A Reflection on Food Justice

To be honest, I am not sure where to begin regarding the injustices prevalent in the food industry globally. Some notable insufficiencies include the lack of access in rural areas, low-income areas, and dense urban areas and the converse paradox of the availability of fast food in low-income and dense urban areas; the monopoly of supersized supermarket and food brands; the lack of transportation to food sources, with those issues only covering the major problems occurring in the most developed countries. Developing countries are facing food prices that are disproportionally high compared to their incomes. Moreover, while analyzing historical records, the global population around the turn of the first century was an estimated 250 million human beings. Around the mid 1850s, the global population hit 1 billion people. The current population, in less than 5 generations can be said to have grown seven fold; hence, a food deficiency should not be completely surprising. However, the food injustice that exists in the United State of America, arguably the most advanced civilization the world has ever seen is plainly sad and negligent. As the course unveils how the food industry and the nutritional conditions in the United States run amock, I decided to gather research on who is responsible for food in our country.

The findings of my search were startling to me, to say the least. 

There are three main parties in the food business in America: politicians, the FDA, and the USDA. Together, these three parties influence the content of food, their corresponding nutritional labels, food prices, food safety, and even the regulation of cosmetics. The FDA, an acronym for the Food and Drug Administration, is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. Their primary focus is usually concerned with public health, which means that labeling, and approvals are administered by the agency. Interestingly, the Food and Drug administration does not label or regulate meat and most eggs, which is handled under the USDA. When a customer goes to the grocery store and  the "nutrition facts" label makes statements like "all natural," the claim must be approved by the FDA.

The USDA stands for the United States Department of Agriculture, an executive department included within the federal exercutive branch responsible for developing and executing United States federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food. In comparison to the Food and Drug Adminsitration, the FDA is a division within the department. The USDA's mission according to their website is to "provide leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, and related issues based on sound public policy, the best available science, and efficient management … We want to be recognized as a dynamic organization that is able to efficiently provide the integrated program delivery needed to lead a rapidly evolving food and agriculture system."

The USDA has many agency's within their Department whose purpose serves the public in regards to food. Some key names found within their department included, but is not limited to: the Economic Research Service that is responsible for food pricing, the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyard Administration, which regulates and inspects meat and grain, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, which handles the meats and eggs not inspected by the FDA, and two agencies primarily focused on education for the individual and kids and families, the Food and Nutrition Service the Center of Nutrition Policy and Promotion. In other words, the Department of Agriculture is indeed highly specialized, and unfortunately seems to also reflect signs of compromised. The point I am trying to get at is the system is deeply flawed, mainly in culture. The advancements in food in general, in terms of availability, and the fact that some foods can indeed cost less than a dollar compared to some foods that are overpriced, shows that the infrastructure for a food system in America is possible. However, the motivation to increase political will and investments on transforming the culture will be critical in moving forward.

Earlier last month, I found a jar of Nutella in my kitchen cabinet that belonged to my roommate. It was during the middle of the night that I proceeded to make a toasted croissant sandwich with the Nutella spread. Anyone who knows Nutella, knows that Nutella is delicious. For those unfamiliar with Nutella, the product is a hazelnut spread with skim milk and cocoa powder with a slogan that goes by "The Original Hazelnut Spread," with claims of over 100 hazelnuts per jar that contains no artificial colors nor preservatives. In 2014, I began my healthy foods journey and made many modifications to increase conscious decisions when it comes to shopping and buying out. Two popular tips by many food activists when going to the grocery store were to avoid the following: long ingredient list and ingrediants that cannot easily be recognized or pronounced.

While reviewing the ingredients in Nutella it reads as follows: Sugar, vegetable oil, hazelnuts (13%), cocoa powder (7.4%), non-fat milk solids, emulsifier (soy lecithin), flavour (vanillin).
Nutella, a popular breakfast time condiment in most American homes is highly concentrated in fat and sugar. Another unbelievable discovery was the ingredient Vanillin being sold in Nutella jars, an artificial flavor, can you believe it? The original hazelnut spread has man-made flavors in it, better yet, vanillin is a form of MSG, a well documented potential neurotoxin, truly unbelievable.



 In summary, the United States is unsustainably feeding its country, not only so, but with low quality nutrients. The long lasting affects of low quality nutrients, and the virtual contamination of CORN in practically every food source to public health in terms of cost burdens is not well known, but I do not think it is cheap. One of the readings sighted that food has become a form of entertainment, which is true. The food industry and the entertainment industry in its current standing share a common feature: capitalism; in regards to the former, I am not sure if food should be treated like people. The education on food and its role on nutrition should be emphasized on in order for food to be viewed as a source of vitality and social meaning rather than a source of convenience. The infiltration of our food supply of GMO's and the environmental impact of large scale agriculture is truly unacceptable and needs to be discussed nationally in order to bring transparency, and potentially, justice as the foundation of the problem lies in the hands of our Federal government.