Trade, Food, Diet and Health

The global shift towards overweight and obese populations has led to a significant rise in diet-related chronic illness. This book examines the role global food trade has played in that shift, looking carefully at how the trade of food across national borders, international and regional trade agreements, the process of trade and investment liberalization, and the growth of transnational food corporations affects what people eat and, by implication, their health. An international team of editors has brought together a prestigious group of contributors who present a critical analysis of the linkages between trade, food and diet in different domains. Between them, the multidisciplinary group present a balanced perspective on the opportunities and risks trade poses for dietary trends and offer a practical analysis of the policy options available to address this growing global concern. An international multidisciplinary team of authors Detailed look at the issues followed by practical policy analysis A comprehensive review of an important global issue Academics, researchers and practitioners in the field of public health, especially those concerned with nutrition, obesity and chronic disease, will find this book an enlightening and fascinating read. Social scientists, policy makers, trade analysts and food industry professionals will equally gain much from this innovative approach to the subject.

The global shift towards overweight and obese populations has ledto a significant rise in diet-related chronic illness. This bookexamines the role global food trade has played in that shiftlooking carefully at how the trade of food across national bordersinternational and regional trade agreements, the process of tradeand investment liberalization, and the growth of transnational foodcorporations affects what people eat and, by implication, theirhealth.An international team of editors has brought together aprestigious group of contributors who present a critical analysisof the linkages between trade, food and diet in different domains.Between them, the multidisciplinary group present a balancedperspective on the opportunities and risks trade poses for dietarytrends and offer a practical analysis of the policy optionsavailable to address this growing global concern.* An international multidisciplinary team of authors* Detailed look at the issues followed by practical policyanalysis* A comprehensive review of an important global issueAcademics, researchers and practitioners in the field of publichealth, especially those concerned with nutrition, obesity andchronic disease, will find this book an enlightening andfascinating read. Social scientists, policy makers, trade analystsand food industry professionals will equally gain much from thisinnovative approach to the subject.

List of Editors and Contributing Authors.Acknowledgements.PART 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW.1 Trade, Health and Dietary Change (Chantal Blouin, CorinnaHawkes, Spencer Henson, Nick Drager and LauretteDubé).2 An Overview of Global Food Trade (Corinna Hawkes and SophiaMurphy).PART 2: LINKS BETWEEN TRADE AND DIET.3 The Influence of Trade Liberalisation and Global DietaryChange: The Case of Vegetable Oils, Meat and Highly Processed Foods(Corinna Hawkes).4 Global Trade of Fruits and Vegetables and the Role of ConsumerDemand (Sophia Huang).5 International Trade, Food and Diet Costs, and the GlobalObesity Epidemic (Adam Drewnowski, Andrew S. Hanks and TrentonG. Smith).6 Trade, Transnational Corporations and Food Consumption: AGlobal Value Chain Approach (Gary Gereffi and MichelleChristian).7 Links Between Supermarkets and Food Prices, Diet Diversity andFood Safety in Developing Countries (Thomas Reardon, SpencerHenson and Ashok Gulati).8 The European Union's Common Agricultural Policy and theEuropean Diet: Is There a Link? (Josef Schmidhuber and PrakashShetty).9 The Effect of Trade and Trade Policy on Diet and Health in thePacific Islands (Anne Marie Thow and Wendy Snowdon).10 Food Imports and Dietary Change: A Perspective from Thailand(W. Philip T. James, Nipa Rojroongwasinkul, Tashmai Rikshasutaand Emorn Wasantwisut).PART 3: POLICY OPTIONS.11 Tackling Childhood Obesity in an Era of Trade Liberalisation(Tim Lobstein).12 National Food Regulations and the WTO Agreement on Sanitaryand Phytosanitary Measures: Implications for Trade-Related Measuresto Promote Healthy Diets (Tim Josling, David Orden and DonnaRoberts).13 The Potential of the Codex Alimentarius to Promote HealthyDiets Worldwide - the Canadian Experience of Implementation(Mary R. L'Abbé, Janine Lewis and ChristinaZehaluk).14 Agricultural Trade Policy Instruments to Promote HealthyDiets in Developing Countries: An Assessment of the Opportunitieswithin the Framework of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture and theDoha Development Agenda (Vincent J. Atkins).15 The Impact of International Trade and Investment Rules on theAbility of Governments to Implement Interventions to AddressObesity: A Case Study from the European Charter on CounteractingObesity (David P. Fidler).Glossary of Trade Terms (Anne Marie Thow).Index.