Opioid Addiction: We’re Number 1
Opioid use became widespread and rampant in America. The United States consumes 80 percent of the world’s supply of OxyContin and Hydrocodone. Much of it ended up in the most economically depressed areas of America.
When compared to the countries of the European Union, the deaths attributed to drug overdoses in the United States is astounding. In 2020, for the entire European Union, with a population of 440 million, there were 5,800 total overdose deaths. By contrast, in America, with a population of a little over 330 million, there were 68,000 deaths. That number jumped to 80,000 in 2021, and 107,000 deaths in 2022 in America.
Source: David Wallace-Wells, “Why Is America Such a Deadly Place?” New York Times, August 9, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/opinion/mortality-rate-pandemic.html
Opioid use became widespread and rampant in America. The United States consumes 80 percent of the world’s supply of OxyContin and Hydrocodone. Much of it ended up in the most economically depressed areas of America.
When compared to the countries of the European Union, the deaths attributed to drug overdoses in the United States is astounding. In 2020, for the entire European Union, with a population of 440 million, there were 5,800 total overdose deaths. By contrast, in America, with a population of a little over 330 million, there were 68,000 deaths. That number jumped to 80,000 in 2021, and 107,000 deaths in 2022 in America.
Source: David Wallace-Wells, “Why Is America Such a Deadly Place?” New York Times, August 9, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/opinion/mortality-rate-pandemic.html
Food Sustainability: We’re Number 30
In an analysis conducted by the Economist, the United States ranked 30th in food sustainability and food wasted. The countries with the best performance were Sweden, Japan, Canada, Finland, and Austria. In the individual categories of sustainability, the United States ranked this way: in Food Loss (score 77), it was 8th out of 78 countries; in Sustainable Agriculture (score 55), it was 75th out of 78; in Nutritional Challenges (score 64), it was States was 47th out of 78.
Source: Economist Impact, n.d., https://impact.economist.com/projects/foodsustainability/interactive-world-map/
In an analysis conducted by the Economist, the United States ranked 30th in food sustainability and food wasted. The countries with the best performance were Sweden, Japan, Canada, Finland, and Austria. In the individual categories of sustainability, the United States ranked this way: in Food Loss (score 77), it was 8th out of 78 countries; in Sustainable Agriculture (score 55), it was 75th out of 78; in Nutritional Challenges (score 64), it was States was 47th out of 78.
Source: Economist Impact, n.d., https://impact.economist.com/projects/foodsustainability/interactive-world-map/
Food Waste: We’re Number 3 in Total Waste; We’re Number 8 in Waste Per Person
The USDA estimates that between 30 and 40 percent of all food is wasted in the United States. Food is wasted at all levels of its life cycle. Starting with the agricultural production in the fields (crop pests, poor irrigation, and disease), post-harvest handling and storage, processing, distribution (inefficient transportation), consumption, and the food end of life. About 16 percent of the waste comes from farms, 2 percent from manufacturers, 39 percent from businesses, and 43 percent from households. Food is the largest component of municipal landfills, and decomposing food releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. The United States spends approximately $218 billion (1.3 percent of GDP) each year to grow, handle, deliver, and dispose of uneaten food.
In 2015, the USDA along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set a goal to cut the US food waste by 50 percent by the year 2030. There was, however, no base line for food loss. The EPA admits that “the US still has a long way to go to meet the 2030 goal.”
The picture throughout the world is hardly better, and the US sits somewhere in the middle when it comes to alleviating the problem. It is estimated that one-third of all food globally is lost or wasted each year. The average North American household wastes about 130 pounds of food annually; the global average is nearly 35 pounds higher.
Sources: “Food Waste,” US Department of Agriculture, n.d., https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs; “Fighting Food Waste,” National Conference of State Legislatures, October 24, 2022, https://www.ncsl.org/agriculture-and-rural-development/fighting-food-waste#:~:text=The%20federal%20Bill%20Emerson%20Good,of%20which%20include%20greater%20protections; “Closing the Food Waste Gap,” Boston Consulting Group, n.d., https://www.bcg.com/featured-insights/closing-the-gap/food-waste; “Food Waste by Country, 2023,” World Population Review, n.d., https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/food-waste-by-country.
