Healthy Food for All?
After a lovely Thanksgiving dinner and a weekend full of beautiful food, I sat with a full belly at my parents living room table reading Newsweek. My mom and sister told me that I just had to read their latest article on food—and boy were they right.
The article, Divided we Eat by Lisa Miller, discusses how food today has become the marker of social class. And from all the names that we have allotted for our various eating patterns, it’s not too difficult to see why. Whether a locavore (eating food as close to home as possible); vegan (eating no animal products); vegetarian (eating no meat); lactovegetarian (eating no meat, but eating dairy); ovo-lactovegetarian (eating no meat, but eating eggs and dairy); semi-vegetarian (eating no read meat, but eating chicken, fish, dairy, and eggs); flexitarian (eating a mostly vegetarian diet with occasional meat consumption); omnivore (eating meat and produce); organic enthusiast; or health nut … and the list could continue—we want to be labeled. It’s as if we haven’t labeled ourselves, we’re not part of the cool crowd.
And perhaps Adam Drewnowski, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington, knows why. He writes,
“…food has become the premier marker of social distinctions, that is to say—social class. It used to be clothing and fashion, but no longer, now that ‘luxury’ has become affordable and available to all.”
The Growing Gap
Miller discusses how the growing income gap between the rich and poor influences the amount of nutrient-rich, lower calorie, disease-fighting fresh produce in each of their baskets, one going up, the other shrinking, relatively speaking. As stated, among the lowest quintile of American families, mean annual household income has held relatively steady between $10,000 and $13,000 for the past two decades (in inflation-adjusted dollars); among the highest, income has jumped 20% to $170,800 over the same period.
“What this means, in practical terms, is that the richest Americans can afford to buy berries out of season at Whole Foods—the upscale grocery chain that recently reported a 58 percent increase in its quarterly profits—while the food insecure often eat what they can: highly caloric, mass-produced foods like pizza and packaged cakes that fill them up quickly.”
And the number of Americans who are food insecure is larger than you’d expect. Approximately 17% of Americans—more than 50 million people—live in households that are “food insecure,” meaning the family may run out of money to buy more safe nutritious food or run out of food before they have more money to buy more food. Coincidently, the number of Americans on food stamps has surged by 58.5% over the last three years.
Not surprisingly, a 2008 study by the USDA found that women and children using food stamps are more likely to be overweight than those who aren’t. And this makes sense with healthier food prices increasing more than the junk over time. In a study comparing food prices from 2004 to 2008, the most nutritious foods (produce) rose 29%, while the least nutritious foods (white sugar, hard candy, jelly beans, and cola) rose just 16%, as stated in Hill’s piece.
Have We Got It All Wrong? Perhaps…
The article points out two fundamental points of where we have gone wrong in providing healthy food for all: 1) forgoing the affordability factor for our ideal diet; and 2) forgetting the social nature of truly enjoying a meal .
Fundamental Point #1: The Ideal Must Be Affordable. Drewnowski “ argues that the most nutritious diet—lots of fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fish, and grains—is beyond the reach of the poorest Americans, and it is economic elitism for nutritionists to uphold it as an ideal without broadly addressing issues of affordability. Lower-income families don’t subsist on junk food and fast food because they lack nutritional education, as some have argued. And though many poor neighborhoods are, indeed, food deserts—meaning that the people who live there don’t have access to a well-stocked supermarket—many are not. Lower-income families choose sugary, fat, and processed foods because they’re cheaper—and because they taste good.”
Fundamental Point #2 : Americans Don’t Truly See Food. We see food as good or bad and in terms of nutrients—carbs, protein, and fat. Whereas, other countries, such as France see eating as a social activity where food brings intimacy and togetherness. In other words, they savor their meal time. We quickly scan nutrition labels, scarf, and run out the door. Eating in America, for the most part, is a solitary activity.
Much Ado About Something
We need a change. A big one. Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, states, “It’s a nuanced conversation, but I think ‘local’ or ‘organic’ as the shorthand for all things good is way too simplistic,” says Berg. “I think we need a broader conversation about scale, working conditions, and environmental impact. It’s a little too much of people buying easy virtue.”
Agreed.
Another key point here is the need for Big Food, or rather, the food industry, to be involved in changing the food landscape. And yes, despite what any organic, local, raw-food promoting, don’t-let-your-nonorganic-apple-touch-my-organic-apple foodie might argue—we need them. How do you expect to change an entire food system without them? True, it’s not the only solution (and I don’t have the entire solution … obviously…), but it’s a large part of making the ideal diet more affordable for more people.
An example of industry coming into play here is Walmart putting more locally grown produce on shelves, so it’s more affordable and available. Even the organic-loving locavore Michael Pollan clearly sees what needs to be done.
“These fruits and vegetables might not be organic, but the goal, says Pollan, is not to be absolutist in one’s food ideology. “I argue for being conscious,” he says, “but perfectionism is an enemy of progress.”
Agreed.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
There’s no question. Access to healthy, nutritious, safe food is determined by the number of dollars in one’s checking account. And while beans, legumes, bulk whole grains, eggs, and frozen produce are generally low cost and are healthy, there are still barriers to people purchasing these foods—ranging from physical access to them; knowledge of how to prepare them; taste; and 
cost (yes, still).
Yet, we can make a change, and I believe we are at the start of something big. First, comes awareness, then comes action, and more action. We see action with programs like Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters, where people are taught how to make tasty, low-cost, healthy meals (I LOVE this program. If you’re in a nutrition or culinary program, you must do it … I loved it and it makes a huge difference in people’s lives). We also see action with initiatives like Let’s Move! where a main pillar is improving access to healthy and affordable foods; and we can see even more action with people demanding that the food industry allots for produce to be just as important as dare I say it—corn.
Yes, we have miles to go and mountains to move. But, with time and persistence, I believe we can have a food revolution—for all.
Thoughts???
6 Responses to “ Healthy Food for All? ”
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I say goodbye to fad diets, bogus "fat-burning" pills, and processed, non-food food. And, I smile hello to a healthifying lifestyle full of fruits, veggies, and whole grains, sweaty workouts, the occasional "chocolate fix," sleep, family and friend time, and quality "me time" with a focus on health. I look forward to your comments and thoughts as the posts healthify on by! Meet Corinne!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Debra Riedesel, Corinne Dobbas MS,RD, Jaime Schwartz , Corinne Dobbas MS,RD, Deanna Segrave-Daly and others. Deanna Segrave-Daly said: Great commentary on "Divided We Eat" Newsweek article. RT @RDCorinne: Fresh on Green Grapes Blog: Healthy Food for All? http://bit.ly/f8sqhm [...]
Great job examining the issue. Thanks for your input. I agree – Share Our Strength has some fabulous initiatives, such as Operation Frontline and Taste of the Nation that round-up nutritionists, chefs, and foodies to be part of the solution.
Great post! I found that article extremely interesting and a must-read by anyone who cares about food, health, wellness, and our society.
Agreed Jessica!
Thanks for the support Trish:) Glad you love Share Our Strength too! Great program!
hi Corinne, hope you’re doing well in Cali! I’ll be there soon enough for Christmas. Thanks for the heads up; I’m excited to read this.