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Week 6 - Food Injustice
1.
2. Food Justice – food, and way it is grown and
produced, should be DISTRIBUTED fairly
Food Sovereignty – The focus on food security,
without addressing the PRODUCTION of food, has
caused poor, food-insecure countries to import cheap,
subsidized food
Impacts local farmers, economies, and cultures
Advocates for LOCAL production + consumption
Local = avoids cycle of poverty ($), reliance on foreign
imports, and long-term problems
3.
4.
5. “Food Security exists when all
people, at all times, have physical
and economic access to sufficient,
safe and nutritious food to meet
their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and
healthy life”
~World Summit on Food Security, 1996
6. F0od Distribution – NOT food production
Political or logistical
Political-Agricultural Practices
Substituting commodity crops for food crops (i.e.
growing corn instead of veggies) – healthy food not
supported by US farming policy
US’s “cheap commodity crop” exports – impacts global
and local farmers who can’t compete with these prices
Demand for biofuels – corn and soy (decreased viable
land for food production)
7. Food Deserts - Low-income areas >500 people or 33% of
the population live farther than one mile away (10 miles in
rural areas) from an affordable food store.
8. Food Balance - Distance to closest grocer / Distance
to closest fast food
2.3 million U.S. households (2.2%) live farther than a
mile from nearest supermarket with no access to a car.
23.5 million people live in
low-income area over a
mile from nearest
supermarket
6.5 million children live
in food deserts.
9. Highest levels of obesity are in census tracts with no
supermarkets
COSTS: lost quality/length of life for those directly
affected = Higher medical costs
Link between food deserts and Medicaid use
10. 55 square miles of Food Deserts with 383,954 people,
70% are African American
Childhood Obesity rates in Illinois are double U.S. rates
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16. ““(Farm workers) are involved in the
planting and the cultivation and the
harvesting of the greatest abundance
of food known in this society…
The ironic thing and the tragic thing
is that after they make this
tremendous contribution, they don’t
have any money or any food left for
themselves.””
~Cesar Chavez, Labor Leader &
Civil Rights Activist
17. Farm workers have the lowest annual family incomes
of any U.S. wage and salary workers.
Farm workers work 42 hours per week and earn ~ $7.25
an hour
Annually, the average income of crop worker is
between $10,000 - $12,499 for individuals / $15,000 -
$17,499 for a family
Federal poverty line - $10,830 for individual; $22,050 for
family of four (2009)
30% of all farm workers had total family incomes below
poverty line
18. Most farm workers are paid based on how many
buckets or bags they pick or whatever crop they
harvest = “piece rate”
Drawbacks – Disincentive for breaks for water or shade
Making less than minimum wage –
Piece rate for Florida oranges is 85 cents per 90-pound
box
Ave. productivity is 8 boxes an hour
8-hour day – 5760 pounds of oranges = $6.80 an hour
Labor laws are poorly enforced at best OR farm
workers are paid little to no wage = modern slavery
conditions
19. Member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)
in FL shows an actual farm worker paycheck, with piece
rates from tomatoes listed
20.
21.
22.
23. Farm worker unemployment rates are double those of all
wage and salary workers
Many are day laborers – must chase crops to make a
living
At the mercy of variable conditions like natural disasters
and bad weather
Lack benefits that labor laws guarantee to workers in
other industries (no overtime, sick, maternity…)
Wages have declined by 20% in the last 20 years
Exposure to pesticides, back issues (lifting and bending
over), machines, sun/climate…
24. Agriculture is one of the top three most dangerous
occupations in the US
Housing – crowded, unsanitary, lack basic utilities,
isolated from public transportation…
Exorbitant rate for rent – often crowd 10 workers into
one trailer in order to afford rent
Children and teens – 500,000
estimated under the age or 18
Farm worker women – given least
desired, lowest-paying jobs, and
face discrimination
25.
26.
27. SUMMIT COUNTY
Population – 30,000
Liquor store – ?
Fast Food – ?
Grocery Stores - ?
WEST OAKLAND
Population – 30,000
Liquor store – 53
Fast Food – 12
Grocery Stores - 0
28. What is the first thing you see when you
enter your local corner store?
Map the fast food restaurants in your
neighborhood.
Map the grocery stores.
How do the maps compare to each other?
Where do you buy most of your food?
Editor's Notes
the US exports a high proportion of its commodity crops to the rest of the world. For example, in 2010, over 53 percent of all corn exports in the world were from the US. FThe exportation of these commodity crops affects farmers in the rest of the world – especially small farmers with limited resources. A large influx of commodity crops from the US can affect local food security, as small farmers cannot compete with less expensive (subsidized) US-produced agricultural products
In the US, the term “food desert” is often used to describe a location that has limited access to healthful, nutritious food, especially in low-income neighborhoods. FFor example, individuals in some neighborhoods may have easier access to fast food and junk food than to fruits and vegetables. FHowever, there is some disagreement on what constitutes a food desert (i.e., what is an acceptable distance from a source of healthful food, such as a supermarket), and it is unclear whether true food deserts are as common as postulated by policymakers. F F Others see the term as being not inclusive of other issues related to health and obesity, including: poverty and other socio-demographic factors; ease of access to healthful food, rather than lack of access; increased access to unhealthful food choices; exercise/physical activity; and unhealthful food choices related to cultural or economic factors.
Must be careful with this term “food desert.” Many people have taken offense to it – it’s like labeling an area a ghetto…
Farm workers receive an average of 0.3% of the income from the food industry
