Turn the Tables on Food Deserts -- Fight Big Food!
- by: WhyHunger
- recipient: Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
Twenty-three million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live more than a mile from a supermarket. In these "food deserts," families lack access to affordable, nutritious food.
Because just a few supermarket chains dominate each region, food desert residents are stuck with overpriced corner stores and unhealthy fast food outlets. The result? Poor communities suffer disproportionately from health issues like obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
It comes down to this: Corporate agribusiness controls too much of what Americans can eat, where they can buy food and how much they pay.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the USDA are investigating if a handful of food and farming companies exercise illegal monopoly control in the food system. The one hearing of the investigation focused on consumer price issues is December 8. Add your voice! Tell DOJ and USDA to break up food monopolies, and if you can, attend the workshop on Dec. 8 in Washington D.C.
Dear Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack,
I am writing today to urge you to break up corporate monopolies of our food system so everyone can have more control of what they eat and better access to healthy, affordable food.
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Too many communities in America are food deserts, where people don't have access to supermarkets, farmers markets or other places that sell fresh, nutritious food. Instead, these people must resort to unhealthy processed food from corner stores and fast-food restaurants. The result is that poor communities suffer disproportionately from health issues related to poor diet, like obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
Consumers need better access to healthy and afforable food. I urge you to thoroughly examine who's controlling the food system and take strong action to address unfair practices, in order to increase everyone's access to nutritious food.
