As seen in figure 2 (p.2), a choke point exists between farmers and allied health services. Governmental requirements of farming practices are costly to implement, regulate and maintain. Consequently, farmers must work longer hours to achieve the same profits as previously attainable (Staley 2005). This leads to a lack of time for farmers to leave their properties and seek help when in need. The distance decay effect (Exworthy & Peckham 2006) is also at play, which is the principle that the further a person is from a health service, the less likely they are to access it. Government regulations regarding health service provision exacerbate this problem as workers have been removed from rural locations. In a survey conducted by Saltman et. al. …show more content…
The voluntary Food and Grocery Code of Conduct has been signed by some major retailers (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission n.d.). However, this code simply requires retailers to act on good faith with suppliers. The self-regulation of this code has resulted in infringements on farmers’ agency. Farmers are not consulted in the pricing of produce and end up being ‘price takers’ not price setters (Richards et. al. 2012 pp.256). Limited diversity in the supermarket industry has led to a decrease in resilience, as farmers do not have alternatives for trade and must sell their produce at lower prices than desired. Supermarkets can also require better “quality” produce, increasing financial strain and lowering production rates as produce is increasingly deemed unsatisfactory (Richards et. al. 2013). As farmers struggle to keep up with these demands their mental health worsens. This results in a decrease in physical activity (Brumby et. al. 2011), which in turn reduces production outputs. The power that the government and supermarket industries hold over these problems needs to be …show more content…
The government enacts policies which have direct impacts on the stress famers face. The wording of these policies further stigmatises farmers. For example, the use of the term “dryness” in the National Drought Policy places the onus on farmers to risk manage drought (Alston & Kent 2008). The result of this is the perception that natural disaster is not a concern, and farmers should “toughen up” and carry the financial burden without complaint. The government can also direct services to rural communities, change the focus of current evidence-based policies to policies based on values, and regulate industries. The suffering farmers face due to the supermarket industry is not recognised by the industry. Instead, they refer to their price setting as putting consumers first (Richards et. al. 2013). The industry benefits from setting prices and demanding unreasonable quality without risk of reprimand or punishment from the government. Both the government and the supermarket industry gain economically from the agriculture
Moreover, this system of mass farming leads to single crop farms, which are ecologically unsafe, and the unnatural treatment of animals (Kingsolver 14). These facts are presented to force the reader to consider their own actions when purchasing their own food because of the huge economic impact that their purchases can have. Kingsolver demonstrates this impact by stating that “every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we
They anticipate competition between supermarket chains will be fierce this year as food prices continue to stay low. The Canadian grocers have been grappling with declining food prices, especially for meat, and Loblaw’s said “The notion of a shift into a steady inflationary environment is going to be offset by what we see as a continued level of competitive intensity”
RNRA Team, “Supermarkets, Fresh Produce and New Commodity Chains: What Future for the Small Producer?” Hot Topics: February, 2004.
The large retailers have many options when it comes to selecting suppliers. The scale of operations of Walmart, for example, give it tremendous bargaining power, and this has enabled its cost leadership in the industry. As will be discussed further in the next question, Trader Joe’s has an extensive supply of private labels; it is argued that private labels enable strategic bargaining power of supermarkets. The retailers are able to imitate the national brands under a lower-priced private label, thus the national brand manufacturers must provide better negotiation terms with the retailers (Meza and Sudhir, 2009). Technology may also strengthen the supermarkets purchasing power, as their point-of sale data provides information on what is not selling, or what is selling. They are able to purchase the popular items in larger amounts, possibly strategically negotiating prices and obtain the low-selling items at reduced
What’s the difference between a Walmart and a farmers’ market? What causes these differences? And, what are we more partial to? Tracie McMillan delves into the intricacies and complications of our nation’s food industry in The American Way of Eating. Specifically, as McMillan integrates herself into the farming and grocer/selling aspect of the industry, it is evident the food system has been extremely successful in offering ‘abundance, accessibility, and affordability’ to its consumers.
Quality healthcare in the more rural areas of the United States is not only getting more difficult to obtain, but difficult to afford. American citizens living in rural areas have the highest rates of chronic disease, higher poverty populations, less health insurance, and there is less access to primary care physicians. When the economy is at its lowest point it causes an increase in a number of access and health issues that have already had prior problems in communities and in rural areas, therefore the main goal of the national health care tax of 2010 was to allow coverage to all residents of the United States, and also by transferring necessary health care to places that were farther away, such as the rustic areas of the United States (HealthReform.Gov, 2012).
