The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 introduced many of the Farm Bill provisions that remain present today, including precursors to the current food and nutrition programs (FANPs). This policy served multiple purposes, including enhanced demand for farm products to alleviate low farm income and reduce agricultural surpluses, and enhanced food security and improved nutrition for the poor.

The Cold War is an increasingly distant memory in American military minds, except in the minds of the arms control community, and in particular those who seek the elimination of nuclear weapons. Alas, our president is a member in good standing of this community—indeed, an organizer.So, too, it...

A total of 15 different U.S. food and nutrition programs (FANPs) serve about one in four Americans at a current annual cost of almost $100 billion. Can the government actually improve our personal eating habits? Are these billions of dollars well-spent?

With no end to the obesity epidemic in sight, several states and cities have proposed soda taxes on sugar-sweetened soda and other beverages. At this conference, experts John E. Calfee of AEI and Jamie Chriqui of the University of Illinois at Chicago will analyze the evidence on soda taxes and other measures.

There is practically no reliable scientific support for using the soda tax to fight obesity. The tax is an impulse to generate new revenue and not a creative public health measure.

Moderation in one's personal habits should be matched by moderation (or at least more humility) in public policy.

The rise in obesity has generated enormous popular interest and policy concern in developing countries, where it is rapidly becoming the major public health problem facing such nations.

Studies show that increased exercise during the holidays could begin to combat the obesity epidemic.