Food Policy Milk and Dairy Products - Coursework Example

?Food Policy – milk and dairy products The rapid growth of world population has created unprecedented level of demand for food products all over the world. The crisis is phenomenal and global. It is now a grave matter of concern not only for undeveloped countries but also for developed countries. Milk is one food product that is universally accepted by all groups of population irrespective of region, culture and religious beliefs. Its high nutritional value in terms of protein, calcium and minerals are necessary for healthy physical constitution, therefore contamination of milk and dairy products in any stage from production to distribution can negatively affect a large portion of world population. Introduction With the never ending growth of world population there has been steady increase in the demand for food. Also in the last few decades there has been growth in harvest, increase in income of human beings and introduction of variety of dietary disciplines. In 2000, the ratio of demand and supply was such there was a decline in food prices. However, from 2004 onwards prices of most food grains began to rise although there has been growth of production. This is because the rapid increase of global population leads to demand of food that far exceeds its production. The piles of food stocks became depleted, and then in 2005, those countries whose primary occupation is agriculture were seriously affected by extreme weather conditions which hampered food production in those countries. The production of cereal all over the world had fallen by 2.1 percent by 2006. Then there was a steep increase of oil prices in 2007 which increased the costs of fertilizers and other associated costs of food production. All these had a devastating effect on the world population especially those sections of the population who are financially vulnerable. As the prices of food reached record breaking high levels, every country resorted to all possible means to protect themselves from the potential crises like scarcity of food supplies and further increases of production costs. Countries who are major exporters of food began to impose restrictions on exports to check the flow of food outside the boundaries. On the other hand major food importing countries began to purchase food from the global market at any available prices. All these factors resulted in creating panic and instability in the international grain markets. This also encourages investors to put their money in grain futures and options markets. For all these reasons, there was further steady increase of food prices. In the subsequent years, a trend was observed that led to apparent stabilization of prices of food items. But even then prices are expected to remain in the high or medium range thus providing no promise of relief to the poorer populations (Global issues: food, n.d.). Food policies in every country must focus on controlling the price of food to make essential food items accessible to even the poorest segment of world population. Food items that have universal demand among population of all ages are milk and dairy products, hence the objective of food policies should be to ensure safe and hygienic production, transportation, packaging and distribution of milk. The purpose of this paper is to define the parameters of food policy in the global scenario with special emphasis on milk and dairy products. Definition of food policy Food policy can be defined as a set or sets of plans of actions to accomplish certain purposes related to food products. Although governments play a vital role in designing and implementation of food policies, nevertheless the contribution and responsibility of the private sectors and civilian societies are no less important. Food policies essentially create definite goals to be achieved for the food system and its different stages of food production and distribution. The various stages range from availability of natural resources, production of food, processing, marketing and consumption of food. Food policies also focus on quality of food to ensure proper nutritional value, and determining the methods for accomplishing these targets. A food policy in order to serve its purpose sets rules and regulations, and changes incentives for different stakeholders. It also determines that shape and structure of the entire food system to reach the intended goals although many times unintended effects become part and parcel of a food policy. In general, food policy is a set of programs manufactured by the government to regularize the food system for the benefit of the country’s population. These programs include “consumer and farmer subsidies, bifortification, food safety regulations, resource management, price stabilization and trade liberalization.” (Pinstrup-Andersen & Watson II, 2011, p.29) Although food policies are different depending on the country’s level of population and political setup, nevertheless all food policies have the common purpose, which is also the most important purpose, of providing adequate food to every individual even if nutrition level needs to be compromised. Modern food policy has additional goals of farm income convenience, tax benefits for farmers, economic development, poverty eradication, and also protection of the environment. Public food policies are designed after negotiations between the different departments of the governments that “not only include finance and agricultural ministry but also health, commerce, trade, environment, and foreign affairs ministries, bureaucracies and