Recent News Stories Use ERS
Data and Analysis
Food Deserts: The Realities
Cleveland Plain Dealer – October 30, 2011
The U.S. Department of Agriculture [ERS 2009 food desert report] determined that 2.3 million households are more than one mile from a supermarket. Imagine having no transportation to that market…. Access to affordable, nutritious food just doesn't exist in some parts of the United States unless you have a car and money for gas.
Trade Barriers a Mixed Bag: Deals with Other Countries May Help, Hurt S.C. Industries
Charleston Post and Courier – October 27, 2011
The American Farm Bureau Federation, citing economic analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, estimates that annual direct U.S. agricultural exports to Korea, Colombia and Panama will increase by nearly $2.5 billion when the three agreements are fully implemented.
U.S. Food-Inflation Forecast Raised to 3.5%-4.5%
Bloomberg Business Week – October 25, 2011
Consumers will pay 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent more for food this year than in 2010…. “Cost pressures on wholesale- and retail-food prices due to higher food-commodity and energy prices, along with strengthening global food demand, have pushed inflation projections upward for 2011,” Richard Volpe, a USDA [ERS] food- inflation economist, wrote in a note accompanying the report.
What are Americans really eating?
Prescription 2000 – October 23, 2011
I have grown a fondness for the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS). They collect awesome data on U.S. food consumption patterns. In their magazine, AmberWaves (September, 2011, page 59) the latest numbers on the "Loss-Adjusted Food Availability" data (the closest estimate of what we consume) per day are as follows….
Americans Are More Realistic About the Quality of Their Diet
Denver Examiner, Seattle Post Intelligencer – October 19-20, 2011
Over the last 20 years, Americans have become increasingly aware that their diet plays a significant role for their health. They also have become more disillusioned about the nutritional quality of the foods they are actually eating…. These are the findings of a study report issued by the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Five Myths About Healthy Eating
Washington Post, Charleston Daily Mail, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette – October 16, 18, 21, 2011
A commonly cited 2009 statistic from the U.S. Department of Agriculture [ERS] has 23.5 million Americans living in poor urban and rural areas with limited access to fresh food….
A survey by the USDA [ERS] found that, by weight, bottled water is cheaper than soda, low-fat milk is cheaper than high-fat, and whole fruit is cheaper than processed sweets.
Fewer pumpkins mean higher prices in Myrtle Beach area
Myrtle Beach Sun News – October 17, 2011
Pumpkins grow in almost every state, but weather conditions in different areas regularly impact the crops, leaving some regions with fewer pumpkins depending on the year, according to a United States Department of Agriculture blog post by Gary Lucier and Suzanne Thornsbury, of the crops branch of the economic research service.
Can We Close the Agricultural Productivity Gap?
Agri-Pulse – October 12, 2011
“Based on the new FAO estimates, the current rate of global total factor productivity (TFP) is 1.74 percent, on target for the projected rate required each year to produce enough food to feed the world by 2050,” said Dr. Keith Fuglie, Branch Chief for Resource, Environmental and Science Policy of the Resource and Rural Economics Division of the Economic Research Service, USDA. “But many parts of the world are falling short. Africa’s TFP rate, for example, is growing at less than one percent a year.”
Planner Aims to Increase Local Food Commerce
Des Moines Register - October 8, 2011
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Iowa State's Institute for Transportation have teamed up to create a web-based Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Market Planner…. The tool calculates a rate of demand for each crop the farmer selects, based on food availability data reported each year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service and U.S. Census data for consumers in the target market.
Sweet Potato Commission, Carolina Shippers Enjoy Strong Export Markets
The Packer – October 6, 2011
European markets have a long way to go when it comes to orange-flesh sweet potatoes like those grown in North Carolina. Canada and the United Kingdom are the two largest markets for exported sweet potatoes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. The ERS estimated fresh and frozen sweet potato exports at 148.4 million pounds in 2009.
New Food Taxes: Does the Bigger Bite Have a Silver Lining?
Omaha Examiner - October 2, 2011
If you enjoy eating out, the bite to your wallet just got a little bit bigger. On Friday, October 1st, 2010 Omaha, Nebraska’s new 2.5% restaurant tax took effect. Restaurants, grocers who serve food, bartenders, caterers and other food service providers now must track applicable sales and pay the first month's tax by the end of November…. Every meal that is not cooked and eaten at home can add an average of 134 extra calories per day, according to "The Impact of Food Away From Home on Adult Diet Quality" by the USDA Economic Research Service.
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