The USDA estimates that between 30 and 40 percent of all food is wasted in the United States. Food is wasted at all levels of its life cycle. Starting with the agricultural production in the fields (crop pests, poor irrigation, and disease), post-harvest handling and storage, processing, distribution (inefficient transportation), consumption, and the food end of life. About 16 percent of the waste comes from farms, 2 percent from manufacturers, 39 percent from businesses, and 43 percent from households. Food is the largest component of municipal landfills, and decomposing food releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. The United States spends approximately $218 billion (1.3 percent of GDP) each year to grow, handle, deliver, and dispose of uneaten food.
In 2015, the USDA along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set a goal to cut the US food waste by 50 percent by the year 2030. There was, however, no base line for food loss. The EPA admits that “the US still has a long way to go to meet the 2030 goal.”
The picture throughout the world is hardly better, and the US sits somewhere in the middle when it comes to alleviating the problem. It is estimated that one-third of all food globally is lost or wasted each year. The average North American household wastes about 130 pounds of food annually; the global average is nearly 35 pounds higher.
Sources: “Food Waste,” US Department of Agriculture, n.d., https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs; “Fighting Food Waste,” National Conference of State Legislatures, October 24, 2022, https://www.ncsl.org/agriculture-and-rural-development/fighting-food-waste#:~:text=The%20federal%20Bill%20Emerson%20Good,of%20which%20include%20greater%20protections; “Closing the Food Waste Gap,” Boston Consulting Group, n.d., https://www.bcg.com/featured-insights/closing-the-gap/food-waste; “Food Waste by Country, 2023,” World Population Review, n.d., https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/food-waste-by-country.
Hunger and Food Insecurity: We’re Number 24
The US Department of Agriculture states that about 56 percent of food insecure persons have participated in one or more of the federal government’s nutritional programs—SNAP (food stamps); special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), or the National School Lunch Program. Still, for many, this was not enough.
Whatever the cause—lay-offs from work, unexpected bills, marital discord, accidents and doctor bills—many Americans have to weigh the terrible decision of feeding their families or paying their bills. The lengthy pandemic unscored the uncertain circumstances facing many workers and communities. Food insecurity is certainly not confined to families with children. In fact, the biggest increase in food insecurity from 2020 to 2021 came from elderly women living alone.
In the federal bipartisan budget agreement in 2022, funds were set aside to feed hungry children during the summer break from school. It was anticipated that this $2.5 billion program would serve 21 million students, coming from families whose income was below the poverty level. The US Department of Agriculture called the summer nutrition program a “giant step forward” in meeting the needs of families when school is not in session. Yet, when the deadline for accepting the program came in January 2024, Republican governors in fifteen states rejected the funds, impacting an estimated 8 million children. “I don’t believe in welfare,” said Nebraska governor Jim Pillen. Iowa governor Kim Reynolds said she saw no need in adding this federal benefit to food-insecure children “when childhood obesity has become an epidemic.”
Along with Iowa and Nebraska, the other states declining to participate were Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming. The three states with the highest level of food insecurity (Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas) refused these new funds. In addition, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Wyoming were among the seven states that did not fully extend Medicaid coverage to low-income individuals.
The United States has miles to go, when compared with other OECD countries: the US ranked 24th, with 8.8 percent of its population experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity, far behind countries like the United Kingdom (3.5 percent), Germany (3.5 percent), and Japan (3.8 percent).
Sources: Alisha Coleman-Jensen, Matthew P. Rabbitt, Christian A. Gregory, and Anita Singh, “Household Food Security in 2021,” Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, September 2022, https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/104656/err-309_summary.pdf?v=1779.1; Annie Gowan, “Republican Governors in 15 States Reject Summer Food Money for Kids,” Washington Post, January 10, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/01/10/republican-governors-summer-lunch-program/; “Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions,” KFF, December 1, 2023, https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/status-of-state-medicaid-expansion-decisions-interactive-map/; “Prevalence of Moderate to Severe Food Insecurity in the Population-OECD Countries,” The World Bank, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS?end=2020&locations=OE&most_recent_value_desc=false&start=2017
The US Department of Agriculture states that about 56 percent of food insecure persons have participated in one or more of the federal government’s nutritional programs—SNAP (food stamps); special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), or the National School Lunch Program. Still, for many, this was not enough.
