Food deserts and Darth Tater

The Packer's Charlie Giddley recently wrote a column about "food deserts" in America's inner cities. He wrote:

For years, studies have indicated a higher incidence of heart disease and diabetes among racial minorities in the U.S. and the link between those diseases and diet, including insufficient consumption of produce. And racial minorities are more likely than whites to live in the inner city.

The produce industry can talk up the importance of eating fruits and vegetables all it wants, but unless it does a better job of spurring the government to address the lack of supermarket access to millions of urban residents, it is merely taunting the helpless and ignoring a huge untapped market.

TK: Here is a fairly recent news report I found on youtube about what is being done in New York City to address the issue.


As an aside, while I was on youtube, I found this blast from the past, the Store Wars Web commercial, which referenced the "organic rebellion" and the "dark side" of conventional farming. This 5 minute video is worth a few chuckles and hardly can be taken seriously as consumer messaging with its references to "darth tater" and "Organican Skywalker." It was panned by The Packer when it was released in 2005 by the Organic Trade Association.
May the farm be with you - always - but don't try to call conventional produce the dark side.