Healthy living has recently become one of the biggest trends in modern society. Celebrities endorse organic eating and clean lifestyles, which has influenced many people to follow in their footsteps. Many companies have begun to label their products as “organic” and “GMO-free” in order to market this new audience and join the trend.
While eating clean and organic can be an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, this is becoming a luxury rather than an accessible necessity. For the most part, these healthy options are only attainable to those who can afford the high price tags and specialty food stores in which they’re sold.
So where does this leave those who are living in low-income communities? Why are health food items only accessible to the wealthy elite who can afford them?
It is so important to make healthy and organic food products accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy elite. According to the United States Census Bureau, 43.1 million people were living in poverty in 2015; over 44 million are food insecure today.
Without the equal distribution of healthy and nutritious food to the entire population, the general health of most Americans will continue to suffer. According to a study conducted by The Food Trust, between 6 and 9 percent of all U.S. households are still without access to healthy food. Nearly 37 million people live in low-income areas with limited access to supermarkets (defined as the closest store being more than a mile away).
There is one way that food can become more accessible to those who can’t afford the Whole Foods type markets in their day-to-day lives, but it comes with a stigma attached.
GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, have been widely criticized for being unhealthy and are avoided by most due to the same trend that is promoting organic lifestyles. According to Newsweek, over two-thirds of Americans think GMOs are unhealthy. Because of this, companies are labeling their products as GMO-free, which gives them the ability to up the price on those products as a lucrative marketing stunt.
Despite this overwhelming belief that has swept the nation, research that has been conducted stating that GMOs are potentially harmful and unhealthy have been debunked. Newsweek reported that the test conducted on rats that most anti-GMO activists use to prove GMOs are harmful to your health were a result of outlying variables in research, such as the species of rat used.
Basically, the studies that support anti-GMO propaganda have been discredited. However, this has not reached mainstream media yet and those who are trying to protect their families from “harmful” GMOs are unable to access the healthy and organic options that the elite are able to access.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, or NCBI, genetically modified crops could contribute to food production increases. This will improve the availability of food at global and local levels worldwide so that food can be accessed by everyone, everywhere despite economic class.
Genetically modified crops could also affect food safety and food quality. This technology can increase the breed of crops to produce more food with and an increase of nutritional value. This has been introduced in Golden Rice with its increase in vitamin A, according to a study conducted by NCBI.
While living a healthy lifestyle is important, it is crucial to make healthy options accessible to everyone and not just the wealthy elite. GMOs have the potential to not only produce more of the food that we need to sustain healthy lifestyles, but it can also be a cheaper and more accessible option to those who can’t afford the pricey labels and supermarkets.
