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College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Health and Well-Being

Articles 31 - 49 of 49

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Risk Attitudes Affect Livestock Biosecurity Decisions With Ramifications For Disease Control In A Simulated Production System, Gabriela Bucini, Scott C. Merrill, Eric Clark, Susan M. Moegenburg, Asim Zia, Christopher J. Koliba, Serge Wiltshire, Luke Trinity, Julia M. Smith Jan 2019

Risk Attitudes Affect Livestock Biosecurity Decisions With Ramifications For Disease Control In A Simulated Production System, Gabriela Bucini, Scott C. Merrill, Eric Clark, Susan M. Moegenburg, Asim Zia, Christopher J. Koliba, Serge Wiltshire, Luke Trinity, Julia M. Smith

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

HOG producers' operational decisions can be informed by an awareness of risks associated with emergent and endemic diseases. Outbreaks of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) have been re-occurring every year since the first onset in 2013 with substantial losses across the hog production supply chain. Interestingly, a decreasing trend in PEDv incidence is visible. We assert that changes in human behaviors may underlie this trend. Disease prevention using biosecurity practices is used to minimize risk of infection but its efficacy is conditional on human behavior and risk attitude. Standard epidemiological models bring important insights into disease dynamics but have limited …

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Willingness To Comply With Biosecurity In Livestock Facilities: Evidence From Experimental Simulations, Scott C. Merrill, Susan Moegenburg, Christopher J. Koliba, Asim Zia, Luke Trinity, Eric Clark, Gabriela Bucini, Serge Wiltshire, Timothy Sellnow, Deanna Sellnow, Julia M. Smith Jan 2019

Willingness To Comply With Biosecurity In Livestock Facilities: Evidence From Experimental Simulations, Scott C. Merrill, Susan Moegenburg, Christopher J. Koliba, Asim Zia, Luke Trinity, Eric Clark, Gabriela Bucini, Serge Wiltshire, Timothy Sellnow, Deanna Sellnow, Julia M. Smith

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Disease in U.S. animal livestock industries annually costs over a billion dollars. Adoption and compliance with biosecurity practices is necessary to successfully reduce the risk of disease introduction or spread. Yet, a variety …

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Sampling Tomorrow's Lunch Today: Examining The Effect Of Sampling A Vegetable-Focused Entrée On School Lunch Participation, A Pilot Study, Lizzy Pope, Erin Roche, Caitlin B. Morgan, Jane Kolodinsky Dec 2018

Sampling Tomorrow's Lunch Today: Examining The Effect Of Sampling A Vegetable-Focused Entrée On School Lunch Participation, A Pilot Study, Lizzy Pope, Erin Roche, Caitlin B. Morgan, Jane Kolodinsky

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

School lunch programs are important pillars in the food system, as they impact children's health, local agriculture, and community food security. When offering a new lunch entrée that contains vegetables, schools must consider whether students will choose the new entrée to avoid low participation rates and decreased revenue. Previous research in marketing suggests that sampling (i.e. taste testing) can positively impact consumer choice. In terms of encouraging students to eat school lunch and particularly items that include vegetables, it is often assumed that sampling will help direct food choice to healthier items, but little research has investigated the impact of …

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The Perceived Influence Of Cost-Offset Community-Supported Agriculture On Food Access Among Low-Income Families, Michelle J. White, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Jared T. Mcguirt, Karla L. Hanson, Emily H. Morgan, Jane Kolodinsky, Weiwei Wang, Marilyn Sitaker, Alice S. Ammerman, Rebecca A. Seguin Oct 2018

The Perceived Influence Of Cost-Offset Community-Supported Agriculture On Food Access Among Low-Income Families, Michelle J. White, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Jared T. Mcguirt, Karla L. Hanson, Emily H. Morgan, Jane Kolodinsky, Weiwei Wang, Marilyn Sitaker, Alice S. Ammerman, Rebecca A. Seguin