lobbies.” (Pinstrup-Andersen & Watson II, 2011, p.30) Even involved are those government agencies that are responsible for rural upliftment, poverty reduction, labor and women-related matters. Therefore, for proper analysis of a food policy it is required by the stakeholders to take into account the policies created by different sectors and individuals (Pinstrup-Andersen & Watson II, 2011, p.30). Food policies must be designed keeping in view the different patterns of consumer demands of food products. One trend is that “habits are changing”. People now spend more time outdoors thus spending little time eating at home. People now have wide ranging choices of convenience food, appliances for storing and cooking food. They now also have access to sound knowledge regarding nutritional values of food and make their food choices according to their physical needs. Other driving forces of food demand are changes in lifestyle, changes in family structure and increase in spending capacity. The second trend that determines demand of food is differences in dietary compositions between the rich and the poor. With the increase of diseases related to food habits like obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer and hypertension, rich people spend more on food with rich nutritional values like fruits and vegetables. However, the poor people cannot avail of same kinds of food because of high prices of fruits and vegetables (Freibauer, et al., 2011, p.74). History Historically, food policy referred to agricultural policy whose primary focus was on farms and farmers. The objective of agricultural policy was to increase productivity of farms so that sufficient food supply is ensured. The second objective was to guarantee a steady minimum income for the farmers or taxing them to finance other sectors. The third and final objective was to protect the rights of the owners of lands. In earlier times, the major emphasis was on the supply side of food products because large scale malnutrition was caused by inadequate supply of food and lower nutrition level, and also landownership contributed towards increasing income and maintaining social balance. Even in modern times food policies must essentially focus on the agricultural sector as increased production of food is a key factor and the ultimate driving force for the economic development of all countries. Increase in production in the agricultural level can ensure smooth flow of food and can provide a sustainable security for the current and future generations. Countries which have faced huge developments in their agricultural sector have experienced economic growth and stability. It has not always been only the government’s responsibility to design appropriate food policies. Ancient Roman laws ensured adequate supply of basic food like bread for the masses. Also in the past, governments of several countries like Egypt and Sri Lanka have emphasized on easy accessibility of basic food products to the common people. It was Amartya Sen whose “work contributed to a more general shift in the thinking about food policy from agricultural production to effective consumer demand by emphasizing food entitlement and access.” (Pinstrup-Andersen & Watson II, 2011, p.30) Gradually the focus of the food system has shifted from agriculture and production to consumer demand and accessibility. To ensure food security for current and future generations has become the main driving force behind the designing of food policies in both developed and undeveloped countries (Pinstrup-Andersen & Watson II, 2011, p.30). Role of government According to global reports, over 1 billion people on this earth suffer from scarcity of food and insufficient nutrition. There is another billion who suffer from overweight and obesity. In spite of large scale technological development and advancement in the field of agriculture and other sectors of food production which has solved many food related problems and has released millions of people all over the world from hunger and poverty, still these technological benefits have not been uniform in all sectors of world population. These are everlasting challenges faced by the food industry, but there are various additional problems like change of climate, introduction of newer dietary disciplines, depreciation of the natural resources, lack of availability of water and globalization. Also in order to supplement food supply, many organisms are genetically modified which causes many negative ethical and environmental consequences. All these challenging factors call for an intense and pervasive analysis of food policies that will address all the primary and secondary effects of all the challenges, and also will create awareness among the people regarding food policies about how they are designed and implemented, and their effects on the lives of human beings (Pinstrup-Andersen & Watson II, 2011, p.xv). The current scenario in which global food prices are in an ever increasing trend, the major concern is the potential widespread hunger and poverty that will lead to global crisis. The continuous rise of food prices has provided the incentive and initiative to all countries to focus on their farmers and agricultural sector as agricultural products and farmers contribute largely towards the economy of a country and poverty reduction. Although a coordinated and sincere effort is the need of the day from regional and international governments, however, the core responsibility belongs to the national governments to respond to the urgent need of food products and nutritional values of their people. The national