Food Deserts And Food Deserts

The Environmental Protection Agency (2015) defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies” (p. 1). Although there are laws in place to protect minorities from environmental hazards, there are still several environmental health disparities that they face; one of them being food deserts. A food desert is an underprivileged area where the residents do not have access to fresh, healthy, and affordable foods (Rogers, 2014). Food deserts are typically found in rural or urban areas where there aren’t many supermarkets. According to

With limited transportation options, these people are forced to rely on convenience stores and small-scale grocers that do not typically have a large variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. To compound the problem, food deserts are oftentimes laden with fast food restaurants. One study found that the density of fast food restaurants was inversely associated with neighborhood household income (Hilmers, Hilmers, & Dave, 2012). This same study also found that convenience stores were more prevalent in economically deprived communities and communities consisting of mostly minority populations (Hilmers, Hilmers, & Dave, 2012). The principle behind environmental justice is to provide fair and equal treatment to all people. These people are not being provided fair and equal access to the healthy foods that they need and deserve. Accessibility plays a huge role in the consumption of foods. These people are being limited to unhealthy food options which puts them at increased risk of a number of diseases and health

Food deserts typically have increased amounts of processed foods, less variety in food choices, and poor nutrient intake in the people that live there (Frndak, 2014). Many people who live in a food desert are of low socioeconomic status, so they tend to eat what is cheap. Oftentimes they eat high-energy, nutrient poor, sugary and fatty foods. They don’t tend to eat many fresh fruits and vegetables because it is too expensive and too difficult to access them. Many chronic diseases have been associated with low consumption of fruits and vegetables. The World Health Organization reports that approximately 1.7 million deaths worldwide can be attributed to low fruit and vegetable consumption (2016). Low fruit and vegetable intake is also one of the top ten selected risk factors for global mortality (World Health Organization, 2016). Furthermore, low fruit and vegetable intake paired with increased consumption of foods that are high in sugar, salt, and fat lead to a number of health problems. It is well known that poor diets are linked to obesity and hypertension, however not everyone knows that poor diets are also linked to cancer. It has been estimated that 30% of all cancer cases are linked to poor dietary habits (World Health Organization, 2011). When looking at cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, that number increases to 70% (World Health Organization, 2011). Poor diets lack essential vitamins and