Fear of Health Troubles Due to Food Desert Emergence

Fear of Health Troubles Due to Food Desert Emergence

Contemporary society has grown to value higher quality food in fear of the many hazards that are associated with common foods, i.e. gluten. Due to the large demand, many upscale chain grocery stores have emerged in several neighborhoods, having no regard for the SES prevalence of the neighborhood. It’s because of these chain stores, that force smaller, more affordable businesses to close down due to their inability to compete; such an affect renders the public susceptible to food deserts, impeding their ability to buy actual groceries. This troubling trend has caused a large amount of worry for the working class that are then forced to pay for solely fast food as a source of food because they are then placed at a higher likelihood of being afflicted by obesity and other related illnesses.

Sarah Nir examines this effect within a magnified viewed of the Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo in her article, “Fears of Food Desert in High-End SoHo as Grocery Closes.” The article details a small business, that has provided genuine groceries at an affordable rate, being forced to close down because of its inability to afford the monthly rate set by the lease terms due to the influence of gentrification. Also, it explains that the closing of the store exhibits an enormous disservice to the general public of the neighborhood, given that it is comprised of working-class people. Nir mentions how these citizens lack the means to afford groceries from upscale chain stores, like Whole Foods. Many of them would be forced to purchase fast food just to feed themselves, well knowing that it is severely detrimental to their bodies, and therefore, their health.

Obviously, people cannot survive solely off meals of such poor quality; however, these people are given no other alternative. These food deserts are a large contributor to the obesity epidemic that can be seen saliently in the United States. Those in the lower socioeconomic status are more likely to suffer from obesity because of the low-quality food they have to ingest. Considering that this specific demographic is still continuously growing in the US, there is a notable correlation between the two factors that is causing a visible growth in not just obesity, but also illness related to the heart. Such a trend becomes difficult to break because purchasing power is becoming exceedingly weaker, while the cost of living is inflating. These financial burdens then become an even larger contributor to the spike in obesity prevalence, which then places a large target upon the impoverished because they also are unable to afford healthcare.

As the effects of food deserts and gentrification are being increasingly observed and studied, there is also an increase of studies being made to observe obesity. Many use animal models to then relate back to human understanding like the study conducted by Dr. Jen Beshel, where the he studied obesity linked behavior in Drosophila through the proteins upd1 and upd2 found in the leptin pathway. An observable highlight was that depletion in the upd2 protein led to weight -loss in Drosophila. Additionally, it was seen that the upd1 protein was vital because of its function in homeostasis. This function was what prevented the Drosophila from eating too much; however, once the upd1 protein removed, there was indication of obesity. Such a study demonstrates the significance of how a single alteration to what is vital to an organism can lead to a plethora of consequences.

Works Cited

Nir, Sarah Maslin. “Fears of Food Desert in High-End SoHo as Grocery Closes.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Dec. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/12/30/nyregion/soho-met-food-grocery-closes.html.

Beshel, J, et al. “A Leptin Analog Locally Produced in the Brain Acts via a Conserved Neural

Circuit to Modulate Obesity-Linked Behaviors in Drosophila.” Cell Metabolism., U.S.

National Library of Medicine, 10 Jan. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28076762.