Economics, food choices, and nutrition

Americans generally are not eating enough foods that meet dietary guidelines. More choices for consumers would be available if food processors were to manufacture more foods and ingredients that met dietary guidelines. The food industry, for the most part, has the technology to develop and sell foods that meet dietary guidelines and further has the capacity to market them in such a way as to significantly provide overall healthy diets. In order to encourage such production, the industry needs the following: (a) nutritional specifications for these foods, based most probably on their caloric content, (b) significant incentives for developing the more specific health intervention products, such as product exclusivity in the market for a reasonable time depending on the financial investment, (c) a meaningful and consumer friendly Food & Drug Agency sanctioned health claim that is both cost and time effective in terms of determining efficacy and compliance.