Reflection Blog - "Inequity in Fresh Food Quality"

Noor Qureshi

Mr. Roddy

IHSS

23 January 2021

Inequity in Fresh Food Quality

    The article I read talked about an issue rising in lower-income areas. A study from the University of Houston found that poorer people are more likely to get foodborne diseases because of their lack of access to fresh produce. The root of the problem has to do with the economy and their way of distributing the costs of organic and non-organic foods. Organic foods tend to be more pricey than the fruits and vegetables grown using pesticides and have been genetically modified. However, the system is reasonable, because it takes a lot more time, money, and effort to grow real produce as opposed to the ones made superficially. When using pesticides, farmers don't have to worry about looking after the plants 24/7, because insects will automatically be driven away, and if the food is genetically modified you'll already have that big, ripe, red (and very fake) strawberry in half the time. So, the cost of organic foods makes sense, because you have to take into account that the money you pay goes to the farmers (who worked especially hard), the government, the store, and its employees. 

    Although, it does get a bit controversial because you need to think about people living in poverty, where the only thing they can afford is a one-dollar Happy Meal. I think that there should be more of a focus on this issue because fresh food is a human necessity. Food insecurity is no small problem that we can easily fix, which is why the best way to improve it, is with public awareness because through that more people (including the government) can take action.