Many aspects of our daily lives that may seem personal or neutral are linked to broader social, political, and cultural forces - even the foods we eat. Let’s take a deeper look into how what we consume is impacted by culture, geography, labor, and the unequal distribution of resources. Looking closer at seemingly simple and mundane parts of our lives - including what’s in the fridge and where it came from - helps us to recognize the larger systems our everyday realities are intertwined with. Here are some considerations and prompts for reflection and research.
Food Preferences & Culture
Our preferences, experiences, and methods of cooking food are shaped by culture, geographic region, and family.
Think of a recipe you prepare often. How long has it been around? In what locations do people eat it? Is there a specific social context in which it is prepared (such as a celebration or special event)? Where can you find the ingredients, tools, or appliances required to make it?
Your recipe may seem personal and mundane, but can simultaneously be connected to larger social, cultural, and political stories. What social, cultural, and political history can you dig up about your recipe?
Food & Access
The quality and variety of foods available to us in our locales vary. In many ways, access to food is unequal.
Take note of how many options you have to access food. Are you able to access fresh and affordable fruits, vegetables, and proteins where you live? A variety of types of food? How and where do you get your groceries? A local market? A bodega? Big box store? Can you get there on foot? Do you need a bus, train, or car?
What do your answers to the above questions say about your access to resources like healthy and affordable food?
What are Food Deserts?
Check out the USDA Food Desert Locator. Are there food deserts near you? Where is the closest food desert compared to where you live?
Food Deserts are areas or communities without access to full grocery stores, affordable food, and/or variety of nutrition. Food deserts are often seen as lacking, whereas food oases are areas with many accessible markets.
USDA Food Desert Statistics
23.5 million Americans live in low-income areas that are over 1 mile from the supermarket - and not all have access to vehicles.
In 20% of rural counties, residents live over 10 miles from the supermarket.
Low-income census tracts have half as many supermarkets as higher income tracts, and 30% more convenience stores - which tend to be pricier and stock less fresh, healthy options.
31% of white Americans live in a census tract with a supermarket, compared to only 8% of Black Americans. With each supermarket added in a census tract, the consumption of fresh produce increases for 32 % of Black Americans and 11% of white Americans.
Food Access & Health
Those living in food deserts face physical and financial barriers to nutritious diets.
Convenience stores not only have limited selections of whole grains, lean meats, and fresh produce and dairy, but also often charge more for them than a supermarket. The cost for a meal at a fast food restaurant is low. Considering this, it’s easy to see how the diets of residents of food deserts are less likely to include a full variety of nutritious foods.
The accessibility of affordable and nutritious food directly affects consumption, which in turn affects health. Inequitable food access impacts both the long-term vitality of individual humans and contributes to statistics illustrating disparities in health for marginalized groups.
Food & Labor
We may not often see the connections between what we consume and the labor involved in producing it. Multiple systems, individuals, and groups are involved in making food accessible to us. Some of those individuals and groups are situated within unequal distributions of resources or unfair working conditions.
If you do not grow your own fruits or vegetables, where do you get them from? What are the social and political contexts in which fruits and vegetables are grown, shipped, then made available to you?
Comments