Food Justice is Racial Justice
Posted April 20th, 2012 by Marc Lamont HillI have spent a lot of time in urban America looking at different neighborhoods and different cultures. I’m an anthropologist and I’ve examined the culture around food and some of the reasons why my community has the relationship to food that we do. One of the reasons that black people have the unhealthy eating habits that we do is that many of us live in food deserts.
When you see the differences between affluent neighborhoods and poor black and brown neighborhoods, the contrasts are visually stunning. Take for example Columbia University where I live and work, there are high quality restaurants, healthy supermarket, and there are even gardens of fresh fruits and vegetables. However if you just head uptown on Broadway, you will know when you’ve arrived in a poor community of color because suddenly there are 24 hour liquor stores, candy stores, bodegas, fast food joints, and Chinese take-out. There are fewer supermarkets and real restaurants. When you do see a supermarket, the meat isn’t fresh and it has a bad smell to it. To make matters worse, liquor stores because of their convenience becomes a central place where people buy food. The visual of these contrasts are deeply depressing.
The physical and geographical barriers to accessing healthy food in food deserts are substantial. Decent supermarkets might be miles away, or there is no direct transportation. Or, there are a lot of highways and expressways that make it hard to navigate. But another equally powerful obstacle to accessing healthy food is the economic barrier. There might be a whole market or grocery store right around the corner, but fruits and vegetables are so over priced that the people who live there can’t afford them. The reality is that cheaper food is typically unhealthy food.
Yes, there is a great deal of personal responsibility when it comes to choosing what we do and do not eat. And, we should make better choices. But, lets not pretend that anyone working 12hrs a day, who lives miles away from a decent grocery store, wouldn’t on many nights just grab fried chicken wings from the nearest 24hr take-out.
These bad choices –however limited – indicate a culture of bad eating. Now, black and brown people not only need better access to healthy food, but we also need to be educated on how to make better food choices. However, it is the lack of physical and economic access to healthy meals that has fueled this culture of unhealthy eating, which has led to a public health crisis that disproportionately impacts our communities.
Food deserts aren’t just a social issue; they are a political issue. Just like there has been healthcare reform, we need government intervention in order to stem the tide of increased disease and death linked to diet and nutrition. There are surgeon general warnings on cigarettes and alcohol. There are laws to protect young people from purchasing these harmful substances. And a recent Pew poll shows that most people want stronger regulations on the snack foods sold to children in schools. In addition to regulating junk food, subsidies need to be creating to develop more community gardens, assist small businesses in making healthier food available, and bringing down the cost of high-quality fruits and vegetables in low-income communities.
There is no better example of racism in the 21st Century than the relationship of black/brown people and the access to healthy foods. People think about racism as an individual act of prejudice or discrimination from one person to another. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about systems, structures and institutions.
10 Comments
December 9, 2012 at 11:35 pm by home cookingYou could definitely see your enthusiasm within the work you write. The arena hopes for more passionate writers such as you who are not afraid to mention how they believe. At all times go after your heart.
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December 6, 2012 at 10:35 pm by staceythank you for this post. i am amazed at how much the food justice movement has been co-opted and racism ignored. it’s structural.
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April 29, 2012 at 8:16 pm by sethI know the area of Broadway north of 125th Street fairly well and I dispute your claims that one cannot buy fresh produce or meat along that corridor.
I also suggest that your own knowledge of the area is limited: there are no “24 hour liquor stores” in upper Manhattan, or anywhere else in the city.
If you are such a great anthropologist why not take a closer and more serious look at what businesses actually constitute the area, instead of just throwing around buzzwords and received ideas?
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@mreverything Reply:
May 1st, 2012 at 8:22 am
@seth, great points.
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Anonymous Reply:
May 30th, 2012 at 6:33 pm
@seth, 24hour bodegas that sell liquor are 24hour liquor stores, especially since it makes up a huge percentage of what they sell — liquor and junk food.
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I really enjoyed reading this article. I recently just had a conversation about this same issue with some colleagues of mine.
One thing that I would have liked you to touch on more is how “tradition” has played a role in this. Many of us (African-Americans) have grown up eating things such as pig feet, chitterlings, fried chicken, putting fat-back in our green beans and collards, and frying everything. I would attribute much of this to how slaves ate and how times have evolved, and African-Americans have maintained this diets. We have done this because it’s pretty much all we know (Tradition); my grandmother ate this, my mother ate this, and now I eat this. If consuming foods like those listed above is what African-Americans are custom to in certain communities, you cannot expect a Farmer to go and open an organic grocery store in that community. We as people need to create the market for eating healthy within our own culture. It’s a simple concept of supply and demand.
Business, organizations, and churches are a great place to help make African American eat healthier and mitigate the financial burden that that come with. These entities need to create partnerships with famers in their communities so they can obtain healthy foods at a decent price. After church on Sundays, there could be a farmers market in the parking lot where famers are selling fresh fruits and veggies to its member.
We as African-Americans need to stop making excuses for certain problems that affect our community. I believe that the article is not holding Africa- Americans accountable for our actions. We know that, especially in this generation, that eating certain food is unhealthy. We as a people need to discipline ourselves not to go to the corner store to purchase the “4-piece wing deal” at the 24hr take-out. We are not ignorant to the fact that certain foods are killing our people. We just chose the easy way out!
Granted, I believe that you have some valid points; but we as a people cannot sit and wait until progressive changes are made within our nation’s systems, structures, and institutions. We can make changes NOW- And that’s by fixing our own communities, WHILE fighting food injustice on the national level.
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April 20, 2012 at 1:41 pm by AnnaI have noticed this in my community. There is a Food Lion and right behind it is a HUGE subsidized housing complex, like 600 units. I can afford transportation and I choose not to shop there because my money stretches further at the market that is just slightly farther away. I feel they price gouge. The meat department is so small. They do carry more ethnic food choice, like latino, but it is not worth the prices.
The residents behind them are poorest in our county and this store is within walking distance. They will pay the prices for the convenience.
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Becky Reply:
April 20th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
@Anna, Really? This is your answer? So you think blacks and immigrants are the only people in America that steal? You are a bigot.
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Most grocery stores choose not to make their presence known in theese areas because the way you guys act. Example … Flash mobs stealing what they want armed robberies. Dont call racism. This is a Capitalist Country you wouldnt want a store you owned to have to go through what the community puts it through.
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April 20, 2012 at 10:08 am by christina albertIn Pittsburgh people who need SNAP can take their snap coupons to the city run farmers markets and use them on fresh produce. The farmers markets are actually located in more depressed communities. But I know the point you are making. I think in Philly there is a nonprofit actually contracting with bodegas and corner convenient stores to sell fresh organic produce from the many surrounding community gardens. Its a small start to a more complicated problem.
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