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Mirage of Understanding: Challenging the Dominant Perspective in Food Desert Discourse
Winegar, Levi J
Winegar, Levi J
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Abstract
In recent years there has been increasing concern over the lack of fresh, affordable, healthy food in certain neighborhoods, especially poor ones. The worry is that the residents of these “food deserts,” as they are often called, have little choice but to eat whatever fast food and junk food happens to be nearby, which could potentially lead to chronic health problems such as obesity and diabetes. An entire discourse has emerged around this issue as journalists, academics, government officials, and activists write articles, compile reports, make maps, produce videos, pass laws, and launch initiatives. In this dissertation I argue that the discourse surrounding food deserts contains a dominant perspective, and that this perspective is promoting a view of food deserts that is simplistic and misleading. To facilitate my argument, I present a rubric of three “foundational ideas” that underlie the perspective. The first idea concerns the nature of food deserts; the second, the knowability of food deserts; and the third, the nature of a healthy diet. After closely examining each idea, I conclude that all three are flawed, and that this should call the viability of the dominant perspective into question.
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Date
2020-05-31
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University of Kansas
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Keywords
Geography, Food access, Food accessibility, Food availability, Food desert, Food environment, Food insecurity