Participating in and presenting gifts at funerals, weddings, and other ceremonies held by friends and neighbors have been regarded as social norms in many parts of the world for thousands of years. However, due to the reciprocal nature of gift giving, it is more burdensome for the poor to take...

There is wide variation in how consumption is measured in household surveys, both across countries and over time. This variation may confound welfare comparisons in part because these alternative survey designs produce consumption estimates differentially influenced by contrasting types of...

Die Komplexität und Kontroversen über Verbraucherwahrnehmung und Bewertung gesundheitsfördernder Eigenschaften von Lebensmitteln motivierten diese Dissertation. Die Kontroversen umfassen die nicht eindeutige Verbindung zwischen Einkommensniveau und der Nachfrage nach funktionellen...

This paper develops a conceptual framework that can explain why economic development goes along with increases in body weight and obesity rates. We first introduce the concept of novelty consumption, which refers to an increase in food availability due to trade or innovation. Then we study how...

Over the Great Recession UK households reduced real food expenditure. We show that they were able to maintain the number of calories that they purchased, and the nutritional quality of these calories, by adjusting their shopping behaviour. We document the mechanisms that households used. We...

Consumers’ food preferences have led to a worldwide overweight rate of 35% in 2008. It is a matter of fact that overweight is closely linked to unhealthy eating habits. Most existing nutrition labels contain reference information in the form of aspirational levels such as the Percentage Daily...

This paper presents the results of a doctoral study within the program “Biodiversity and Society” of the Graduate School of Social Sciences at the Georg-August University, Göttingen. Food safety and organic consumption are key concepts of the study, focussing on the current situation in the...

Household access to food over time in Tanzania is measured by comparing the cost of representative food baskets to household income. Consumption patterns, estimated using household data from the 2010/11 National Panel Survey conducted by Tanzania’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), show...

The paper presents findings of a large study on socio-economic impacts of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster on the Japanese agriculture and food sector. It contains fourteen parts: introduction with the framework of analysis; a brief description of events and...

Poverty has remained largely unabated in Nigeria despite the efforts made in tackling it. Previous studies on poverty focused on total expenditure and did not adequately cater for regional differences in prices, needs, tastes and preferences. This study, therefore, examined the incidence, depth...

This paper develops a conceptual framework that can explain why economic development goes along with increases in body weight and obesity rates. We first introduce the concept of novelty consumption, which refers to an increase in food availability due to trade or innovation. Then we study how...

The analysis on the food consumption is particularly important because it helps us to discover information about the individual's health and economic differences between the two periods studied, outlining the economic impact on human food consumption and the worldwide food trends impact on the...

India and China are two similar developing countries with huge populations, rapid economic growth and limited natural resources, therefore facing the massive pressure of ensuring food security. In this paper, we will discuss the food security situations in these two countries by studying the...

This paper develops a conceptual framework that can explain why economic development goes along with increases in body weight and obesity rates. We first introduce the concept of novelty consumption, which refers to an increase in food availability due to trade or innovation. Then we study how...

This paper examines the patterns of food consumption in Sri Lanka from 1985 to 2009 using the food disappearance data published by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Trends in per capita daily calorie, protein and fat supply have been examined. The study finds that grain food products are...

The March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant accident have had immense impacts on Japanese agri-food sector. Previous analysis has demonstrated that some of the impacts that triple disaster are difficult to identify and assess due to the insufficient information, controversial data,...

In this paper we explore how a value chain framework can inform the design of interventions for achieving improved nutrition. Conceptually, there are three main channels for value chains to improve nutrition: (1) through increased consumption of nutritious foods (a demand side pathway); or (2)...

This paper presents evidence on the impact of individual as well as regional characteristics on the dynamics of fat, protein, alcohol and cigarette consumption, and on the diversity of the diet in Russia between 1994 and 2005. All those aspects of nutritional behavior are important inputs to the...

The nature of food insecurity has been changing in the world. While research on food insecurity in developing countries used to focus on undernourishment (i.e. lack of calorie consumption) and related outcomes, today, many developing countries face at least a “double burden of malnutrition”...

We study the relationship between pre-school children’s food consumption and household agricultural production. Using a large household survey from rural Ethiopia, we find that increasing household production diversity leads to considerable improvements in children’s diet...

The production of food is one of humanity’s fundamental and most critical endeavors, yet our understanding of its impact on limited global resources is not well developed. Food production supplies a basic human need, provides important employment for millions of the world’s poor, and...

Public health is a top priority for the European Union. The main factor in ensuring population health is food consumption and in particular food quality. The present paper aims at analyzing Romanian population food consumption during the 1990-2012 periods, its evolution in time; it identifies its...

Using consumer panel data we explore the impact of food package size on food-at-home consumption. We exploit food manufacturer package downsizing strategy to track shifts in household purchase volume before and after package size changes. Focusing on shelf-stable tuna and peanut butter markets,...

Findings identify feeding and dietary issues that begin during infancy and are also present in toddler and preschool stages. These findings are useful for WIC nutritionists and health care practitioners to encourage the early development of healthful eating patterns.

Rice is a strategic commodity for food security in West Africa. Its consumption has grown rapidly over time as a result of population growth, urbanization, and increasing purchasing power. Dependency on imported rice exposes the region to external shocks stemming from the global market. Given...

Many low income countries are experiencing a “nutrition transition” towards the consumption of more energy-dense, highly processed foods and beverages that are often high in caloric sweeteners, fat and salt. Changing lifestyles and urbanisation have coincided with a ‘retail revolution’,...

The nature of food insecurity has been changing in the world. While research on food insecurity in developing countries used to focus on undernourishment (i.e. lack of calorie consumption) and related outcomes, today, many developing countries face at least a “double burden of malnutrition”...

This paper presents evidence on the impact of individual as well as regional characteristics on the dynamics of fat, protein, alcohol and cigarette consumption, and on the diversity of the diet in Russia between 1994 and 2005. All those aspects of nutritional behavior are important inputs to the...

Many low income countries are experiencing a 'nutrition transition' towards the consumption of more energy-dense, highly processed foods and beverages that are often high in caloric sweeteners, fat and salt. Changing lifestyles and urbanisation have coincided with a 'retail revolution', a rapid...

Public health is a top priority for the European Union. The main factor in ensuring population health is food consumption and in particular food quality. The present paper aims at analyzing Romanian population food consumption during the 1990-2012 periods, its evolution in time; it identifies its...

To raise awareness among policymakers and health practitioners about unhealthy diets, this document examines dietary patterns in selected Latin American countries using household surveys. The analysis shows that a large percentage of households in the countries examined have inadequate diets....

This report provides the latest estimates by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) on the amount and value of food loss in the United States. These estimates are for more than 200 individual foods using ERS’s Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data. In 2010, an estimated 31 percent or 133...