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Objective To examine perspectives on food access among low-income families participating in a cost-offset community-supported agriculture (CO-CSA) programme.Design Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids (F3HK) is a multicentre randomized intervention trial assessing the effect of CO-CSA on dietary intake and quality among children from low-income families. Focus groups were conducted at the end of the first CO-CSA season. Participants were interviewed about programme experiences, framed by five dimensions of food access: Availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability and accommodation. Transcribed data were coded on these dimensions plus emergent themes.Setting Nine communities in the US states of New York, North Carolina, Washington and …

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Mandatory Labels Can Improve Attitudes Toward Genetically Engineered Food, Jane Kolodinsky, Jayson L. Lusk Jun 2018

Mandatory Labels Can Improve Attitudes Toward Genetically Engineered Food, Jane Kolodinsky, Jayson L. Lusk

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The prospect of state and federal laws mandating labeling of genetically engineered (GE) food has prompted vigorous debate about the consequences of the policy on consumer attitudes toward these technologies. There has been substantial debate over whether mandated labels might increase or decrease consumer aversion toward genetic engineering. This research aims to help resolve this issue using a data set containing more than 7800 observations that measures levels of opposition in a national control group compared to levels in Vermont, the only U.S. state to have implemented mandatory labeling of GE foods. Difference-in-difference estimates of opposition to GE food before …

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Gaining And Maintaining A Competitive Edge: Evidence From Csa Members And Farmers On Local Food Marketing Strategies, Emily H. Morgan, Michelle M. Severs, Karla L. Hanson, Jared Mcguirt, Florence Becot, Weiwei Wang, Jane Kolodinsky, Marilyn Sitaker, Stephanie B.Jilcott Pitts, Alice Ammerman, Rebecca A. Seguin Jun 2018

Gaining And Maintaining A Competitive Edge: Evidence From Csa Members And Farmers On Local Food Marketing Strategies, Emily H. Morgan, Michelle M. Severs, Karla L. Hanson, Jared Mcguirt, Florence Becot, Weiwei Wang, Jane Kolodinsky, Marilyn Sitaker, Stephanie B.Jilcott Pitts, Alice Ammerman, Rebecca A. Seguin

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a widely-used approach for farmers to sell directly to consumers. We used the product, place, price, and promotion (4P) marketing mix framework to examine characteristics that help farms offering CSA maintain member satisfaction and thus competitiveness. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 CSA members and 24 CSA farmers in four states. CSA members additionally completed a modified choice experiment. Qualitative data were coded iteratively, and choice experiment data were summarized and compared across scenarios. CSA members and farmers were motivated by a range of personal, social, environmental, and economic objectives. Members favored high-quality staple vegetables (e.g., …

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You Can’T “Nudge” Nuggets: An Investigation Of College Late-Night Dining With Behavioral Economics Interventions, Samuel Bevet, Meredith T. Niles, Lizzy Pope May 2018

You Can’T “Nudge” Nuggets: An Investigation Of College Late-Night Dining With Behavioral Economics Interventions, Samuel Bevet, Meredith T. Niles, Lizzy Pope

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

A mixed-methods approach was used to evaluate and improve the “late-night dining” options in a university dining hall. Surveys assessed student desires for late-night offerings, and evaluated students’ habits and motivations during late-night dining. Two interventions were implemented to see if students could be “nudged” into different choice patterns. In the first, a “veggie-heavy” entrée was added at the beginning of the entrée line, so that students would substitute an entrée containing vegetables for the alternatives. In the second, a snack-food bar was set up to cater to students who didn’t want to stand in the long entrée line, and …

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Relationship Between Food Waste, Diet Quality, And Environmental Sustainability, Zach Conrad, Meredith T. Niles, Deborah A. Neher, Eric D. Roy, Nicole E. Tichenor, Lisa Jahns Apr 2018

Relationship Between Food Waste, Diet Quality, And Environmental Sustainability, Zach Conrad, Meredith T. Niles, Deborah A. Neher, Eric D. Roy, Nicole E. Tichenor, Lisa Jahns

