Public Health Nutrition in the United States
The United States prides itself on being a powerful and advanced country, but is it truly as advanced as it says? By many measures the United States falls far behind other countries but this writing will focus on aspects in public health nutrition. Food insecurity in the U.S is a severe problem that can most definitely be meaningfully addressed. However, because of political and economic interests in the U.S, the problem of food insecurity goes unaddressed on a federal level in any significant way.
In 2024, many people in the United States are acutely aware of just how prices have been going up on many things. Rent prices have gone up, bills have gone up, and grocery prices have gone up. This has caused a strain on many individuals and households that the U.S government continues to ignore when it comes to policies and programs. According to USDA data, “12.5 percent of households with children were food-insecure in 2021 and 17.3 percent of households with children were food insecure in 2022. That 4.8 percentage point change was statistically significant.” This data is limited because it compares food insecurity from 2022 to 2021 and today in 2024 many are acutely aware of how much it has additionally increased in the past two years. However, this data still shows a concerning upward trend with regards to food insecurity in the United States. Additionally, prior to the pandemic food insecurity was in a semi-steady state with a slight decline. The USDA economic report continues, “a statistically significant decline in the prevalence of food insecurity from 11.1 percent in 2018 to 10.5 percent occurred in 2019 and food insecurity was unchanged at 10.5 percent in 2020.” This confirms what many have experienced, that since the COVID-19 pandemic the “cost of living” has greatly increased.
The government in the United States is based on a capitalist system that dictates how the economy and government is run. This means that decisions in public health nutrition are ultimately decided based on financial reasons, rather than what is best for as many people as possible. For example, the public health nutrition programs in the U.S are not adequate when it comes to addressing food insecurity. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), a federal program commonly known as food stamps, is one way for low-income recipients to receive money to buy food (because within capitalism people need money to access foods). However, this program is a small bandaid on a gaping, bleeding wound. In 2024 requirement changes went through that made this program even harder to utilize. One change was seen in the work requirements, not to mention that the fact that there even are work requirements is absurd. Regardless, new requirements state that those who do not have dependents or disabilities must work a minimum of 80 hours per month until their 53rd birthday. Previous rules were only until their 51st birthday so by increasing the age a large chunk of people could be disqualified and removed from accessing SNAP, which is counterproductive to a program that claims to increase access to food. These decisions are being made to reduce the amount of spending for food programs and not to get more people food secure.
Politicians in Congress and at the White House, supposedly, have an interest in increasing the quality of life for people in the U.S but this is not reflected in policies that are severely inadequate at addressing social problems. This is to be expected from a capitalist, settler-colonial state established through the genocide of Indigenous people in North America and also the enslavement of Indigenous people from Africa. For centuries, actions that greatly harmed so many working class and marginalized communities were pursued because they greatly enriched the capitalist class. The increase in profits is more important than ensuring every human has access to nutritious and cultural foods. The United States also has a significant interest in ensuring capitalism remains as a political system and a majority of politicians balk at any program that resembles socialism in any capacity. It is extremely difficult to lobby congress for social programs. On the other hand, it is extremely easy for the capitalist class to lobby Congress, the White House, and even Supreme Court Justices.
The prevalence of food insecurity is increasing in the United States since 2021 and will continue to increase as climate change continues to affect food and supply chains. In the United States the public health nutrition programs in place are too insufficient for the needs that exist. Too many politicians are willing to sell out to corporate interests and to their donors which leaves the populace worse off. Even politicians with good intentions are limited in the type of changes they can make. In order to address food insecurity in North America, and all over the world, the system of capitalism must be discarded. A new world must be imagined where money is not the most important factor in societal decisions. Without capitalism driving decisions around profit, humans would be able to organize society in a way that met every person’s needs, in a way that responded effectively to natural disasters or accidents that impact food security.