State and local public health departments throughout the country have the responsibility for improving health in workplaces, schools, and communities through identifying top health problems within society and developing a plan to improve. Barriers the public health system has encountered over the years include: changes in the overall health system that support cost containment and improved health, and an increase in the number of individuals with insurance coverage for direct preventive services; reduction of qualified public health professional and funding at all levels of government; increasing focus on accountability, with higher expectations for demonstrating a return on investment in terms of cost and health improvement (Trust, 2013). In the near future, health departments ...
“Attention Whole Foods Shoppers” is an essay written by Robert Paarlberg for the May/June 2010 edition of Foreign Policy magazine. Foreign Policy was originally founded in 1970 with the intention of providing views on American foreign policy during the Vietnam war and does more or less of the same today. Paarlberg’s purpose in this essay is to convince an educated western audience that the Green Revolution was not a failure and improved life everywhere it took place, organic food having advantages over non-organic food is a myth, and the solution to food disparity is investing into agriculture modernization. With logos as the main mode of appeal, Paarlberg’s organization effectively sets up his points throughout the essay with consistently
In the UK as well as in other developed countries, obesity is becoming a growing problem this puts pressure on health services and affects individuals’ ability to work, and contribute to the economy. The government feels the pressure to act by taxing unhealthy foods and drinks, and by setting up educational campaigns, (Stephen Adams, 2011).
Our nation was founded on agriculture, and for hundreds of years we were able to migrate across the nation bringing our farming tools and techniques with us. Technology has driven populations away from rural areas towards industrialized cities. With money now being pumped into cities, rural farmers are suffering the most. Farmers are taking out large loans in order to sustain their farms, leading to debt and in some cases suicide. Patel spoke about a farmer in India whose husband took his life because he was unable to live with the amount of debt from his struggling farm. This man left his wife and chi...
Farmers are essentially the back-bone of the entire food system. Large-scale family farms account for 10% of all farms, but 75% of overall food production, (CSS statistics). Without farmers, there would be no food for us to consume. Big business picked up on this right away and began to control the farmers profits and products. When farmers buy their land, they take out a loan in order to pay for their land and farm house and for the livestock, crops, and machinery that are involved in the farming process. Today, the loans are paid off through contracts with big business corporations. Since big business has such a hold over the farmers, they take advantage of this and capitalize on their crops, commodities, and profits. Farmers are life-long slaves to these b...
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity now ranks as the 10th most important health problem in the world (“Obesity Seen as a Global Problem”). Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Centers for Disease Control and Protection estimates that obesity contributed to the deaths of 112,000 Americans in 2000 (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). It is estimated that annual medical care cost of obesity are as high as $147 billion (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). Government-provided food stamps are often expended on junk or fast food, because it tends to be less expensive than fresh or cook food. Governments fund producers of meat and dairy products to keep prices low. For now, governments are taking a smarter and more productive approach through regulation, and by working with manufacturers.
The government must have a say in our diets. Because the issues of obesity have already reached national scales, because the costs of obesity and related health issues have gone far beyond reasonable limits, and because fighting nutritional issues is impossible without fighting poverty and other social issues, the government should control the range and the amount of available foods. The cost of healthier foods should decrease. The access to harmful foods should be limited. In this way, the government will be able to initiate a major shift in nutritional behaviors and attitudes in society.
The solution to this, in my opinion, was mentioned during Unnatural Causes. An interviewee stated that we need to “…allocate resources to reflect the needs of the community” (Unnatural Causes, 2008). Thus, when a rural hospital provides non-hospital services would have access to more resources in order to better serve their community. This would ensure “… all societies meet healthcare needs fairly under reasonable resource constraints” (Daniels,
...earch and extension, rural infrastructure, and market access for small farmers. Rural investments have been sorely neglected in recent decades, and now is the time to reverse this trend. Farmers in many developing countries are operating in an environment of inadequate infrastructure like roads, electricity, and communications; poor soils; lack of storage and processing capacity; and little or no access to agricultural technologies that could increase their profits and improve their livelihoods. Recent unrest over food prices in a number of countries may tempt policymakers to put the interests of urban consumers over those of rural people, including farmers, but this approach would be shortsighted and counterproductive. Given the scale of investment needed, aid donors should also expand development assistance to agriculture, rural services, and science and technology.