Food and Agriculture Issues for Planning

Food and agricultural issues facing the Congress and the Nation are identified, and each of these issues are tied into a series of "food system goals" which could represent a principal element of a national food policy. Important issues related to the goal of assuring safe, nutritious food for all segments of the population are: evaluating the effectiveness of Federal efforts to establish and promote nutritional standards; evaluating the effectiveness of grain inspection and commodity grading programs; and evaluating the effectiveness of federally-assisted domestic feeding programs for school children and the poor. Issues important to the goal of assuring that the economic strength of the food system is maintained include assessments of the effects of Government programs on the future cost and availability of resources to sustain high levels of food production; and the costs and benefits of Federal and State regulations that affect the efficiency of food marketing. The following issues are important to the goal of fulfilling the Nation's commitment to help meet world food demand through humanitarian measures and commercial export: evaluation of Federal programs designed to reduce malnutrition in developing countries, and evaluation of the effectiveness of Federal efforts to maintain strong agricultural export sales. Issues related to developing and coordinating national and international food policies are: analysis of the Federal food policy decisionmaking structure, and evaluation of options for implementing a system of domestic food reserves.