Seeking your input on Food Policy in the United States: An Introduction

Please send any input as we take early steps toward planning a possible future second edition of Food Policy in the United States: An Introduction (Routledge/Earthscan, 2013).

• What topics would you like to see enhanced?
• What new topics would you like to see introduced?
• What current material should be corrected or clarified?
• Where have you previously seen this book used in courses, and what were its strengths and weaknesses?
• What new courses might this book serve with the right improvements?

Already on my "to do" list for possible development:

• New online instructor materials,
• Updated information about the 2014 Farm Bill and other recent legislation,
• New material about food waste and food justice, and
• Updated statistics for figures and tables, along with current hyperlinks to the data sources.

The new edition may retain the same basic "pitch" as the first edition (but do send advice on possible modifications):

This book offers a broad introduction to food policies in the United States. Real-world controversies and debates motivate the book�s attention to economic principles, policy analysis, nutrition science and contemporary data sources. It assumes that the reader's concern is not just the economic interests of farmers, but also includes nutrition, sustainable agriculture, the environment and food security. The book�s goal is to make US food policy more comprehensible to those inside and outside the agri-food sector whose interests and aspirations have been ignored.

The chapters cover US agriculture, food production and the environment, international agricultural trade, food and beverage manufacturing, food retail and restaurants, food safety, dietary guidance, food labeling, advertising and federal food assistance programs for the poor.

In revision, I would seek to preserve features that have been well-received in the first edition. Here is some of the intelligence we have about that reception after publication:

• Feedback from university courses in public health, nutrition, agricultural and applied economics, public policy, and other fields.
• Honorable mention for the 2014 Quality of Communication Award from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA),
• Reviews in Agribusiness, Food Anthropology, Marion Nestle's Food Politics, Food Tank, Industrial Ecology, and the book's Amazon page.

Your input will be influential. Please feel free to use my Tufts email, the comments field for this post, and/or Twitter @usfoodpolicy . Thanks!