governments also need to stimulate the farmers and agricultural sectors to maximise their production by making optimum use of the available technologies. Since the volatile and steep rise of food prices have different effects on different countries, it is therefore imperative that national governments adapt food policies based on the needs of the specific country. However, countries affected by the global food crisis need to formulate food policies based on a consistent set of information and analytical tools (Benson, et al., 2008, p.1). Milk and dairy products Dairy products are those food items that are derived from milk like yoghurt and cheese but not butter, margarine and cream. Milk of different varieties are now common products in markets and are always in high demand in all sections of population. Milk that is consumed by human beings are essentially cow’s milk although other mammals like sheep and goat are also common. Milk and dairy products are essentially rich in vitamins, minerals and also calcium which is essential for proper maintenance of bones and teeth (Stinton, 2011). Other positive effects of milk products on human body include healthy bones, increased immunity, lower blood pressure, reduced risk of cancer and diabetes (Nutrients in Milk, n.d.). Milk can also be a number of “plant-based substitutes” like soya, rice, oat and almond milk for those who are allergic to lactose products. In the United Kingdom, milk whose usual source is cow is generally distinguished by its fat content. It is found that whole milk and semi-skimmed milk have low fat content and can be labeled as such. Contrary to popular belief, lowering the fat content of milk does not mean calcium content is compromised. For this reason, even by consuming low fat dairy products it is possible to intake sufficient calcium. However for children below two it is advisable not to feed them with low fat milk as the energy content and fat soluble vitamins remain low. Drinking milk is essential for proper growth and nutrition of children and adolescents and so they must be encouraged to drink more milk to ensure sufficient intake of protein, minerals and calcium (Stinton, 2011). Milk and dairy products form important components in the global food chain because of their rich nutritional value. Dairy products hold one of the topmost positions in the food consumer market, and dairy products also have numerous uses in the food manufacturing industry like milk powder. The total production of milk all over the world is 695 million tons every year, of which cow’s milk represents 84% of the total milk production. Unlike other food items, milk is one substance that has demand in all population groups as milk is consumed by people of all ages. Everyone from infants, adolescents to the elderly people consume milk. Therefore milk and milk products are available in every part of the world, and contamination of the same can adversely affect a large portion of the world population (Papademas & Bintsis, 2010, p.489). Therefore, it is essential that governments of all countries make food policies keeping in view the production, transportation, packaging and distribution of milk and dairy products. The demand of milk and milk products vary in different countries for various factors one of them being religious beliefs. In general, demand for food is not much related with income since human beings cannot consume more than their body’s requirement even if they can afford large quantities because of high income. Therefore it is not quantity but quality of food that is income elastic and one such example is meat. In respect to this Bennett’s law states “that the share of animal products in calories consumed increases as incomes rise.” (Cohen & Clapp, 2009, p.16) Coming back to religious beliefs, Bennett’s law becomes disputable as in a country like India, consumption of red meat is low because of cultural and religious reasons. Instead there has been an extreme growth of consumption of milk, eggs and poultry meat, although per capita consumption remains low due to prevalent poverty (Cohen & Clapp, 2009, p.16). Milk in general has high nutritional value and goat’s milk is particularly rich in nutritions. It is necessary to use proper technology to produce milk and milk products like cheese as milk-borne diseases have existed from the inception of dairy industry. One of the major hindrances that are faced in production of goat’s milk is transportation of the milk from production area to the densely populated areas where the demand for goat’s milk is highest. The result is that there is unavoidable passage of time between milking of goats and delivery of the milk to the processing plant or to the consumers, more often the lapse of time is more than five hours which seriously affects the quality of the milk. It then gets rejected by dairy processing plants and also does not remain suitable for consumption. Therefore the focus of government food policies should be on “the collection of milk from the farmers and transportation to the dairy (which) is the most critical link in the total handling chain of milk.” (Riley, 2007, p.2) The most commonly accepted method for checking deterioration of milk during transportation from the farmers to the consumers is cooling. But, even this is not always possible in many countries due to lack of capital, electricity and proper road systems. There is even the problem of breakage of equipments and repairing problems in rural areas. For all these reasons there occurs a high loss of milk quantity and in many places only a small amount of milk reaches the