At first glance, America s food system appears to be exemplary. Yet, numerous problems abound in a food system that is highly concentrated in ownership and unresponsive to community needs. Small and medium-sized farmers are regularly squeezed out of business by high operating costs, low prices for their products, and poor access to markets.
Suburban sprawl threatens prime farmland in many of the nation s metropolitan areas.
After decades of struggle, farm workers continue to earn poverty-level wages while suffering from high rates of tuberculosis and pesticide poisoning. Low-income urban areas are particularly marginalized by the mainstream food system. Supermarkets have abandoned the inner cities, making access to healthy and affordable food difficult for the transit-dependent. Those supermarkets that remain often charge far higher prices than their suburban counterparts, due to higher operating costs and a lack of competition. Transportation planners rarely design bus routes around community food shopping needs, leaving residents little choice but to carry their groceries long distances, use precious resources on taxi rides, or make multiple transfers.