Externalities from grain consumption: a survey.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) publishes their MyPyramid plan as a recommended eating model for all Americans. As part of this model, grain consumption is emphasized. This grain consumption has the potential to generate positive externalities, such as reduced rates of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Such positive externalities can potentially produce tangible economic benefits in terms of public health. In contrast, newer nutritional research shows that grain consumption may have negative effects on health for certain population groups. Celiac disease is four times as common as it was 50 years ago and is often under-diagnosed. Other population groups exhibit gluten sensitivity which can impact the development of asthma, allergies and neurological difficulties. This survey intends to provide a comprehensive description of both the positive and negative externalities associated with grain consumption and the resulting impact on human health.

The feasibility of a Paleolithic diet for low-income consumers.

Many low-income consumers face a limited budget for food purchases. The United States Department of Agriculture developed the Thrifty Food Plan to address this problem of consuming a healthy diet given a budget constraint. This dietary optimization program uses common food choices to build a suitable diet. In this article, the United States Department of Agriculture data sets are used to test the feasibility of consuming a Paleolithic diet given a limited budget. The Paleolithic diet is described as the diet that humans are genetically adapted to, containing only the preagricultural food groups of meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Constraints were applied to the diet optimization model to restrict grains, dairy, and certain other food categories. Constraints were also applied for macronutrients, micronutrients, and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. The results show that it is possible to consume a Paleolithic diet given the constraints. However, the diet does fall short of meeting the daily recommended intakes for certain micronutrients. A 9.3% increase in income is needed to consume a Paleolithic diet that meets all daily recommended intakes except for calcium.