Food System vs. The Food

February 6, 2025

Happy New Year!  New year, same commitment to promoting positive relationships to food, body, and community. As a dietitian, part of my practice is critiquing the systems that cause food and nutrition deficits without criticizing the food itself. (We are all doing our best to eat in a way that takes care of ourselves, and criticizing food is not usually helpful, nor warranted.) In the same way that someone might be critical of our economic system without criticizing people who have to survive in it, I try to evaluate food and the food system as two different things. Even though my goal is to advocate for changes in our agriculture and food system, it's also important to me that I do not promote unfounded food fear and anxiety- which can cause eating disorders. For any of you who have attended my sessions, you're already aware of the growing prevalence of eating disorders. 28 million Americans will have an eating disorder in their lifetime. 

When working with individuals, my goal is to meet folks where they are at, support them with tools and guidance based on the time, money, and energy available to them, to help them eat in a way that supports their physical and emotional wellbeing, that honors their social and cultural practices, and expresses their values in a healthy way. Unfortunately, many folks in the wellness space, especially now with the amplification of the Make America Healthy Again campaign, are committed to inspiring food fear, health anxiety, or distrust in public health institutions in order to sell products and programs, many which have not been tested or proven to be beneficial (This health and nutrition researcher and writer shared an extensive list of folks to beware of). Tip: If someone claims to know something that no one else does, or is selling the secret antidote that “they” don't want you to know about, that's a red flag. 

Now, from an environmental, social, cultural, and economical standpoint, there are plenty of issues with our food system: exploited labor, unfair wages, unsafe factories and work environments, polluted land, disconnect from food traditions and culinary practices, compromised soil quality, corporate greed that has contributed to increased grocery prices, inefficiencies that lead to food waste, folks facing hunger and food insecurity despite a high production of food, etc. If I were evaluating food from these perspectives, I might say the U.S. food system has components that are environmentally “unhealthy”, economically “unhealthy”, or culturally “unhealthy” and so on. The agricultural system and industrialized food system in the U.S. is not rooted in the premise of feeding everyone, taking care of the land, and providing nutritious and culturally-meaningful food. Fundamentally, it is a for-profit system, and the bottom line is a defining value. Even still, the food is different than the system. Some might not agree, but when working with individuals, it's important for me to make this distinction.

It's easy to see that we have issues systemically, but we still need to navigate these food choices day to day to eat and take care of ourselves. There is a way to do that with a sense of balance and practicality, that supports our physical and mental health.

1) For starters, one food or one ingredient in isolation does not make us healthy or unhealthy. It's all contextual. Eating one bag of chips doesn't make you unhealthy just like one bowl of broccoli doesn't make you healthy. And just as I would not recommend only eating potato chips, I would also not recommend only eating broccoli! Variety, flexibility, and balance are health-promoting nutrition practices. The same goes for individual ingredients and additives: “The dose makes the poison." Many studies that show a correlation between an isolated ingredient and negative health outcome often involve a dose that is much much higher than we would likely consume in a given day. They may also be animal studies. This makes it difficult to extrapolate the risk of consuming this item, because 1) humans are bigger than and different from rats! and 2) the proportion of ingredients given to rats in the experiment is often fairly large relative to a human's exposure through food in real life. I would guess that none of us are consuming buckets of pure red dye each day. If we were,  then we might have a problem. Similarly, if we consumed buckets of “dihydrogen monoxide” (which is the chemical name of water, “H2O”), that could also be toxic! In some people, water intoxication symptoms can develop after drinking about a gallon of water over an hour or two. The dose makes the poison. Also, chemical ingredient names may be unfamiliar but not necessarily unsafe! Be sure to enjoy a refreshing glass of dihydrogen monoxide today. :)

2) Health is not black and white. Someone's nutrition status depends on what their nutrition needs are, what else they are eating, how frequently they eat these foods, how much they eat at a time, etc. Our health status is partially impacted by our nutrition status, but is also significantly impacted by genetic predisposition, and social and environmental health risks, such as exposure to environmental pollutants, financial challenges, barriers to affordable medical care such as health screenings and treatments, chronic stress, and other factors. Some groups of people are exposed to more health risks than others, which lead to health disparities. “Health disparities are differences that exist among specific population groups in the United States in the attainment of full health potential that can be measured by differences in incidence, prevalence, mortality, burden of disease, and other adverse health conditions. While the term disparities is often used or interpreted to reflect differences between racial or ethnic groups, disparities can exist across many other dimensions as well, such as gender, sexual orientation, age, disability status, socioeconomic status, and geographic location.” Despite that, we tend to oversimplify health factors ("eat less, move more") and overemphasize the role of nutrients or ingredients ("you are what you eat"). Actually addressing health issues means exploring coordinated solutions related to agricultural policy, healthcare access and affordability, neighborhood safety and design, grocery store access, and more. Public health expert, Dr. Jessica Knurick is a Registered Dietitian and nutrition PhD researcher who discusses these issues extensively. Read her recent article here.

