English Essay
April 11, 2012 Both adults and children do not really have healthy foods available to them due to the fact that they are so unaffordable for the average consumer. As a kid, when I saw McDonalds advertising their burgers on television, I immediately began craving for them. To make it even better, they’re only a dollar. Why wouldn’t my mom buy me a burger that was cheap and tasted good? Growing up she was a single parent and we always ate cheap, processed foods. Maybe if single parents like my mom could afford to buy their children healthier food, then kids wouldn’t have to eat unhealthy foods that will have negative long-term effects on our bodies. Most of the foods I eat are all processed but if I could afford to eat organic food then I would reconsider my eating habits. Organic food is naturally grown by farmers. There are no chemicals added to the food that’s being grown and animals are not given any artificial hormones to grow. Organic food is healthier than processed food because it is natural. In the article “ Bringing the farm to the inner city,” Dan Wiens a farmer from Winnipeg, created a farm near a low income neighborhood to show people the importance of growing organic food and eating healthier. The farm provided fresh grown food to families for the price of one or two dollars. If local farmers, like Dan, would help provide affordable grown food, then people wouldn’t be so reluctant to purchase organic food. Dan has made organic food easily accessible and affordable for low income families. Not only can farmers make a difference but retail stores can as well. O Beginning in 2006, Wal-Mart began selling organic food. The company had already taken the initiative to begin selling organic milk and they were the biggest supplier at the time. Wal-Mart started selling organic food at an affordable rate for consumers. They also had a great variety of different types of organic food. If other large retail stores could offer customers organic food at a cheap rate then more people could afford it and start eating healthier. That would make a great difference. Some businesses have even taken a bigger step and have begun donating organic food free of charge to low income families. In the article, “Local Foods Connection,” which is a non-profit organization, began buying fresh produce from farmers. The program supports families that are enrolled in CSA which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Each family that is enrolled in the program is supplied with a fresh box of organic produce for 20 weeks. If people would donate to non-profit organizations, then more low-income families like mine would have the opportunity to start their lives and children’s lives healthier. Growing up my family didn’t have the opportunity to be a part of a similar program. Hopefully more programs like this will emerge and teach people how to eat better and give them the chance to have a healthier and better lifestyle overall. Can low income families afford organic food? In the film “Food Inc.” there is a family that cannot afford to buy food for themselves and as a result has to resort to eating fast food daily. Imagine if organic food was inexpensive, it would make low-income communities healthier. As a student in college, it’s easier for me to buy fast food because it’s cheap and tastes good. When I’m at home, my stepmom try’s to cook healthier meals