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Improving diet quality while simultaneously reducing environmental impact is a critical focus globally. Metrics linking diet quality and sustainability have typically focused on a limited suite of indicators, and have not included food waste. To address this important research gap, we examine the relationship between food waste, diet quality, nutrient waste, and multiple measures of sustainability: use of cropland, irrigation water, pesticides, and fertilizers. Data on food intake, food waste, and application rates of agricultural amendments were collected from diverse US government sources. Diet quality was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index-2015. A biophysical simulation model was used to estimate …

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The Impact Of Genetic Changes During Crop Domestication On Healthy Food Development, Petr Smýkal, Matthew N. Nelson, Jens D. Berger, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg Jan 2018

The Impact Of Genetic Changes During Crop Domestication On Healthy Food Development, Petr Smýkal, Matthew N. Nelson, Jens D. Berger, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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A Multi-Country Assessment Of Factors Related To Smallholder Food Security In Varying Rainfall Conditions, Meredith T. Niles, Molly E. Brown Dec 2017

A Multi-Country Assessment Of Factors Related To Smallholder Food Security In Varying Rainfall Conditions, Meredith T. Niles, Molly E. Brown

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Given that smallholder farmers are frequently food insecure and rely significantly on rain-fed agriculture, it is critical to examine climate variability and food insecurity. We utilize data from smallholder farmer surveys from 12 countries with 30 years of rainfall data to examine how rainfall variability and household resources are correlated with food security. We find that on average, households that experienced a drier than average year are 3.81 months food insecure, while households within a normal range of rainfall were 3.67 months food insecure, and wetter than average households were 2.86 months food insecure. Reduced odds of food insecurity is …

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Adults And Children In Low-Income Households That Participate In Cost-Offset Community Supported Agriculture Have High Fruit And Vegetable Consumption, Karla L. Hanson, Jane Kolodinsky, Weiwei Wang, Emily H. Morgan, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Alice S. Ammerman, Marilyn Sitaker, Rebecca A. Seguin Jul 2017

Adults And Children In Low-Income Households That Participate In Cost-Offset Community Supported Agriculture Have High Fruit And Vegetable Consumption, Karla L. Hanson, Jane Kolodinsky, Weiwei Wang, Emily H. Morgan, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Alice S. Ammerman, Marilyn Sitaker, Rebecca A. Seguin

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This paper examines fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) in low-income households that participated in a cost-offset (CO), or 50% subsidized, community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. CSA customers paid farms upfront for a share of the harvest, and received produce weekly throughout the growing season. A cohort of adults and children 2-12 y in a summer CO-CSA were surveyed online twice: August 2015 (n = 41) and February 2016 (n = 23). FVI was measured by the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Fruit and Vegetable Screener (FVS) and an inventory of locally grown fruits and vegetables. FVI relative to …

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Farm Fresh Foods For Healthy Kids (F3hk): An Innovative Community Supported Agriculture Intervention To Prevent Childhood Obesity In Low-Income Families And Strengthen Local Agricultural Economies, Rebecca A. Seguin, Emily H. Morgan, Karla L. Hanson, Alice S. Ammerman, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Jane Kolodinsky, Marilyn Sitaker, Florence A. Becot, Leah M. Connor, Jennifer A. Garner, Jared T. Mcguirt Apr 2017

Farm Fresh Foods For Healthy Kids (F3hk): An Innovative Community Supported Agriculture Intervention To Prevent Childhood Obesity In Low-Income Families And Strengthen Local Agricultural Economies, Rebecca A. Seguin, Emily H. Morgan, Karla L. Hanson, Alice S. Ammerman, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Jane Kolodinsky, Marilyn Sitaker, Florence A. Becot, Leah M. Connor, Jennifer A. Garner, Jared T. Mcguirt

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Childhood obesity persists in the United States and is associated with serious health problems. Higher rates of obesity among children from disadvantaged households may be, in part, attributable to disparities in access to healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. Community supported agriculture can improve access to and consumption of fresh produce, but the upfront payment structure, logistical barriers, and unfamiliarity with produce items may inhibit participation by low-income families. The aim of this project is to assess the impact of subsidized, or "cost-offset," community supported agriculture participation coupled with tailored nutrition education for low-income families with children. Methods/design: …

