The Capitalist Food System is Hurting Us

Previously published in The Socialist online. www.thesocialist.us

I remember a college Republican advisory of mine once said that he didn’t believe there were starving kids in America because, at a school where he worked, he saw children throwing away food. Our individual experiences don’t always paint the complete reality. There may not be children “starving” in America like they are starving in third-world countries. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t go hungry.

Many are getting less food than they need — often being forced to skip meals. And even more often, most people are eating “food” that is processed (filled with added sugar, salt and fat and/or stripped of nutrients); laced with pesticides; genetically modified; filled with hormones and chemicals; and/or factory farmed. Most Americans have little clue how unhealthy their food is.

Poor people often struggle to find healthy food, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, as they live in food deserts —where it’s more common to find a corner liquor store than a grocery store. Most poor people can’t afford organic food, even if they can find it. In addition, many food pantries offer boxed and canned food, which is highly processed. This leads to many disproportionate health consequences for poor people.

Meanwhile, every day in America grocery stores throw away food, simply because it perishes from people not buying it. What kind of society lets people go hungry and throws away food simply because people can’t afford to pay for it?

Some people who struggle to afford food are on food stamps. However, recently the American congress has cut the food stamps program. This makes little sense. Look at this video to see just how important food stamps are:

http://www.upworthy.com/what-a-beach-bumming-couch-surfing-dudebro-can-teach-us-about-food-stamps

A socialist America would ensure that all people were fed with healthy organic foods regardless of their income. A socialist America would ensure access to healthy food for everyone. A socialist America would do away with factory farms, harmful pesticides, injecting hormones and chemicals into our food, stripping our food of nutrients, and pumping them with added ingredients that threaten our health. A socialist America would help every American grow locally sourced food.

We must ask ourselves why do we continue to invest in capitalist America’s failing food system, when we can savor a sustainable socialist food system instead? Food shouldn’t be about making money for the few, at the expense of the whole.