Wednesday, November 10, 2010
When members of the 112th Congress take office, they will be served a banquet of food issues to digest.
First on the menu: the 2012 Farm Bill. This major legislation authorizes a range of programs from government farm support, conservation, energy and trade to marketing, nutrition and food assistance. If it is anything like the 2008 Farm Bill, the new version will run nearly $300 billion—a big ticket item likely to draw scrutiny in the new era of federal fiscal conservatism.
But all the 2011 nutrition action won't take place on Capitol Hill. An Interagency Working Group is expected to release its long awaited report on food marketing to children. While nonbinding, it could set the stage for what products food companies market to children. It may even help determine the definition of childhood, since under consideration is the question of whether a "child" means someone aged 12 and younger or aged 17 years or less. The decision could have a huge impact on advertising on popular television shows and on the Web.
The vexing question of what icons to use to help guide consumers to healthier choices in the grocery store is also poised to be a top nutrition issue for 2011. A year ago, actions by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal — the newly elected senator from Connecticut — and FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg prompted suspension of Smart Choices, a food labeling program developed by a coalition of industry and consumer groups, with government input. Since then, Hamburg has commissioned the Institute of Medicine to study what images best guide consumers to healthier food choices. The IOM final report is expected at the end of 2011.
As for the 2012 Farm Bill, most of the programs covered by it don't expire until September 2012, but there are 37 programs that end sooner and will need to be addressed. Among them is a $20 million provision that funds pilot projects to evaluate health and nutrition promotion in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps. Some 41 million Americans rely on SNAP to help put food on their tables. Since obesity disproportionately affects lower-income groups, there is a push to help improve the food choices that SNAP recipients make.
Another provision set to expire is a $4 million project to provide more whole grains in school breakfasts and lunches. Many Americans fail to get enough whole grains, as the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee reported in June. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines — set for release later this year—are likely to urge Americans to reach for more whole grains as well. That's also a message that First Lady Michelle Obama has been delivering as part of her Let's Move! program to fight childhood obesity. In recent years, a number of major food companies have been reformulating popular products, such as crackers and breakfast cereals, to contain more whole grains.
Tight budgets have already prompted the current head of the House Agriculture Committee, Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn.), to say that he intends to address the 2012 Farm Bill in the first session of the 112th Congress—earlier than usual. Even with a change in the House leadership, policymakers will still need to figure out how to find the $8 to $9 billion needed to continue the 37 programs in the Farm Bill that are set to expire.
Also up for review: reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which is the key legislation that determines school food policy and resources. The legislation was set to expire on September 30. The House delayed a vote on child nutrition until after the autumn recess, instead passing a two-month extension of the overall federal budget. The Senate unanimously passed its version of the bill in August. One scenario is that the bills will be reviewed in the lame duck session of Congress that begins on November 15. If that doesn't happen, however, the new Congress will need to start from scratch to address the issue.
Also poised to be rehashed by the 112th Congress is the Food Safety Bill, which had foundered over financing and other issues. It is scheduled for cloture – a procedural maneuver by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter – on Nov. 17.
Not to be overlooked either are the 2010 Dietary Guidelines. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services plan to release the new guidelines before the end of the year. While few think to eat according to the guidelines, they still provide the blueprint for what healthy Americans, aged two and older, should eat. Both departments have said that they plan to revise the Food Guide Pyramid — a colorful image that serves as a visual representation of the dietary advice — in March of 2011.