The Roadmap to Food Equity: The Gap in the U.S. Food System

Abstract

The United States is facing an unprecedented crisis that requires unprecedented action. While the stagnant economy, national debt, healthcare, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq might register on your radar as our country’s most pressing problems, there is an underlying crisis at the very core of our society that is undermining the nation’s health, prosperity and sustainability. It is a crisis of the U.S. food system, encompassing all of the components involved in the production, harvesting, processing, packaging, distribution, marketing and preparation of the food we consume.

The U.S. food system is comprised of a vast network of farmers, farm workers, cultivated land, natural resources, consumers, communities and food organizations. This complex system flourishes and provides the greatest benefit when it is healthy for farmers, our families and communities, and the environment. Unfortunately, it has been an ongoing challenge to focus on the importance of our collective health when the national conversation is muddled by advocates for choice, personal responsibility, profit and convenience.