A new grocery store called "Artisanal" recently opened just down the street from my house. After stopping in and learning a little bit more about it I was thoroughly impressed by the quality of the food. All organic and local whenever possible, I could tell the owners really cared about giving you humanely raised and responsibly grown food. Being as excited as I was, I asked my mom if we could do all our shopping there and she explained that she tries to shop there as much as she can but that it is very expensive there. This response was a bit of a surprise to me and it got me thinking. If my family is hesitant to sacrifice some extra cash for organic food then how can low income families even consider eating organic food? I stopped by Artisanal today to check out the prices of their food for myself. A gallon of their organic milk costs $6.79 while a regular gallon of milk at Walgreens is $2.99. With such a difference in price it seems impossible that family's just trying to put food on the table could ever afford to spend the extra cash to buy organic food. The idea that people don't even have the choice to eat food that was ethically raised is simply unfair. Say someone really cares about animal rights, or the environment but simply can't afford to purchase the food that supports these values. I think that everyone should have the ability to be able to support the causes they believe in and I think the idea of standing up for your values is a very American concept.
Along with not being able to eat organic, low income families also have difficulty eating healthy. Dr. Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University and an outspoken critic of the fast food industry, told CBS News. “People are hugely influenced by the price of food. If you don’t have any money and go into the store to buy some fresh fruits, you might decide that it’s cheaper to have a couple of fast food hamburgers.” I think this is a very good point especially when there are things like the McDonald's dollar menu specifically marketed to low income people. An add on their website reads, "Your stomach is empty – and so is your wallet. Good thing there's the Dollar Menu... a tasty way to fill up for less". Advertising is everywhere these days and when you see fast food ads that are just begging you to purchase their affordable and tasty food it’s hard for anyone to resist. In addition, many Americans simply don't have the time to prepare a healthy meal. A recent article by the Washington Post quoted a study by the Center for American Progress, “In 2010, among families with children nearly half (44.8 percent) were headed by two working parents and another one in four (26.1 percent) were headed by a single parent". When both parents are forced to work, the convenience and affordability of fast food and junk food make them appealing options.
Lastly, I’d like to briefly address the government’s role in all this. A study released this year from the U.S. Public Research Interest Group called “Apples to Twinkies” states that, “Since 1995, the government has spent $292.5 billion on agricultural subsidies, $19.2 billion of which have subsidized corn- and soy-derived junk food ingredients”. It goes on to say that, “Apples, the only fruit or vegetable to receive significant federal subsidies, garnered only $689 million over the same period”. Clearly, the government could be doing more to support affordable healthy food.
So I know this is a lot of information but what do you guys think about all this? Do you think it’s wrong that it’s so difficult for lower-income people to eat organically and healthy? What does this say about what our government values? Should the government subsidize healthy food to lower the prices? Does the government have a responsibility to support small organic farmers as well as the big corporations? Those are just some questions to think about. My main question would be do you think that anything discussed in this blog is unfair or contradicts American values, and if so what can be done about it?
3 comments:
First off, Erik, this is a great topic! Second, define "low income families." I'm just going to assume those that are on programs like food stamps.
I think that it is very possible for lower income families to eat healthy without going organic. But anyhow, organic joints like Whole Foods actually accept food stamps, so even if the family did wish to eat organically, it's been made possible. I would guess that that is the least of their concerns anyway. People will buy what's cheaper so that they can buy more of it. That being said, I think your question should not be whether or not it is fair... it's more a question of what's realistic. Because that's also why organic equals more expensive. It's basic supply and demand. These items are not those of mass production so they are more expensive.
There is a book in where the price of organically eating is discussed. It's quite interesting. The Omnivore's Dilemma-- a great read!
Yeah I just meant families on or below the poverty line. I agree with a lot of what you said. In particular you made a great point about foodstamps, although it made me wonder if there even are organic groceries in poor neighborhoods. I looked up an income map of the city and compared it with the whole foods locations and my suspicions were correct; Every store location, aside from one, is located in the wealthiest areas of the city. As I said conveniance is a major issue and if there aren't even any stores in the area it's pretty difficult to use your food stamps. I know that whole foods is just one store and one option to eat organically, and I'm in no way blaming whole foods for not having stores in poor areas of the city. I'm simply making an observation. Oh and thanks for the feedback and the recommendation!
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