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Effects Of Skeletal Streetscape Design On Perceived Safety, Chester Harvey, Lisa Aultman-Hall, Stephanie E. Hurley, Austin Troy Oct 2015

Effects Of Skeletal Streetscape Design On Perceived Safety, Chester Harvey, Lisa Aultman-Hall, Stephanie E. Hurley, Austin Troy

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

It is important for planners and urban designers to understand how physical characteristics of urban streetscapes contribute to perceptions of them as safe, comfortable urban spaces. While urban design theory offers numerous suggestions for successful streetscapes there is meager empirical evidence of their effects. We suggest that this is largely due to precision and sample size limitations on audit-based physical design and human perception measurements. This paper overcomes these limitations by identifying a key set of "streetscape skeleton" design variables that can be efficiently measured using a GIS-based method. It then measures these variables on a large and diverse sample …

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Nutrition-Related Policy And Environmental Strategies To Prevent Obesity In Rural Communities: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, 2002-2013, Larissa Calancie, Jennifer Leeman, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Laura Kettel Khan, Sheila Fleischhacker, R. Evenson Kelly, Michelle Schreiner, Carmen Byker, Clint Owens, Jared Mcguirt, Ellen Barnidge, Wesley Dean, Donna Johnson, Jane Kolodinsky, Emily Piltch, Courtney Pinard, Emilee Quinn, Lauren Whetstone, Alice Ammerman Apr 2015

Nutrition-Related Policy And Environmental Strategies To Prevent Obesity In Rural Communities: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, 2002-2013, Larissa Calancie, Jennifer Leeman, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Laura Kettel Khan, Sheila Fleischhacker, R. Evenson Kelly, Michelle Schreiner, Carmen Byker, Clint Owens, Jared Mcguirt, Ellen Barnidge, Wesley Dean, Donna Johnson, Jane Kolodinsky, Emily Piltch, Courtney Pinard, Emilee Quinn, Lauren Whetstone, Alice Ammerman

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Introduction Residents of rural communities in the United States are at higher risk for obesity than their urban and suburban counterparts. Policy and environmental-change strategies supporting healthier dietary intake can prevent obesity and promote health equity. Evidence in support of these strategies is based largely on urban and suburban studies; little is known about use of these strategies in rural communities. The purpose of this review was to synthesize available evidence on the adaptation, implementation, and effectiveness of policy and environmental obesity-prevention strategies in rural settings. Methods The review was guided by a list of Centers for Disease Control and …

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Developing An Agenda For Research About Policies To Improve Access To Healthy Foods In Rural Communities: A Concept Mapping Study, Donna B. Johnson, Emilee Quinn, Marilyn Sitaker, Alice Ammerman, Carmen Byker, Wesley Dean, Sheila Fleischhacker, Jane Kolodinsky, Courtney Pinard, Stephanie B.Jilcott Pitts, Joseph Sharkey Jun 2014

Developing An Agenda For Research About Policies To Improve Access To Healthy Foods In Rural Communities: A Concept Mapping Study, Donna B. Johnson, Emilee Quinn, Marilyn Sitaker, Alice Ammerman, Carmen Byker, Wesley Dean, Sheila Fleischhacker, Jane Kolodinsky, Courtney Pinard, Stephanie B.Jilcott Pitts, Joseph Sharkey

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Policies that improve access to healthy, affordable foods may improve population health and reduce health disparities. In the United States most food access policy research focuses on urban communities even though residents of rural communities face disproportionately higher risk for nutrition-related chronic diseases compared to residents of urban communities. The purpose of this study was to (1) identify the factors associated with access to healthy, affordable food in rural communities in the United States; and (2) prioritize a meaningful and feasible rural food policy research agenda. Methods. This study was conducted by the Rural Food Access Workgroup (RFAWG), a …

