogue
    • CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
• APPENDIXES
  • Appendix A Open Session Agendas
  • Appendix B Selected Metrics, Methodologies, Data, and Models
  • Appendix C Acronyms
  • Appendix D Committee Member Biographical Sketches

This study was supported by a grant between the National Academy of Sciences and the JPB Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine) and NRC (National Research Council). 2015. A framework for assessing effects of the food system. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.