The plight of the low-income and lack of healthy food accessibility is obviously an enormous problem in this country and fuels the chronic disease epidemic. There are many initiatives in place that are trying to improve school food programs and increase education in those environments, but it won’t be fixed in the near future. I would never tell a single mother on food stamps with 2 jobs and 3 children that her only hope for her kids’ health is to buy organic vegetables. That’s not realistic, and frankly, people in that situation most likely aren’t scouring the web for wellness blogs.

In the meantime, my target market, or the people I aim to inspire are those that are open and able to change their habits and thoughts about what they put into their body. I hope that the power we have with our ability to purchase real food grows and creates major changes in food policies. It’s a slow process, but it is starting to pick up.

This blog was truly inspired by the number of times I have heard people with the means and the desire to make healthier choices complain about the price tag while allowing themselves to suffer from chronic health issues. It’s those people I’m trying to reach the most.

I agree with you to some extent, but you have to consider your audience when you’re making this argument. It’s very easy for us to say this is a choice we have to make, but that’s because we come from a place of privilege where we DO have the option to buy the more expensive organic produce or spend a bit more money at farmer’s markets for high quality food. But there are a lot of people who truly do not have that choice. We cannot ignore the impact that socioeconomic status has on health. There is plenty of research that links income to health with findings that obesity (and heart disease) are associated with poverty, food stamps, and low income in general and conclusions that lower income levels are equated to poorer food quality and less consumption of healthy foods like fresh fruits and veggies.

There are people who really can’t afford to buy health foods. And yes, they suffer from chronic diseases, and they often don’t have healthcare, so their costs are higher and it hits taxpayers and ends up costing the government that much more. But we need to be really careful about asking people to be personally accountable and saying “just spend the extra $20 on organic produce now because it will save you in the long run.” There are lots of folks who have to choose between paying their rent and buying groceries. There are lots of folks who live in poor areas (rural and urban) that don’t have access to health food stores or farmers markets (either because they don’t exist or because you need a car to get to them), and who can’t afford to shop there anyway. There are lots of people on food stamps the value of which would never amount to enough to let them buy the healthier foods you and I eat.

There’s a Whole Foods that was built a few years ago in DC that, at the time, was in a sort of up-and-coming area. Whole Foods didn’t want to build there because of the demographics of the surrounding neighborhood (lower income, mostly racial minorities). It was the neighborhood’s wealthier white residents who convinced Whole Foods to build by saying they would shop there, and lo and behold they built, the better off folks came, the neighborhood continued to develop and now it’s a hip part of town that I certainly can’t afford to live in. There’s a reason you tend to see health food stores in higher-income neighborhoods (not always, I know, but usually).

Also, the time it takes to grocery shop is a factor that again is impacted by your income level. If you’re buying a lot of fresh produce, that means you’re going to the grocery store more often so that it’s not going bad. lots of low income families have parents who are working more than one job, and for women (who are often single mothers), they’re generally doing most of the care work for children on top of their job(s). that alone can make it a huge hassle to have to plan time to go to the grocery store more frequently, so it’s easier to buy processed/frozen things that live in the pantry longer.

I don’t disagree with you, I just mean to point out that there is so much more behind health and food choice than just deciding to spend the extra money to buy high quality food and supplements because it’s better for you in the long run. we need to do a better job with our public policies to support local growers, stop subsidizing processed foods and their corporate owners, increase access to fresh produce in urban and low-income neighborhoods, and provide way better social services that would allow low-income families to actually eat healthier foods and live healthier lifestyles.

I should also mention that reactions to foods do not happen immediately upon or after ingestion. Reactions may take up to two days to occur and can be so sneakily mild, that a correlation to food is never made. However, as these foods build up in our system, so does the severity of the reaction. Tired? Of course, everyone is running on empty these days. Recent break out? Blame it on stress alone. But there may be an underlying sensitivity that serves as a common denominator for other factors to exacerbate chronic problems. So don’t think because you don’t immediately implode after eating a plate of pasta that you must not have a reaction to wheat. Pay attention to the subtle signs in the days following a meal to really begin making connections.

GMO entry to come!