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Food Sovereignty: An Alternative Paradigm For Poverty Reduction And Biodiversity Conservation In Latin America, M. Jahi Chappell, Hannah Wittman, Christopher M. Bacon, Bruce G. Ferguson, Luis García Barrios, Raúl García Barrios, Daniel Jaffee, Jefferson Lima, V. Ernesto Méndez, Helda Morales, Lorena Soto-Pinto, John Vandermeer, Ivette Perfecto Nov 2013

Food Sovereignty: An Alternative Paradigm For Poverty Reduction And Biodiversity Conservation In Latin America, M. Jahi Chappell, Hannah Wittman, Christopher M. Bacon, Bruce G. Ferguson, Luis García Barrios, Raúl García Barrios, Daniel Jaffee, Jefferson Lima, V. Ernesto Méndez, Helda Morales, Lorena Soto-Pinto, John Vandermeer, Ivette Perfecto

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Strong feedback between global biodiversity loss and persistent, extreme rural poverty are major challenges in the face of concurrent food, energy, and environmental crises. This paper examines the role of industrial agricultural intensification and market integration as exogenous socio-ecological drivers of biodiversity loss and poverty traps in Latin America. We then analyze the potential of a food sovereignty framework, based on protecting the viability of a diverse agroecological matrix while supporting rural livelihoods and global food production. We review several successful examples of this approach, including ecological land reform in Brazil, agroforestry, milpa, and the uses of wild varieties in …

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It Is Not How Far You Go, It Is Whether You Can Get There: Modeling The Effects Of Mobility On Quality Of Life In Rural New England, Jane M. Kolodinsky, Thomas Patrick Desisto, David Propen, Matthew E. Putnam, Erin Roche, William R. Sawyer Jul 2013

It Is Not How Far You Go, It Is Whether You Can Get There: Modeling The Effects Of Mobility On Quality Of Life In Rural New England, Jane M. Kolodinsky, Thomas Patrick Desisto, David Propen, Matthew E. Putnam, Erin Roche, William R. Sawyer

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Many northern rural areas in the United States present particular challenges to providing year-round transportation options for residents. Climate and the distribution of population and amenities present challenges to developing rural mobility systems that may result in a higher quality of life. Using structural equation modeling and a 2009 survey of residents of Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, this study estimated how the availability of built amenities, natural amenities, weather and attitudes toward travel explain actual and unserved travel demand and subsequently quality of life. The presence of unserved travel demand significantly decreased quality of life, while the predicted number …

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Time Use And Food Pattern Influences On Obesity, Jane M. Kolodinsky, Amanda B. Goldstein Dec 2011

Time Use And Food Pattern Influences On Obesity, Jane M. Kolodinsky, Amanda B. Goldstein

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The rise of obesity in the United States over the past 25 years has resulted in an increase in the number of research studies published related to the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to the problem. Most would agree that obesity is a multi-dimensional problem that requires a range of solutions related to individual diet and activity, food and built environment, and public policy. Examination of complex relationships between food choice, time use patterns, sociodemographic characteristics and obesity has been limited by data availability and disciplinary focus. Using the theory of the production of health capital, this paper links empirical …

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The Digital Divide In Internet Information Searching: A Double-Hurdle Model Analysis Of Household Data From Vermont, Guangxuan Zhang, Qingbin Wang, Jane Kolodinsky Jan 2010

The Digital Divide In Internet Information Searching: A Double-Hurdle Model Analysis Of Household Data From Vermont, Guangxuan Zhang, Qingbin Wang, Jane Kolodinsky

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

While most studies on the digital divide in the United States focus on disparities in access to computers and the Internet, this study examines the digital divide in Internet information searching. With data from 476 Vermont households surveyed in 2009, a double-hurdle model is used to identify the factors that impact the likelihood and frequency of using the Internet for information searching. Empirical results suggest that there are significant disparities in both the likelihood and frequency of online information searching in Vermont and that these disparities are closely associated with several socioeconomic and demographic factors such as education level, income, …

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