Eating the Desert (2024)

FAQs

Which desert is best to eat? ›

Essentially, the food deserts concept links supply of nutritious food, and the availability of food outlets providing it, to the cost low-income consumers face in obtaining it.

Food deserts are regions where people have limited access to healthful and affordable food. This may be due to having a low income or having to travel farther to find healthful food options.

Cactus is one of the most common food sources in the desert. While there are a few plants that can be found in the desert, Cacti are the most abundant. If you are in a desert that has cactus, fruits grown on cacti would be your best bet to stay fueled. Almost all cacti fruits are consumable.

In the absence of refrigeration they chose food that walked. As a result, their diet consisted primarily of meat, milk and dairy produce from the herds of animals they drove before them. Sheep and goats are the traditional animals kept on the fringes of the desert.

Sunshine and Vitamin D: The Bone-Strengthening Duo

In the desert, where sunny days are abundant, it's easier to get your daily dose of vitamin D. Just a few minutes of sun exposure each day can help keep your bones healthy and reduce your risk of conditions like osteoporosis.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, desserts are one of the main sources of added sugar in the U.S. These guidelines recommend limiting your total intake of added sugars to 10% of your daily energy intake, which translates to 48 grams or 12 teaspoons for a 2,000-calorie diet.

Areas with a large number of minorities, low-income people, and no reliable public transportation are more likely to be food deserts. According to the USDA's most recent food access research report, nearly 40 million Americans live in low-income and low-access areas.

Grocery store owners avoid opening up shop in food deserts because market research suggests more affluent areas are more profitable. Some common characteristics across food deserts—smaller populations, lower rates of employment, higher rates of poverty—are the same characteristics that scare off retailers.

Why is living in a food desert a problem? ›

Consequences of Food Deserts

Poor diet and nutrition. Increased risk of obesity and related health problems. Limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Dependence on fast food and convenience stores.

According to the USDA, approximately 34 million people experienced food insecurity in the United States in 2021; and of these people, nearly one-fourth were children (Coleman-Jensen et al. 2022). Beyond this, access to fresh food is limited for 40.5 million Americans living in USDA-designated food deserts nationwide.

Alaska has the highest relative share of land area that is classified as a food desert due to much of the state being unpopulated or lowly populated. Many western states such as New Mexico, Colorado, and Washington are among the states with the highest share of area in a food desert.

Many contemporary food justice scholars, advocates, and communities find the term food desert inaccurate, misleading, and harmful. Instead, they advocate for the use of food apartheid because of its ability to address the underlying systems of oppression that have led to the disparities in food security.