Papers by Robert Lawrence
Yale journal of health policy, law, and ethics, 2004
In 1923 Mrs. Cecile Steele of Delaware received 500 chicks instead of the fifty she had ordered t... more In 1923 Mrs. Cecile Steele of Delaware received 500 chicks instead of the fifty she had ordered to restock her flock of laying hens. When she decided to keep all 500 chicks and found she could turn a profit selling them as food, the era of "big chicken" was born on the eastern shore of Maryland.' In Slaughterhouse Blues: The Meat and Poultry Industry in North America, 2 anthropologist Donald Stull and social geographer Michael Broadway team up to investigate the impact of the unprecedented changes that followed in the poultry industry and similar changes that occurred in the beef and pork industries. Slaughterhouse Blues is an important book and should be of interest to all who care about sustainable agriculture, the future of rural communities, and the health and environmental consequences of the current industrial agricultural system. The book is an excellent introduction to the important links between public health and food production. The authors frame the larger issue in the book's preface: Canada and the United States are urban societies and, despite our collective dependence upon agriculture, most North Americans have lost
Public Health Reports, 2001
In identifying appropriate strategies for effective use of preventive services for particular set... more In identifying appropriate strategies for effective use of preventive services for particular settings or populations, public health practitioners employ a systematic approach to evaluating the literature. Behavioral interventton studies that focus on prevention, however, pose special challenges forthese traditional methods. Tools for synthesizing evidence on Preventive interventions can improve public health practice.
Toward a Social Definition of Health
Progress in Vaccine Development
Pacific Partnerships for Health
... Guam: Dennis Rodriguez, PeterJohn Camacho, Marie Borja, many other staff of Department of Pub... more ... Guam: Dennis Rodriguez, PeterJohn Camacho, Marie Borja, many other staff of Department of Public Health and Social Services, Elena Scraggs, the FHP ... Santos Olikong, Lucia Ngivaiwet, Gerdence Meyar, Cynthia Malsol, Caleb Otto, Judy Otto, Dr. Ueki, and Francis Matsutaro. ...
Annual Review of Public Health, Mar 18, 2015
The US food system functions within a complex nexus of social, political, economic, cultural, and... more The US food system functions within a complex nexus of social, political, economic, cultural, and ecological factors. Among them are many dynamic pressures such as population growth, urbanization, socioeconomic inequities, climate disruption, and the increasing demand for resourceintensive foods that place immense strains on public health and the environment. This review focuses on the role that policy plays in defining the food system, particularly with regard to agriculture. It further examines the challenges of making the food supply safe, nutritious, and sustainable, while respecting the rights of all people to have access to adequate food and to attain the highest standard of health. We conclude that the present US food system is largely unhealthy, inequitable, environmentally damaging, and insufficiently resilient to endure the impacts of climate change, resource depletion, and population increases, and is therefore unsustainable. Thus, it is imperative that the US embraces policy reforms to transform the food system into one that supports public health and reflects the principles of human rights and agroecology for the benefit of current and future generations.
Preparing a Workforce to Meet the Health Needs of Adolescents
Routine iron supplementation during pregnancy. Policy statement. US Preventive Services Task Force
JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 1993
Page 1. comes (eg, growth, cognitive develop¬ ment, and school performance) are cur¬ rently unava... more Page 1. comes (eg, growth, cognitive develop¬ ment, and school performance) are cur¬ rently unavailable and should be a focus of future research. Moreover, there are inadequate data to determine whether giving iron supplements ...
Preventing disease: beyond the rhetoric
Choice Reviews Online, 1990
Implementation Science, 2015
Public Health Nutrition, Jun 1, 2005
The high level of meat and saturated fat consumption in the USA and other highincome countries ex... more The high level of meat and saturated fat consumption in the USA and other highincome countries exceeds nutritional needs and contributes to high rates of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and some cancers. Affluent citizens in middle-and low-income countries are adopting similar high-meat diets and experiencing increased rates of these same chronic diseases. The industrial agricultural system, now the predominant form of agriculture in the USA and increasingly worldwide , has consequences for public health owing to its extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides, unsustainable use of resources and environmental pollution. In industrial animal production there are public health concerns surrounding feed formulations that include animal tissues, arsenic and antibiotics as well as occupational health risks and risks for nearby communities. It is of paramount importance for public health professionals to become aware of and involved in how our food is produced.
Environmental research, Oct 27, 2016
Exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) is ubiquitous and includes dietary and environmental pathways. BPA ... more Exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) is ubiquitous and includes dietary and environmental pathways. BPA is rapidly glucuronidated in the body, and both BPA and its conjugates can be readily measured in urine. To investigate the contribution of canned food and beverages, known sources of BPA contamination, to BPA biomarkers of exposure using dietary and urinary BPA concentration information in a representative sample of the U.S. We evaluated 7669 NHANES 2003-2008 participants 6 years and older with 24-h dietary recall information and urinary BPA concentrations available. Using linear regression models, we evaluated the associations between recent canned food and beverage consumption and urinary BPA concentrations, adjusting for potential confounders. We found 9% of our participants consumed one canned food in the past 24h and 2% consumed two or more canned foods. The consumption of one canned food vs. none was associated with 24% (95% CI 1.11, 1.38) higher urinary BPA concentrations. The co...
Preventive Medicine, 2016
Places where we buy food influence dietary patterns, making local food environments a good exampl... more Places where we buy food influence dietary patterns, making local food environments a good example of a mass influence on population diets. Cross-cultural studies, using reliable methods, may help understanding the relationship between food environments and diet-related health outcomes. We aimed to understand cross-national differences in the local food environment between Madrid and Baltimore by comparing an average neighborhood in each city in terms of food store types, healthy food availability, and residents' pedestrian access. During 2012-2013, we assessed one neighborhood (~15,000 residents) in each city selecting median areas in terms of socio-demographic characteristics (segregation, education, aging, and population density). We collected on-field data on (a) number and types of all food stores, (b) overall healthy food availability and (c) specific availability of fruits & vegetables. Throughout a street network analysis (200 m, 400 m and 800 m) of food stores with high healthy food availability, we estimated residents' pedestrian accessibility. We found 40 stores in Madrid and 14 in Baltimore. Small food stores carrying fresh foods in Madrid contrasted with the high presence of corner and chain convenience stores in Baltimore. In Madrid, 77% of the residents lived within less than 200 m from a food store with high healthy food availability. In contrast, 95% of Baltimore's residents lived further than 400 m from these stores. Our results may help promoting interventions from local city agencies to allocate resources to existing smallsized food stores, and to improve walkable urban environments. These actions may influence food choices, especially for those residents lacking access to private vehicles.
Bacteriuria
Frontiers of Primary Care, 1990
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Papers by Robert Lawrence