Do Americans Have a Misguided Interpretation of American Raised Food

DO AMERICANS HAVE A MISGUIDED INTERPRETATION OF AMERICAN RAISED FOOD?

Andrew Chery

Sergio Fernandez

Nkulu Mkhonto

Veneta Sotiropoulos PhD

ABSTRACT

The number of food deserts in America has increased. Food deserts are defined as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas such as low-income neighborhoods. Areas that are heavily composed with non-nutritional food options like fast food and highly processed food. (paraphrase) The lack of nutritional food options in these areas can have negative health consequences such as obesity, heart problems, diabetes to name a few. Nonetheless, it is unclear if the people that reside in such areas are aware just how nutritionally deficient their environment is. Furthermore, it is unclear if these areas are so nutritionally deficient that they rival or even worse than areas in of more impoverished nation. Therefore, the goal of this study is to investigate food nutritional deficiency between Americans who live in food deserts with people in a developing nation (i.e., South Africa). In the present study, we expect to find that individuals who reside in food deserts have food options that are so nutritional deficient that even people who reside in less developed nations have more nutritional options. Using a qualitative interview approach 15 participants will be interviewed to determine if there is evidence to support this claim. The results, findings, implications, limitations, and future research will also be discussed.