News Column: Organic Food & Low-Income Communities

Every generation has some sort of health and fitness trend associated with it. Today one of those trends is the idea that organic food sources are better than regular food sources.

There is pressure on consumers to buy organic food fueled by streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu highlighting documentaries that push this sentiment like Big Little Farm and Rotten. Companies are capitalizing and hiking up prices with organic labels. Organic foods filling the market drive up the price of regular sourced competitors which makes the barrier for these communities to access healthy foods even higher.

But is organic food better for you?

“Based on the available scientific research, I do not believe that organic food has any health benefits as compared to regular sources. The main advantages to choosing organic has to do with benefits to the environment, ” says Sharon Gallagher Associate Professor of Practice and Assistant Dietetic Internship Director at Simmons University.

“Barriers to getting organic food include cost, access, and misinformation. Many people believe that they need to purchase organic foods based on misinformation they hear or read on the Internet. Unfortunately, much of this information is inaccurate. Nonetheless, it puts a lot of pressure on consumers to feel that they need to spend the extra money and often seek out organic foods, which may not be convenient for them” says Gallagher.

It has been proven that organic food is not the only way to live a healthy life. According to the USDA, “the organic label does not imply anything about health”. However, it is portrayed in such a way that that is what people strongly believe.

Any source of healthy food is beneficial to humans.

However, even healthy food that comes without the organic label can be difficult to access for low-income communities. Food deserts have become one of the main sources of lack of access to nutritional foods in many places. Food deserts disproportionately affect people of color.

Access to healthy food is vital to a person’s overall health. However, it is still a problem in the United States and around the world to provide access to these resources.

In the United States healthcare is a continuing financial issue for many families.

According to CNBC, “Two-thirds of people who file for bankruptcy cite medical issues as a key contributor to their financial downfall.”

Since nutrition is the first line of health care, healthy foods should be made more accessible to act as the front line of defense for many illnesses that stem from unhealthy eating habits. If healthy foods were made more accessible we would see a decline in chronic illness, cancer, and diabetes. But instead, the health of Americans is capitalized on. With the introduction of higher-priced produce labeled under organic, this disparity becomes only wider.

There is hope.

There are some organizations in the Boston area that are working to help make healthy food more available to disadvantaged communities.

Gallagher highlighted some of these saying “There are numerous food pantries such as the Greater Boston Food Bank and programs like Community Servings that have programs in place to help with this issue. There is also a bill in Massachusetts for the "Food is Medicine Pilot Program" that would provide funding for nutrition services and medically tailored food packages for those who are referred by a health care provider.”

It is organizations like these that give me hope that we are slowly moving to a society that does not make healthcare a privilege and something to profit off of as its first priority.

Why it may be becoming clearer that it is not essential to be eating organic foods just healthy food in general, there is still a long way to go in providing access to healthy sources of food to all parts of society. A healthy society is a thriving society.