This report uses an economic model of global trade flows to investigate how the U.S. farm landscape would be altered if Americans started eating more healthfully. The report estimates how changes in demand for certain kinds of foods, and associated price shifts, could affect the supply and demand for other goods and food products, both domestically and through international trade.

Analysis finds that transitioning the American diet to one that includes less processed food and meat, and more fruits and vegetables, would significantly shift today’s corn- and soybean-dominated farm landscape to one that is more diversified. In turn, a landscape that produces a healthier mix of crops and livestock for local and regional markets can have positive effects—not only in improved nutrition and health for consumers but also in the form of significant benefits for the environment and farm country’s local economies.