Considerable policy and academic attention has been focused on the topic of food deserts. We consider this topic from an economic perspective. First, we consider how the components of a standard economic analysis apply to the study of food deserts. Second, using this economic lens, we revisit the empirical literature on food deserts to assess the…

To the extent that social science scholarship engages real-world developments it remains grounded and better able to resist elite agendas. With this in mind this article argues for the critical encounter with what I argue is the most significant struggle around food and agriculture today--the amorphous and broad-based movement that strives to…

Promoting student health and well-being in school has long been a component of education. Traditionally, sports and physical education programs have stressed the importance of staying physically healthy through exercise. More recently, school-based sexual education and nutrition programs have informed young people about the importance of sexual…

Any process or event that disrupts the flow of nutrients and energy becomes a nutrition problem. Nutritionists should promote practices that protect the integrity, stability, and beauty of the land community (soil, water, air, all biological species). (Author)

This paper utilizes knowledge gained from work on future issues related to families, the work of futurists on social trends and technological development, and recent studies in home economics to draw conclusions regarding what people will need to know in the 1980s and beyond to be intelligent consumers and effective homemakers. The first of six…

This paper reports on the enigma of Casper Hauser (1812-1833), a child isolated from human contact for the first sixteen years of life. Upon his release (from incarceration in a cell), on the streets of Nurnberg, Germany in 1828, at the age of sixteen, he could barely walk, and could not talk. Although he appeared completely retarded, his senses…

This article, citing the example of large bookselling chains who offer cafes in their stores, advocates the provision of food and drink in school libraries as well. High-quality food, made available by vending machine, would increase levels of wellness, energy, and teachability. Protests involving mess, lack of money, and difficulties with parents…

This commentary addresses the role of behavior and learning in children's liking and eating of vegetables and candy, discussing the results from research with preschool children concerning their development of food preferences and the social context of eating. Practical applications of the research results for schools are presented. (SM)

Presents information on standards for American child care and early education programs participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Topics discussed include meal plans, nutritional requirements, food preparation and food service, cultural diversity, food safety and sanitation, nutrition education, and emotional climate at mealtimes. (KB)

Nutritional deficiencies and imbalances can influence learning directly or indirectly. Fatigue, boredom and low motivation may be the result of poor nutrition. Some vision problems, it is known, are related to deficiencies in vitamin A. A number of studies indicate that protein-caloric malnutrition affects intellectual and psychomotor development.…

This paper presents and evaluates the broad results of pre-school intervention experiments and programs aimed at fostering the intellectual and social development of "disadvantaged" groups. Among the general findings discussed are (1) there is a "sensitive," or even "critical," period in child development, an age at…

This report discusses commercialism in schools and its possible connection to student health. Sections of the report are titled as follows: "The Context in Which School Commercialism Flourishes"; "Schoolhouse Commercialism: Marketing Methods"; "Nutrition-Related Marketing in Schools"; "Exclusive Agreements with…

This discussion of the economic, social, health, and educational crisis facing African-American children is based on 20 years of statistical data and the history of U.S. legislative programs for the benefit of children in this century. It is noted that children in general are not valued in the United States, and that African-American children in…

At the seminar reported in this paper, concepts related to three types of "mediators" whose impact on the development of the child was seen as crucial were examined in the keynote address, in three short papers, and in the discussions of the seminar's three working groups. This report, which was adopted unanimously at the seminar's…