Whatever the cause—lay-offs from work, unexpected bills, marital discord, accidents and doctor bills—many Americans have to weigh the terrible decision of feeding their families or paying their bills. The lengthy pandemic unscored the uncertain circumstances facing many workers and communities. Food insecurity is certainly not confined to families with children. In fact, the biggest increase in food insecurity from 2020 to 2021 came from elderly women living alone.
In the federal bipartisan budget agreement in 2022, funds were set aside to feed hungry children during the summer break from school. It was anticipated that this $2.5 billion program would serve 21 million students, coming from families whose income was below the poverty level. The US Department of Agriculture called the summer nutrition program a “giant step forward” in meeting the needs of families when school is not in session. Yet, when the deadline for accepting the program came in January 2024, Republican governors in fifteen states rejected the funds, impacting an estimated 8 million children. “I don’t believe in welfare,” said Nebraska governor Jim Pillen. Iowa governor Kim Reynolds said she saw no need in adding this federal benefit to food-insecure children “when childhood obesity has become an epidemic.”
Along with Iowa and Nebraska, the other states declining to participate were Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming. The three states with the highest level of food insecurity (Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas) refused these new funds. In addition, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Wyoming were among the seven states that did not fully extend Medicaid coverage to low-income individuals.
The United States has miles to go, when compared with other OECD countries: the US ranked 24th, with 8.8 percent of its population experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity, far behind countries like the United Kingdom (3.5 percent), Germany (3.5 percent), and Japan (3.8 percent).
Sources: Alisha Coleman-Jensen, Matthew P. Rabbitt, Christian A. Gregory, and Anita Singh, “Household Food Security in 2021,” Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, September 2022, https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/104656/err-309_summary.pdf?v=1779.1; Annie Gowan, “Republican Governors in 15 States Reject Summer Food Money for Kids,” Washington Post, January 10, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/01/10/republican-governors-summer-lunch-program/; “Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions,” KFF, December 1, 2023, https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/status-of-state-medicaid-expansion-decisions-interactive-map/; “Prevalence of Moderate to Severe Food Insecurity in the Population-OECD Countries,” The World Bank, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS?end=2020&locations=OE&most_recent_value_desc=false&start=2017
Obesity
Fatty America!
The OECD ranked the United States Number 1 in both child and adult obesity in 2010; since then we haven’t improved, but other nations are catching up with us.
The Global Obesity Observatory ranks the Polynesian islands and some Caribbean countries higher than the United States in both adult and childhood obesity. But among the industrialized democratic countries, the United States has the highest percentage of overweight adults and overweight children.
How are we doing fighting against obesity? In its 2021 Report, “Obese and Overweight Population,” the OECD found that the US ranked 34th (out of 34 member countries reporting); https://data.oecd.org/healthrisk/overweight-or-obese-population.htm.
Sources: “Ranking, % Obesity by Country,” Global Obesity Observatory, https://data.worldobesity.org/rankings/?age=a&sex=t;
“Obese and Overweight Population,” OECD, https://data.oecd.org/healthrisk/overweight-or-obese-population.htm.
Fatty America!
The OECD ranked the United States Number 1 in both child and adult obesity in 2010; since then we haven’t improved, but other nations are catching up with us.
The Global Obesity Observatory ranks the Polynesian islands and some Caribbean countries higher than the United States in both adult and childhood obesity. But among the industrialized democratic countries, the United States has the highest percentage of overweight adults and overweight children.
How are we doing fighting against obesity? In its 2021 Report, “Obese and Overweight Population,” the OECD found that the US ranked 34th (out of 34 member countries reporting); https://data.oecd.org/healthrisk/overweight-or-obese-population.htm.
Sources: “Ranking, % Obesity by Country,” Global Obesity Observatory, https://data.worldobesity.org/rankings/?age=a&sex=t;
“Obese and Overweight Population,” OECD, https://data.oecd.org/healthrisk/overweight-or-obese-population.htm.
How Did They Do It?
Food Labels in Chile. In 2016, Chilean government passed a law, over the vehement objections of the food processing industry, that banned ads directed at children if those products exceeded standards for calories, fat, sugar, and sodium.