Nutrition access, income, and race

Abstract

It is well documented there are significant health problems that come from consumers not eating healthful diets and the resulting obesity. It is also well documented that obesity is negatively correlated with income, and this negative correlation is becoming stronger over time (Bentley et al., 2018). In other words, the poor are, on average, getting fatter and suffering from the associated health consequences.In this article, I consider the relationship between the retail-food environment and food choice. Many factors, including taste preferences, culture, variety, and affordability of healthful food alternatives affect healthful food choices (Ver Ploeg & Wilde, 2018). Drewnowski and Barratt-Fornell (2004) argue that consumers are often aware of the difference between healthful and unhealthful foods, and would prefer healthful foods if prices were the same. Grocery retailers can be a resource that provide healthful food options. Thus, an open question is to what extent do low-income consumers have access to a retail food environment that provides a broad collection of affordable foods that constitute a healthful diet.Further, household incomes differ across racial groups. According to U.S. Census data (Creamer, 2020), Asian American and non-Hispanic white consumers have had the highest incomes across racial groups for decades. These groups also have the lowest rates of poverty. The 2019 poverty rate is 7.3% for both Asian Americans and non-Hispanic whites. This means that 7.3% of Asian Americans and 7.3% of non-Hispanic white households had incomes below the poverty line in 2019. Among Black consumers, the poverty rate of 18.8% in 2019 was the lowest rate observed since poverty estimates were first produced for this group for 1959. The previous low for this group was 20.8% in 2018. Poverty rates in 2019 were also the lowest ever observed for Hispanics (15.7%). Poverty statistics for Hispanics date back to 1972. Because some racial and/or ethnic groups include households that persistently have less income for many generations (Chetty et al., 2014), we make the case that poor and minority consumers may have less access to healthful food retailers.Limited access to supermarkets, supercenters, grocery stores, or other sources of healthy and affordable food may make it difficult for some people to eat a healthful diet (USDA, 2021). Thus, I define food retailers such as grocery supercenters and full-line grocery retailers associated with a national or regional grocery chain or an independent full-service grocery store to be "healthful

A call for justice work in agricultural and applied economics

“…Although important, this literature assessed toward assessing race and gender within the profession rather than the larger society, with exceptions on rural poverty. A notable shift in this journal was the publication of the Fellow's address by former AAEA President Jill McCluskey (2022), who explored the food system's racialized features and access to grocery stores. 2022) reflect a long-standing tradition, or do they reflect a potential shift in the discipline's approach to racial injustices in the food system?…”

“…Does our literature have a broader view of race and ethnicity? Do the work of McCluskey (2022) and Berning et al (2022) reflect a long‐standing tradition, or do they reflect a potential shift in the discipline's approach to racial injustices in the food system? To address these questions, my colleagues and I collected 86 presidential addresses and 3915 invited papers published between 1919 and 2022, 4001 papers in total, for a content analysis.…”