The Importance of Food Accessibility for the Poor Communities Essay

The trend of acquiring dangerous diseases and other diet-related defects is wanting. There is increasing resistance to antibiotics due to the chemicals and pathogens which have contaminated the soil, air as well and the water. The problem of climate change is also having an adverse impact on the global food system. Natural resources are being depleted, and it is because of the growing population which requires a food suppliant to sustain their existence. The natural resources and has an immense impact on the economy, social and the human system. The main problem affecting the economy of various countries is poverty. It relates to food in that the way it is produced and whatever we choose to eat dictates the fate of the general food system. Although in the United States there is plenty and cheap food, most of the foods are unhealthy making the food system not sustainable since is the basis of most chronic illnesses and other defects like obesity, diabetes and blood pressure. However, there are alternatives to salvage the situation that is currently in the country. The paper is going to discuss problems related to the accessibility of healthy food mainly by poor communities and possible solutions.

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Healthy food accessibility is vital as it ensures food is accessible to all consumers regardless of the current situation faced. "The question is how we know what to eat Food or drink and what not to?" (Dale, 2). It is the leading domain affecting the spiritual nutrition. The group that is most affected is Native Americans as their religious beliefs forbid them from certain food. The entire food system comprises of factors like farm inputs and outputs, means of production, processing, and distribution and consumption.

Obesity is not just a defect, but in most cases, it is associated with the most killer or chronic diseases like a heart problem or stroke. It is as a result of poor choice of food due to poverty. Taking industrialized and unsustainable food leads to the development of obesity in most cases. These industries handle agricultural products as products that are meant to feed animals, and they do not support the farmers who specialize in the production of fruits. They instead support dairy farming where they can in turn sell products that promote obesity like snacks, beverages, and other products. "When low-income, food insecure consumers have access to healthy, affordable, local foods in conjunction with resources for acquiring federal food assistance, nutritional information, cost-effective recipes, and cooking demonstrations they are more likely to consume those foods and establish healthy and sustainable eating habits" (Best & Johnson,162). There is a need to regulate the marketing processes used by these industries as they are extremely tempting to the consumers. Regulations should be made on advertisement and promotions by introducing taxation or any other incentive that can quickly reduce the rate at which they market the harmful products.

Everyone has a right to access clean, safe, and healthy food that can sustain their lives. There is also a right to be free from hunger. To change the food system, measures such as coming up with organizations with the primary aim of improving nutrition and empowering sustainable agriculture. "Whereas the food industry often promotes palatable, unhealthy food choices" (Salmon et al., 104). It can be achieved by empowering the practicing farmers as well as those who want to venture in the agricultural sector, empowering women through gender equality, and solving the issue of climate change. Poverty is most prevalent in rural areas where there are small-scale farmers doing farmers for consumption purposes only. For this reason, they do not see then need to practice effective agricultural techniques that can help improve the production of food.

The food highly influences the US economy as it accounts for the highest amount of sales, national product as well as the workforce. The current industrial food system has had an advantage as they have a significant market concentration with the agricultural, retailing and processing. It influences the public policy as they control the circulation of information and they make vital decisions about the choices and the risks availed for the consumers and producers. The significant numbers of individuals who are highly affected by this are the manufacturers and the teams, the communities in remote areas and the consumers living below the poverty line.

For the government to participate, it should appoint two bodies on dealing with the health of the population and the other ensuring that everyone gets access to safe, sustainable, and healthy food. It can come up with policies that can improve the healthy choices of foods like promoting fruits and vegetable production. It should be responsible for ensuring that the food system is sustainable by providing farm workers with a significant standard of living, improving the level of nutrients in the soil, minimizing pollution and greenhouse gasses that contribute to global warming, promote health and, provide conservation of natural resources. The government should develop an understanding of the fact that food is an essential commodity that should be handled with utmost care for the well-being of the population and the nation as a whole despite the class of an individual in the society.

