The economic implications of a health policy.

This title raises a number of important issues which this paper does not attempt to explore. Any adequate response would require some analysis of what is meant by a 'health policy'. Some attempt would need to be made to evaluate the benefits of health, the costs to society of disease and the resource requirements of policies intended to promote health. Such a 'health policy' would need to relate to all aspects of human activity, not simply to explore one or two dimensions such as diet or exercise. An analysis on such a scale would be valuable and should form a background to a wide range of policy decisions. However, this paper discusses a 'health policy' in the much narrower sense of government actions designed to influence what we eat and the effect of this on those who produce our food. Here there exist perplexing issues and possible hazards to the livelihood, if not the life, of those who work in agriculture. The paper falls into four sections: (I) an elementary analysis of the impact of assumed changes in dietary habits, (2) a discussion of policy options by which the government might influence diet, (3) an attempt to relate this to the economic context within which the industry (4) a discussion of adjustments in the agricultural sector. operates, The economics of assumed changes in dietary habits Current concern about what we eat is the result of much painstaking scientific work. Sufficient evidence has now been produced to make the layman pause as he fills his mouth with cream or sugar or settles down to many traditional dishes. Of its nature such evidence does not lead to certainties. Much more remains to be discovered and more than one interpretation of known facts is feasible. This paper can make no attempt to arbitrate in such issues. Rather it makes the assumption that reports such as those from the National Advisory Council on Nutrition Education (NACNE) (1983) and the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy (COMA) (1984) will be taken seriously by consumers and will influence government decisions. The advice given by such authorities is carefully hedged by qualifications which seek to make the reader aware of the incompleteness of much of the scientific evidence presented, the diversity of human needs and the dangers of over-sweeping generalization. However, some clear directions for changed eating habits are proposed. The UK citizens as a whole …