Farm Legislature: Feeding our Future
Background of the Farm Bills:
The farm bill of the United States is the primary agriculture and food policy tool of the federal government. It is passed every five years and umbrellas anything to do with the United States Department of Agriculture. These bills can be highly controversial, and can impact very specific aspects of peoples lives, including food safety, international trade, and the overall well-being of rural communities.
The farm bill was first created during the Great Depression to give financial assistance farmers who suffered from an excess of crops creating low prices, as well as to control food supply at this time. It was passed in 1933 as part of Franklin D Roosevelt's New Deal.
Nutrition for Today's Generation:
21.4% of the Farm Bill's mandatory spending distribution goes towards child nutrition. My degree that I am working towards here at Utah State University is in Communication Disorders. I will be working with children every single day, usually within a school setting. It is a well know and researched fact that a child's nutrition stability directly affects their ability to learn. The program illustrated at extension.org provides three ways nutrition influences a student's learning potential and performance in school. They are as follows:
1. Improve Nutrition to Increase Brain Function
"Several studies show that nutritional status can directly affect mental capacity among school-aged children. For example, iron deficiency, even in early stages, can decrease dopamine transmission, thus negatively impacting cognition. Deficiencies in other vitamins and mineral,s specifically thiamine, vitamin E, vitamin B, iodine, and zinc, are shown to inhibit cognitive abilities and mental concentration. Additionally, amino acid and carbohydrate supplementation can improve perception, intuition, and reasoning. There are also a number of studies showing that improvements in nutrient intake can influence the cognitive ability and intelligence levels of school-aged children."
2. Provide a Balanced Diet for Better Behaviors and Learning Environments
"Good nutrition helps students show up at school prepared to learn. Because improvements in nutrition make students healthier, students are likely to have fewer absences and attend class more frequently. Studies show that malnutrition leads to behavior problems, and that sugar has a negative impact on child behavior. However, these affects can be counteracted when children consume a balanced diet that includes protein, fat, complex carbohydrates, and fiber. Thus students will have more time in class, and students will have fewer interruptions in learning over the course of the school year. Additional, student' behavior may improve and cause fewer disruption in the classroom, creating a better learning environment for each student in the class."
3. Promote Diet Quality for Positive School Outcomes
"Sociologists and economists have looked more closely at the impact of a student's diet and nutrition on academic and behavioral outcomes. Researchers generally find that a higher quality diet is associated with better performance on exams, and that programs focused on increasing student's health also show modest improvements in students' academic test scores. Other studies find that improving the quality of students' diets leads to students being on task more often, increases math test scores, possibly increases reading test scores, and increases attendance. Additionally, eliminating the sale of soft drinks in vending machines in school and replacing them with other drinks had a positive effect on behavioral outcomes such as tardiness and disciplinary referrals."
A child's nutrition has the power to greatly affect his or her academic experience. Children deserve to have every opportunity presented to them and through federal government funding, proper nutrition can reach a greater number of our nation's children.
3 Ways Nutrition Influences Student Learning Potential and School Performance. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://articles.extension.org/pages/68774/3-ways-nutrition-influences-student-learning-potential-and-school-performance
1. Improve Nutrition to Increase Brain Function
"Several studies show that nutritional status can directly affect mental capacity among school-aged children. For example, iron deficiency, even in early stages, can decrease dopamine transmission, thus negatively impacting cognition. Deficiencies in other vitamins and mineral,s specifically thiamine, vitamin E, vitamin B, iodine, and zinc, are shown to inhibit cognitive abilities and mental concentration. Additionally, amino acid and carbohydrate supplementation can improve perception, intuition, and reasoning. There are also a number of studies showing that improvements in nutrient intake can influence the cognitive ability and intelligence levels of school-aged children."
2. Provide a Balanced Diet for Better Behaviors and Learning Environments
"Good nutrition helps students show up at school prepared to learn. Because improvements in nutrition make students healthier, students are likely to have fewer absences and attend class more frequently. Studies show that malnutrition leads to behavior problems, and that sugar has a negative impact on child behavior. However, these affects can be counteracted when children consume a balanced diet that includes protein, fat, complex carbohydrates, and fiber. Thus students will have more time in class, and students will have fewer interruptions in learning over the course of the school year. Additional, student' behavior may improve and cause fewer disruption in the classroom, creating a better learning environment for each student in the class."
3. Promote Diet Quality for Positive School Outcomes
"Sociologists and economists have looked more closely at the impact of a student's diet and nutrition on academic and behavioral outcomes. Researchers generally find that a higher quality diet is associated with better performance on exams, and that programs focused on increasing student's health also show modest improvements in students' academic test scores. Other studies find that improving the quality of students' diets leads to students being on task more often, increases math test scores, possibly increases reading test scores, and increases attendance. Additionally, eliminating the sale of soft drinks in vending machines in school and replacing them with other drinks had a positive effect on behavioral outcomes such as tardiness and disciplinary referrals."
Photograph courtesy of https://www.realbuzz.com/articles/healthy-eating-for-kids/
A child's nutrition has the power to greatly affect his or her academic experience. Children deserve to have every opportunity presented to them and through federal government funding, proper nutrition can reach a greater number of our nation's children.
3 Ways Nutrition Influences Student Learning Potential and School Performance. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://articles.extension.org/pages/68774/3-ways-nutrition-influences-student-learning-potential-and-school-performance
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