What is co m mu n i t y f o o d se cu r i t y ? 223
Junk food is not healthy
When people do not have land to grow food, live in crowded cities, cannot
buy healthy foods in the market, or lose the cultural traditions that help them
eat healthy food, they often end up eating “junk” food that contains little
nutritional value. Often these foods are refined in ways that remove nutrition,
are processed with chemicals,
are fried in oil, and contain too
much sugar or salt.
In small amounts,
such foods may not
be harmful. But when
We had more and
better food when our
grandparents were alive.
Since they died,
nobody in my family
grows food anymore.
I know, it’s
a shame.
But don’t
these fries
taste great?
people eat them
regularly instead of
more nutritious food,
they prevent us from
getting the nutrition
we need.
As people eat more
junk foods, they are
more likely to gain
too much weight and
have health problems such
as high blood pressure, heart
disease, strokes, gallstones, diabetes,
and some kinds of cancer. This is why
people can be undernourished and overweight
at the same time.
When farming changes, eating changes
Everywhere in the world, farmers are being driven off their land. Fields that
produced food for local communities now grow crops for export. The growing
control by corporations of land, seeds, markets, and the ways that food is
distributed not only harms farmers, it harms all of us.
Healthy food is becoming harder and harder to find. In many cities, it is
easier to buy “junk” foods, alcohol, and illegal drugs than fresh fruits and
vegetables. This has led to big changes in our diets in only a few generations.
While our grandparents ate mostly foods prepared with fresh ingredients,
people now eat too many refined and processed foods lacking nutrition
but containing preservatives, flavorings, colorings, and large amounts of
sweeteners (sugars and corn syrup), salt, and fats. So, while many of us eat
more food than in the past, the foods we eat are less healthy than ever before.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012