3) Labeling food, chips for example, as “bad” or “toxic” doesn't necessarily make them any less delicious, and often can lead to guilt (which counterproductively could lead to eating more chips). Not to mention many of us probably like to eat chips! I loved cool ranch Doritos growing up and I definitely still eat chips. There's a reason why we eat these foods. Obviously not for nutrition, but because they're yummy, or are served at a party, or after an AYSO soccer game, or it's an easy snack, or whatever. As I'm sure I've said before, in the same way we don't need movies to survive or pillows to survive, we don't need chips but they make life better sometimes. Creating fear around them likely won't make us eat them less, but it might make us a lot more confused about ingredients, or lead to guilt and shame which might lead to eating MORE chips than if we didn't feel guilt or shame in the first place. On the extreme side, calling chips “poison” can lead to adults and children alike feeling afraid about what is in their food. 

4) Projecting personal values and ethics is often not helpful either. Blanket recommendations like “natural foods only”, “avoid all ultra processed foods”, “eat vegan”, or “eat local”- might not be clearly defined, realistic, relevant, or even necessary for folks to adhere to in order to meet their health and nutrition goals. These are personal decisions that are considered within individual circumstance. It's also important to reiterate that there is no such thing as a “perfect” diet, and that pursuing a nutritionally or ethically “pure” diet carries the risk of becoming disordered. Eating in alignment with our values while maintaining a flexible mindset can support our emotional health and physical wellbeing. I'm all for folks eating in a way that demonstrates their values, however, if someone's pursuit of eating based on their values, ethics, and advocacy begins to interfere with their physical, emotional, social, or financial wellbeing; if it becomes stressful, rigid, or obsessive, or if it is motivated by fear or anxiety, then it is no longer healthy, and is worth re-evaluating, or finding a nutrition expert for support. There are a LOT of ways to eat “healthy.” It looks different for everyone, and can include packaged foods, ready-to-eat foods, and fresh, whole food ingredients. 

5) I'd much rather we focus on how to get MORE nutrient-dense food, MORE variety, MORE culturally meaningful foods to folks rather than disparaging types of foods which are not intrinsically unhealthy by themselves. We definitely have nutrition deficits in our country, and I'm interested in addressing the barriers that prevent folks from eating enough food, eating enough variety, choosing foods that they enjoy, growing or preparing food in ways that are accessible and meaningful to them, and so on. Food Sovereignty is described as the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. This article featuring Malik Yakini, a farmer, educator, and prominent figure in the Detroit Black Food Sovereignty movement, highlights his work and perspective on Detroit Food Sovereignty. 

So how do we feel well in an unwell system? 

Focusing on food as nutrition, as a source of satisfaction and pleasure, and as form of self-care and social connection is one way to take care of ourselves. Learning about the food system, the politics, economics, cultural and historical narratives of food and health is a way to take care of each other. We can strive to do the best with what we have, and hopefully find ways to connect with others to fill the gaps, whether that means learning how to apply for food assistance, supporting a grassroots effort for a neighborhood grocery store, joining or starting a local food policy council, finding a community garden, bringing food to friends or neighbors, or advocating for state and federal funding for school food, local farmers, food banks, and other emergency food systems. These projects by themselves might not change everything, but it could be the start of relationship building. Author, philosopher, community advocate (and Detroiter!), Grace Lee Boggs, said“We never know how our small activities will affect others through the invisible fabric of our connectedness. In this exquisitely connected world, it’s never a question of ‘critical mass.' It’s always about critical connections.”

Food is complex! There are many different lenses we can use to evaluate one particular food: anthropological, environmental, economic, nutritional, etc. While we can't pluck ourselves out of the “unhealthy systems”, we can try to make the most of the situation, learn and strive to improve it with others, and hopefully preserve our physical and mental health in the process. Working in nutrition, for me, is a constant exercise of zooming out and zooming in, of exploring larger issues while prioritizing an individual's day-to-day tasks and needs (like eating enough, moving, resting, connecting with others, etc.). So, as usual- have you eaten yet today? :) Please take time to get a meal or snack! Consistent eating is important for your mind and body.