Food Inequality
In recent years, there has been a lot of focus on childhood
obesity and healthcare. Michelle Obama has done a phenomenal job with her
comprehensive initiative “Let’s Move!” which has encouraged our country’s youth
to be active and healthy. Our government has even reevaluated the food pyramid and turned to using MyPlate which serves as a more accurate depiction
of how we should really be eating. Additionally, there have also been changes
made to our healthcare system making it more accessible than ever before. But
what happens when we don’t all have the same access to healthy foods? How can
we be expected to get fit, fight disease or prevent disease to begin with? Even
if we have access to healthy foods, are these foods high quality? What percentage
of the population can consistently afford to purchase organic foods? Furthermore, what happens when the way our
food is produced is actually harmful to our environment?
Whether we live in urban, rural or suburban neighborhoods,
the amount of organic food options is limited and pricey, the price gap between
fruits, vegetables and grains versus meat and dairy is forever growing, [1]
and we are bombarded by healthy foods that are ridden with pesticides,
antibiotics and hormones. To make matters worse, this is not a phenomenon that
happened overnight. This is a phenomenon deeply rooted in the way America has
done business for years and is going to take hard work and dedication to
unravel.
In the early 1900s, food supply was an issue for many
Americans in various parts of the country and malnutrition was common. It was
clear that adding milk and meat to these individuals’ diets made an impactful
difference. Thus, the government granted subsidies to farmers producing meat
and milk so increased production would take place. As a result, nutritional
deficiencies disappeared. Now, we simply have the polar opposite issue with a
population that is overwhelmingly ridden with obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer
and heart disease. [2]
Currently, the US raises a surplus of livestock. In fact,
the amount of livestock raised is so immense that it is one of the largest
contributors to global warming, larger than transportation.[3]
In fact, globally, livestock accounts for one-fifth of greenhouse gases. [4]Additionally,
the livestock is mistreated, subjected to poor living conditions and pumped
with hormones and antibiotics. The antibiotics found in many meats are causing
humans to resist the antibiotics prescribed to fight disease and illnesses.[5]
The hormones are forcing our children to
go through puberty years earlier than previous generations; this also puts our
young girls at a greater risk of developing breast cancer.[6]
And while the amount of meat we consume has steadily declined in recent years,
it is still a staggering amount. As of
2011, Americans consume a whopping 25.6 billion pounds of beef. This is that
much meat than we need. And despite decreased consumption of beef, meat
consumption has actually doubled since 1970.
Vegetables and fruits are sprayed with pesticides in order
to prolong their life when being transported from farms to grocery stores.[7]
In turn, this would obviously allow for larger and more efficient shipments
without worrying about any kind of loss. However, despite the need to produce
and ship more fruits and vegetables by using pesticides, we still don’t produce
enough fruits and vegetables for every American to consume the government’s
recommended servings. Why? Because farmers are too busy producing items that
are subsidized by the government such as corn, soy and wheat which are predominately
used for processed and nutrient lacking foods.[8]
The solution? There no single or easy answer, however we can
start by driving our market. We as consumers have immense power; buy local and buy
organic. Put it in demand. Much more easily said than done when buying organic
can often mean paying nearly twice as much, if you even have the option. However,
you can start by finding out which foods are most important to buy organic and
which may be okay to buy conventional. Don’t live near a high quality grocery
store? Demand that the grocery store you live near raise its standards, carry
more plentiful and high quality produce and have organic options. Build a
garden so you can grow your own organic fruits and vegetables, buy organic
only, shop at farmer’s markets, or own a plot at a community garden. Doing all
these things will help pull money away from conventionally produced foods. The
goal is that eventually, conventional will in fact be organic!
[1] Mark
Bittman, Food Matters (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009), 9-10.
[2] Vesanto
Melina and Branda Davis, The New Becoming a Vegetarian (Tennessee:
Healthy Living Publications, 2003), 15-16.
[3] “Livestock
A Major Threat to Environment,” accessed March 8, 2013, http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html.
[4] Bittman,
1.
[5] “Saving
Antibiotics,” last revised August 3, 2012, http://www.nrdc.org/food/saving-antibiotics.asp.
[6] “Is
the Early Onset of Puberty in Young Girls Linked to Meat?” posted August 13, 2010, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-pirello/is-the-early-onset-of-pub_b_677424.html.
[7] “Produce
and Pesticides: What You Need To Know,” posted September 23, 2010, http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/produce-and-pesticides-what-you-need-know.
[8]
Bittman, 23.
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