ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines how alternative policy choices impact the overall performance of agricultural and food markets. It provides opportunities to apply economic principles to improve the efficiency and equity of policy design and implementation. The book then examines how the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the 2014 Farm Bill, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Congressional-decision are expected to influence efficiency and distributional outcomes in the US farm and food sectors. It also investigates the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) programs. The book also investigates the effects of globalization, macroeconomic policy, and currency exchange rates on US food and agricultural markets. It examines the significant impacts on policy design that new consumer expectations are having on food supply chains, locally grown foods, expanding organic markets, urban farms, food cooperatives, and related innovations in food production, delivery, and consumption.
