Many of us would always think that good food is all about the calories, the amount of fat, the amount of sugar. But really Good Food could be define in so many ways, this blog post is about how I define Good Food, in which I compared my personal experience back in Asia and Canada, my knowledge as an economist and food scientist and what my perception and priorities are when I need to choose a Good Food. Read this, and let me know what is Good Food for you.

Accessibility is one food rule that is very important to me. This rule might not constitute to an eating habit or a health claim, however in my opinion, it is how one defines the term ‘accessibility’. Pretty et al. (2012) reiterated about the ‘locus of power’ of corporate food retailer within the Food Supply Chains (FSC), these food retailers are the main food source to three-fourths of the consumers from industrialized economies. Similarly, having lived all my life in urban areas, Singapore and Vancouver, I would certainly associate myself with these consumers. Accessibility thus implies the basic medium of food source, which in my context is a food retailer like a super market, a local grocery store, or a food service establishment. It also suggests the accessibility of ‘good food’, which takes on the criterion of nutrition moderation, affordable, and environmental friendly as elaborated in my previous essay.

Accessibility and Health

Accessibility correlates to good health; the choices I make everyday are constantly influenced on what is available, and where I am located. The Provincial Health Service Authority (2008) states, “Ensuring access to fresh, nutritious food is critical for maintaining a healthy population.” This statement resonates my everyday consumption choices. Why? In Asia a midnight snack would likely consist of an Asian staple like noodles or kebabs, however in Vancouver my convenient choice is to call Dominos and binge on pizza or hot wings. Another clear sign of the correlation would be the increase consumption of organic vegetables in my diet during this year due to me purchasing part of my groceries from the UBC Farm, built upon the incentive that they were selling on campus.

Frasco (2006) advocated and celebrated the invention of white bread, she emphasized on the accessibility of primary staples made available by the industrial revolution. Similarly her speech made it palpable on the consequence and impact of technology and how it allowed greater accessibility of ‘good food’. McCullum (2005) mentioned the need to nurture and foster community food security through a three-stage approach. This approach incorporates ‘accessibility’ as one of its priorities through the implementation process put forth as part of the proposal. One of such is to “maximize access to existing programs to food and nutrition programs”.

Do you eat a certain way because you think it is more environmentally friendly?

Making a decision on what to purchase and what to consume is hard, but my education in Canada has influenced my eating habits, eating locally and sustainably has become my core criterions for choosing what to consume for a meal. Browsing through baskets of fruits and vegetable in the local grocery store, I look out for labels or captions such as ‘BC grown’ or ‘organic’ logos. Connell et al. (2008) found ‘locally produced’ foods to be one of the important factors among consumer buying attitudes of farmers’ market shoppers. Similarly, as a patron of the UBC Farm market, it has made me considered such factors as importance and environmentally friendly. Godfray et al. (2010) suggested that one of the solution of global food security and the sustainability of our food system is to reduce food waste. This study presented how transport and processing constituted to a large part of food wastage. Thus locally produced food reduces the quantity of food waste substantially. Pretty et al. (2010) mentioned how the Food Supply Chain (FSC) should ‘better demonstrate the link between diet, environmental, and social impacts, thereby encouraging greater responsibility and behavioral change in the development of more sustainable FSC. Such evidence further substantiates my choices of procuring local organic produces as an advocate for social and behavioral changes to support the growth of sustainable food supply chains.

References

Pretty, J., Sutherland, W. J., Ashby, J., Auburn, J., Baulcombe, D., Bell, M., . . . Pilgrim, S. (2010). The top 100 questions of importance to the future of global agriculture. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 8(4), 219-236. Retrieved fromhttp://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/859121960?accountid=14656

Connell, D. J., Smithers, J., & Joseph, A. (2008). Farmers’ markets and the “good food” value chain: a preliminary study. Local Environment, 13(3), 169-185. doi:10.1080/13549830701669096

Provincial Health Services Authority. (2008). A seat at the table: Resource guide for local           governments to promote food secure communities.  Retrieved from https://      www.vista.ubc.ca/webct/urw/tp8616694010261.lc8616662988261//RelativeResourceManager?contentID=8628415313191

McCullum, C., Desjardins, E., Kraak, V., Ladipo, P., Costello, H. (2005). Evidence-based       strategies to build community food security. Journal of The American Dietetic      Association. 2, 278-283.

Godfray H. J., Charles Beddington R., John Crute R., Ian Lawrence Haddad, David Lawrence, James F. Muir, Jules Pretty, Sherman Robinson, Sandy M. Thomas, and Camilla Toulmin (2010) Food Security: The Challenge of Feeding 9 Billion People. Published online 28 January 2010 [DOI:10.1126/science.1185383]

Franco, L. (2009). Louis franco on feeding the world [Web]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/louise_fresco_on_feeding_the_whole_world.html