That’s deserts not desserts.

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 A new term just came across my radar screen. Food deserts. Described as “districts with little or no access to the types of foods needed to maintain a healthy diet but often served by plenty of fast food restaurants”.This problem has reached such proportions in inner cities that in Los Angeles lawmakers recently passed a law preventing the construction of any new fast food restaurants in South L.A which has a 30% higher obesity rate than the rest of L.A county. 

These deserts can be created by

• Physical barriers such as geographical location, high crime areas, lack of public transport which prevent people from easy access
• Financial barriers- healthy food is generally more expensive than the 99c menu
• Mental barriers such as the lack of cooking knowledge or not realizing the importance of a healthy diet. 

• I remember growing up in Europe as a kid where pre supermarket era  shopping involved visits to several different purveyors to get the weekly groceries. The fishmonger knew everything about the local product he was selling, same with the butcher,  baker, candlestick maker etc. Sadly these shops are no longer in existence forced out by some  Wal Mart/ Asda mega store selling vietnamese catfish and frozen Chilean sea bass. It is increasingly difficult to buy the kind of foods we used to eat. Local and Organic has become an expensive luxury being replaced by antibiotic laced, pesticide ridden, gassed, genetically modified, tasteless crap from all four corners of the planet. The food being consumed in these food deserts is barely food at all, more like sweet and savory carbon based biofuel basically designed to alleviate short term hunger pangs quickly followed by crashes and a craving for more. Education seems to be the key here but there seems to be a massive disconnect between consumers and their food. The result of this is our world champion status of being the fattest developed nation on the planet. The statistics are too depressing to even include in the article but I am sure you have an idea. . Until we find a way to stop filling Ronald McDonalds pockets and start educating people we won’t have to worry about global warming causing coastal flooding because the country will begin to sink under our collective weight. The body doesn’t have to be a temple but it certainly shouldn’t be a garbage disposal either. Check out this following article      http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28300393