The Population Health concern selected and the factors that contribute to it
Foodborne illness affects at least one in every six Americans. Food safety issues claim over 3,000 deaths per year in the US (Doe, 2017). As per the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the approximate cost for foodborne diseases ranges almost $16 billion every year (Doe, 2017). However, foodborne illness can be prevented by practicing preventive measures targeting food safety in the US. Foodborne illness can affect anyone, but it mostly affects those with underlying conditions, pregnant women, and children. Common symptoms of foodborne illness include stomach upsets, nausea, abdominal pains, diarrhea, and fever (Qi & Roe, 2016). Most of the time, foodborne disease can be referred to as food poisoning because contamination has harmful effects related to severe outcomes from consumed poison. Proper handling and preparation of food items are important to reduce foodborne illness in all parts of the world. Food from unsafe sources, poor health hygiene, improper heating methods of food, dirty and contaminated cooking equipment and utensils, and potentially harmful food are major factors that contribute to foodborne illness. One or more factors mentioned above increase the rate of illness for this type of population health concern in the US. The government has been in the process of improving the measures which can ensure proper handling of food.
The administrative agenda’s focus on this issue for the current and two previous presidents
Under Trump’s administration, food safety has been a concern, with the President having various administrative agendas which focus on the issues. For example, Trump introduced a new policy to overhaul United States Department of Agriculture rules concerning meat processing and slaughterhouses. The slaughter plants would have new and modern installed systems that identify and remove unfit carcasses that would lead to unsafe meat (Doe, 2017). Under Trump, the government has been on the frontline to give insights and legislative action on food safety compliance in all states.
President Obama’s regime had seen infections from foodborne illness as a result of meat, pork, and dairy products fall during the first six years. He set USDA policies that emphasized increased testing on ground beef, high-standards measures initiated for chicken and turkey (Doe, 2017). Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 to reduce factors that lead to foodborne illness.
Bush signed the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2007 to ensure a safe food supply in the US (Doe, 2017). The act required a new food registry by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to monitor the changes in food adulteration and potentially harmful, unsafe food handling measures.
The allocations of financial and other resources that the current and two previous presidents dedicated to this issue
During Trump’s administration, the USDA food safety unit was allocated over $2.3 billion, which combined both the workforce and the normal budget (Khimm, 2018). Food and safety employees were allocated $1 billion in President Trump’s new budget.
President Obama invested in protecting natural resources that agriculture depends on by using science and technology to analyze possible harmful elements to the agricultural food supply. Obama was behind Feed the Future Initiative that came into action in 2012 (Khimm, 2018). The initiative generally focused on funding the agricultural sector to see a future healthy food supply in the US.
President Bush dedicated to raising the number of food safety inspectors. The inspector made a big impact by training new technology on food production. Bush also invested highly in food safety budgets to pay relation and control costs. In 2008, he set an adequate budget for food safety that amounted to $2.4 billion for that fiscal year (Khimm, 2018). The budget sought to aid in improving food handling measures in the US.
How each of the presidential administrations approached the issue
President Trump approached by putting a comprehensive regulation to create safer food production. He imposed a complex regulation that impeded progress (Qi & Roe,2016). For example, in 2016, he gave farmers liberty to produce food and vegetables and dictate the safe way of consumption to see safe administration of food.
President Obama was keen on ensuring that the FDA was well staffed, funded, and monitored to reduce foodborne illness cases in the US. For example, the Food and Drugs Modernization Act of 2011 ensured adequate funding to FDA with an extra $580 million.
During President Bush’s era, foodborne illness was a key focus where food handling measures were a priority in all the states. Additionally, funding was made to research institutes for more findings on how to control the issue.
References
Doe, H. (2017). Meeting US food safety regulations. Food Science and Technology, 31(2), 36-39.
Khimm, S. (2018). Trump’s latest regulatory overhaul raises food safety fears. NBC News.
Qi, D., & Roe, B. E. (2016). Household food waste: Multivariate regression and principal components analyses awareness and attitudes among US consumers. PLoS One, 15(3), 4-18.