From Industrial Garden to Food Desert

        Reading this article felt like watching a timeline of the city of Oakland and its various periods of growth and devaluation.  McClintock explores the different factors (racial, economic, etc.) in Oakland that have led to a decrease in access to the single-most important object on the planet: nutritious food.  It is not enough to have a fast-food restaurant on every corner.  Of course, these establishments provide inexpensive, calorie-dense food options for low-income families, but they also lack any sort of nutritional value.  McClintock explains that after both small grocers and large supermarket corporations left the Oakland flatlands due to falling profit margins, this area could no longer access the variety of food that was once available.  But what could possibly be the solution to the food deserts rampant throughout the world?  Towards the end of the article, McClintock shines some light on the food justice organizations working to bring high quality food back to these communities.

    Bringing food justice organizations to the same level of cost and convenience of traditional supermarkets and grocery stores will be no easy feat.  However, the type of work they are currently doing will inevitably change the way people view the food industry.  By providing low-income families with food justice-centered classes, farmers market opportunities, backyard gardens, among many others, is a very inspiring way to bring people closer to a highly impactful issue.   

    Last week, we centered our discussion around the idea of neoliberalism and the pros and cons of preventing government intervention on food-related problems.  Suburban, middle-class areas that have fairly easy access supermarkets may have the option to favor a more free-market type of system, however, I highly doubt that poverty-stricken areas have the means necessary to bounce back without intervention from the government.  These communities may be educated on the issues of food justice and the process of maintaining a home garden, but this is still very micro-scale work.  I think the neoliberal approach will not be very effective in the food desert scenario.  However, I do believe that through food justice organizations (like worker co-ops), educational opportunities for low-income families, and government assistance, that the issue of food deserts can be alleviated if not solved.