The world population is continuously growing, and there is a need for more effort and innovation that will help the sustainability of agriculture. Agriculture should be improved regarding the production to boost the global supply of food and decrease the loss of food due to waste whenever there is an excess in the amount of less demand. "Three-quarters of the world's poorest people depend, directly or indirectly, on agriculture as their major source of income" (Anderson, Rausser &Swinenn, 424). It will ensure that all individuals suffering from hunger are a well sustained and the ones that are suffering from malnutrition have easy and affordable access to nutritious foods. The national community can always come up with measures that can help achieve this goal of eradicating hunger with the current population and the next generation.

The agriculture systems worldwide must become more productive and put less food to waste. Agriculture should be viewed from a holistic and a more integrated manner so that there is a practice of sustainable agriculture regarding food production and consumption. "As they moved, they kept eating grass and dropping manure" (Bauer, 4).The critical elements for food production are mainly healthy soil, water, and plant genetic resources. It is a significant concern that such funds are growing scarce by the day around the world and this makes it crucial to use them and manage them sustainably.

To manage such resources can be achieved through improvement of yields by restoring degraded lands using the sustainable agricultural processes which could help ease the risk of cutting down trees to get land for cultivation. "In the past, the primary solution to food shortages has been to bring more land into agriculture" (Godfray et al., 812). Another method of sustainable agricultural practice is through land reclamation and rehabilitation. It is the process of reclaiming an area, for instance, that which was once a swamp and using it for agricultural purposes. Restoration, on the other hand, could mean reusing land that had once gone to waste like an n abandoned land from mining.

Agricultural technologies play a critical role in improving its productivity. Practices like integrated soil fertility, irrigation technologies, harvesting of water, organic agriculture, and the use of genetic modification can go a long way in improving the sustainability of agriculture. For instance, using integrated soil fertility can improve the productivity of maize in areas with low levels of rain or areas that are mainly irrigated. Although technology in the agricultural sector can boost the sustainability of the food system, there is a problem with the manner in which they are managed. There is a lack of political will alongside poor infrastructure which remains to be the main impediments to achieving a safer, healthier, and sustainable food system. To accomplish the agenda of this paper, the government and other entities need to improve the infrastructure and ensure that there is no political interference in the use of these technologies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, food accessibility is an issue affecting mostly poor communities. Everyone requires both physical and emotional growth, and if they are addressed, then it would be mitigated. Inaccessibility to healthy food has made people seek an alternative from others source. The type of food they access is junky which leads to obesity, cancer, lowering their immunity among others. The problem is chronic in poor communities and requires immediate attention. Food is vital to everyone, and it influences the US budget. The primary method of healthy food inaccessibility is by investing in agriculture. Farmers should be enlightened on modern ways of farming to increase healthy food production. Also, land should be claimed and used for agriculture activities. Swampy lands should be reclaimed and used for agriculture activities. Farmers should be taught the importance of agriculture technologies. Some of the practices include soil fertility, harvesting of water, and use of organic fertilizers among others. These practices are going to boost food productivity and mitigate the issue of healthy food inaccessibility. Increase in food production is going to lower the cost of healthy food which will be accessible and affordable to the poor communities.

Works Cited

Anderson, Kym, Gordon Rausser, and Johan Swinnen. "Political economy of public policies: insights from distortions to agricultural and food markets." Journal of Economic Literature 51.2 (2013): 423-77.

Bauer, Holly. Food Matters: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. , 2014. Print.

Best, Amy L., and Jeffrey L. Johnson. "Alternate Food Markets, Ngos, And Health Policy: Improving Food Access And Food Security, Trust Bonds, And Social Network Ties." World Medical & Health Policy 8.2 (2016): 157-178. Web.

DALE, CYNDI. "Spiritual Nutrition: How The Foods You Eat Affect Your Mind, Body, And Spirit." Consciouslifestylemag.com. N.p., 2018. Web. 12 Nov. 2018. Retrieved from https://www.consciouslifestylemag.com/spiritual-nutrition-food-vibration/

Godfray, H. Charles J., et al. "Food security: the challenge of feeding 9 billion people." science 327.5967 (2010): 812-818. Retrieved from http://science.sciencemag.org/content/327/5967/812

Salmon, Stefanie J., et al. "Health on impulse: When low self-control promotes healthy food choices." Health Psychology33.2 (2014): 103-109. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235904569_Health_on_Impulse_When_Low_Self-Control_Promotes_Healthy_Food_Choices