Food Justice

The modern world has made eating easy! Things are prepackaged and prepared, ready to grab, go, and eat. We reheat in the microwave, we consume what's on the shelves of our local grocery stores, or at the local restaurants and fast food chains. 

We don't think much about what these things are, so long as they fill us up. We are satisfying our hunger. 

The American food system is problematic in many ways, but I want to focus this post specifically on what it is we are eating and the misconceptions about eating in our country, particularly in lower income households and neighborhoods. 

I read a book last week called Super Immunity by by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. The book breaks down our common ideas about food--basically, what we've been taught in school. It is common knowledge that we need a combination of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to ensure nutrition and stave off hunger. This combination will give us appropriate amounts of energy for our day to day lives. 

This may be true, to a point, but what we are missing is what's behind that. Not all food has the same nutrient per calorie ratio. We know this, to an extent: a spinach salad is better for us then Cheetos. We are still focusing on the wrong factors, when considering consumption, however. Vegetables provide primary sources of protein and energy, whereas animal products provide merely a secondary source (as the plant life was first consumed by the animal, then consumed by us). Many of these vegetables and plants provide micronutrients that are immeasurable at this point in science. For example, the book provides examples of how berries, kale, spinach, beans, and mushrooms provide anti-cancer, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and anti-disease compounds that can not be measured as a vitamin or mineral, nor carbohydrate and fat. When we eat processed foods just to get the end goal of calories and energy, we are missing the sources of these disease fighting agents, and it is apparent in American culture that we are suffering the consequences. Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and chronic inflammation are at all time highs. Doctors are not to a point where they are looking at these issues holistically, and diets and habits are not being treated, merely symptoms.

Dr. Fuhrman provides many examples in his book about people who have changed their eating habits and have seen enormous results. His book touches on the topics of modern medicine, food as medicine, and our cultural reliance on remedies and symptom-treating, as well as the other harsh toxins we put in our bodies. I hope to further blog on these bits in future posts. 

I found Super Immunity to be an eye-opening observance of our culture and habits, and how these cultural factors are literally killing us. It is not a diet book as much as it is a reflection on modern lifestyle. 

In particular, I reflected on how many healthy and nutrient foods are inaccessible to lower classes and entire low-income neighborhoods. Processed food is cheap: McDonalds, chips, frozen pizzas and mac and cheese, canned goods, etc. These are not nutrient dense, and do not contain micronutrients needed to ward off disease. This is apparent in low-income individuals, who typically suffer from more diseases than others. That is food justice. I hope to reflect more in coming weeks on this aspect of social justice in our nation. 

--Megan