consumers which is in acceptable condition for consumption. In developing countries, a significant part of the population starves not because of inadequacy of food but because of the difficulties faced in transportation and distribution systems of food. Then there is also lack of infrastructure to store and preserve food including milk products hence loss happens due to spoilage. According to the World Bank, 21 million tonnes of milk get spoiled every year in developing countries because of lack of proper infrastructure in milk distribution systems (Riley, 2007, p.3). Milk and milk products have been source of nourishment for human beings since prehistoric times. In this modern time most milk is available in cartons, and such milk is pasteurized, flavored or free from lactose and has fat reduced to two percent. Such milk is far removed from the fresh and pure milk produced from a cow’s udder. There are other alternatives to milk available like flavored soy milk, nut milk, rice and oat milk. These are even more separated from pure form of milk. Although these types of milks are refined to make them advantageous for human body by keeping them free from cholesterol and lactose, and keeping low fat content, still these milks require extensive supplementation to equalize with the calcium, vitamin and protein content of cow’s milk. In the modern milk factories, cows are fed with “scientifically designed diet of corn and soy” to enhance milk production. The cows are also kept within dirty sheds away from sunlight and fresh air. They are also injected with Bovine Recombinant Growth Hormone (rBGH) so that they can produce milk of same quality as produced during pregnancy. But this hormone can cause cancer and birth defect, so this hormone is banned in many countries like in Europe and Canada. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has put out warning that “raw milk can harbor dangerous micro-organisms that can pose serious health risks.” (Fast, 2008, p.42) But manufacturers and consumers of raw milk believe that since it is derived directly from the cow so it is healthier than its pasteurized alternatives. This, however, contradicts the fact that depleting farm conditions lead to various diseases like tuberculosis and diarrhea (Fast, 2008, p.42). There are several myths surrounding raw milk that it is safer than pasteurized alternatives. But the fact is that raw milk cannot kill harmful bacteria by itself. Instead, pasteurization preserves the nutritional value of raw milk and also kills harmful bacteria (Milk, cheese and dairy products, n.d.). Conclusion Food is essential for the survival of human beings and so the governments’ top priority should be to ensure that every person on earth gets sufficient food. Rising food prices in the global food arena is a matter of concern since the survival of a large chunk of world population remains at stake. Although milk production occurs in extremely large quantities every year, lack of proper infrastructure and technology hinders hygienic transportation and distribution of milk and dairy products to the consumers. Although food crisis has been a major problem in recent years all over the world, the primary responsibility lies with the national governments to ensure accessibility of food especially milk and dairy products to all individuals. Governments should exercise their power and authorities on the food industry with their appropriate food policies with main focus on agriculture and farms since production and delivery of food products have a major impact on the nutritional value of foods. Populations in developing countries suffer not because of inadequacy of food but low quality due to time lapse between production and distribution of nutritional foods like milk and dairy products. References 1. Benson, Todd, et al. (2008). Global food crises: Monitoring and assessing impact to inform policy responses. Washington: Intl Food Policy Res Inst 2. Fast, Yvonna. (2008). Spilt Milk. The Environmental Magazine, 19(3), 42-43 3. Freibauer A. et al. (February, 2011). Sustainable food consumption and production in a resource-constrained world, retrieved on November 22, 2012 from: http://ec.europa.eu/research/agriculture/scar/pdf/scar_feg_ultimate_version.pdf 4. Global issues: food, (n.d.) UN, retrieved on November 21, 2012 from: http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/food/ 5. Milk, cheese and dairy products, (n.d.) foodsafety, retrieved on November 22, 2012 from: http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/types/milk/index.html 6. Mittal, A. (2009), The Blame Game: Understanding Structural Causes of the Food Crisis, pp.13-28, In Clapp J. & M.J. Cohen (eds) The Global Food Crisis: Governance Challenges and Opportunities, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press 7. Nutrients in Milk, (n.d.) dairycouncilofca, retrieved on November 22, 2012 from: http://www.dairycouncilofca.org/Milk-Dairy/NutritionMain.aspx 8. Papademas, P. & T. Bintsis. (2010). Food safety management systems (FSMS) in the dairy industry: A review. International Journal of Dairy Technology, 63(4), 489-503 9. Pinstrup-Andersen, P. & D.D. Watson II. (2011). Food Policy for Developing Countries: The Role of Government in Global, National, and Local Food Systems. USA: Cornell University Press 10. Riley, A.P. (2007). New Issues in Food Policy, Control and Research. New York: Nova Publishers 11. Stinton, M. (2011), Milk and Dairy Products, BBC, retrieved on November 22, 2012 from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/treatments/healthy_living/nutrition/healthy_dairy.shtml Read More