The Natural Issue (v.14)

a foodie with a mission
written by Anaiah Lupton
My mother raised my sister and I to be conscientious about food and nutrition. She
values the quality of food she eats and is choosey about where and how she eats.
Ironically she is not the best of cooks. Despite her cooking skills, she has educated
herself in nutrition and dimensions of wellness. When teaching us about quality food
and nutrition she would contextualize her argument by discussing food resourcing
and food insecurity. She would always use the example of her fruit and veggie trays.
She loved to prepare snack trays that displayed berries designed like flowers and arranged
fresh vegetables into decorative shapes and patterns. She would explain that
these trays were twice to three times as expensive as a burger meal, half as filling and
required a commute to a sufficient grocery store. Her example helped me realize that
it is important to work towards a healthy diet but even more important to address
issues of equality within the food industry and public health. A large factor in public
health is the environment and the way in which an environment’s resources are distributed
and industrialized.
The American Nutrition Association uses the term “Food Desert” to describe a community
facing food insecurity. A food desert is a product of an insufficient supply,
and distribution of nutritionally dense foods. A lack of proper nutrition has lasting
affects on public health that can harm those communities for long periods of time.
Communities living in a food desert are more susceptible to diet related diseases and
major health concerns. The ANA can trace food insecurity to low income communities
whose health concerns are often neglected or perceived as self-inflicting. The
perception of communities living within a food desert is often misguided, filled with
judgments, and lacks context for their situation. These perceptions fail to acknowledge
the correlation between public health and food deserts. It is important to address
the correlation between impoverished communities and available food sources
because it points to flaws within the social structure they live in rather than flaws
within their community. The food industry plays a major role in the resourcing and
distribution of nutritionally dense foods and communities are often removed from
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