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I didnt live in the best neighborhood growing up as a Black youth.
On days when supply was running low, well, McChickens abounded.
These are not food desertsthey are American apartheids.
registered dietitian and founder of Street Smart Nutrition
What is a food desert?
You may also have heard of the term food swamps.
Food swamps speak to neighborhoods with more convenience stores or bodegas than full-service grocery stores, Harbstreet says.
Its likely, however, that the discriminatory practices of how neighborhoods have been historically structured are to blame.
These differing land values can be easily explained by the aforementioned practices of redlining.
It is implied that the onus is on the community rather than the systems put in place.
This simply isnt true, Spence says.
The institutionalized racism that gave birth to food apartheids hasproduced a health crisis among these communities.
Nowhere in that equation is suitability for human health considered.
registered dietitian and founder of Street Smart Nutrition
Healthful foodslike fresh produce and dairy, lean meats, and whole grainsare often too expensive for low-income populations.
Thus, the easiest option is to eat whatever is closest and cheapest.
Race is not really a risk factor, but a correlation to systemic outcomes.
But apartheids are not just policies associated with South Africa.
And did any of the above occur naturally, as a desert does?
Well, the aforementioned change in language around food deserts is an easy first step.
Thats exactly what the goal is: making this issue something you cant ignore.
The impact that poverty and race has on health is the reason I became a dietitian.
Calling food deserts food apartheids moving forward may roll some eyes and cause others to bristle at first.
Its certainly uncomfortable, but we never made a change in this country by settling into complacency.
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