Effects of Food Pricing on Low and Middle Class Americans - Essay Example

Effects of Food Pricing on low and middle class Americans In the wake of new technology, climatic shifts and dynamics of food prices in the global market has caused the fear food prices rising the United States to be immediate. As a requirement necessary for human survival, increase in food prices will have profound consequences to the low and middle-class citizens of America. Indeed, any rise in food prices can be explored from the consumer and government perspective (DiSantis et al., 516).

There is a growing the consensus about food prices increase, has been primarily occasioned by three key elements. Firstly, the changes in climatic conditions have been blamed for decreasing farmer's production in the United States. Because of global warming and environmental degradation, the extreme weather conditions have resulted in poor harvest due to reduced rains, harsh snowy conditions that destroy crops and inhibit dairy production in the North America. Consequently, food prices have continued to rise due to fundamental shifts in demand and supply in global markets.

The increase in genetically modified foods has resulted in an increase of prices due to expensive technology employed. Besides, many food-processing companies have laid down expensive groundwork leading to high prices of canned food items (French, 841S). In America’s social life, the lower-middle class families are struggling just as the families living in poverty since they cannot be able to afford sufficient diet meals due to increasing pricing on such commodities. With the families not able to purchase enough food for the entire family, it results into food insecurity.

Food security is widespread in any American societies living in lower-middle class and who have children (Grossmann and Varnum, 81). Since food price is an essential determinant of diet, it is then likely that these families are unable to feed on balance diet, and their nutritional status is compromised. It is not surprising that these families are only able to access, and buy lowest cost diets and these diets are the least unhealthy in the market. With high food prices in the market, such families are not able to meet their costs hence fail to buy the nutrients dense diets that they need.

In the market, the diets that are composed of low energy density rich food products are expensive compared to the ones composed if refined grains with added sugars and fats (Powell and Chaloupka, 229). The increase in food pricing thus creates a barrier for the lower-middle income class of American citizens to access the nutrients dense diets. It is evident that Americas families living in lower-middle class are not comfortable to affording diet that is sufficient for their families (Andreyeva, Long, and Brownellm 216).

This becomes detrimental especially to the children who are living in these families who end up suffering from disease such obesity. Consequently, with an increase in food pricing these families cannot afford to have enough stock for the whole family hence end up suffering from food insecurity. Particularly in children, food insecurity is gruesomely worrisome given the negative effects of hunger it can have during childhood stages. Finally with the increase with the food prices, this class of Americans citizens are pushed to purchasing fast foods thus are prone to food-related conditions such as obesity(Grossmann and Varnum, 81).

It is evident that food prices increase has multiple factors; the effects are too much for most of the citizens. Solution for this is the states should regulate food prices with the food security policy. Besides, there should have conscious agricultural research that will lead to the discovery of harsh weather crops. In addition, the government should ensure farmers continue to expand their production to cater for increasing population. Furthermore, the state should make use of the supplemental nutrition assistant program (SNAP) to serve the fundamental role in mitigating food insecurity among the lower middle class American citizens.

This will help in reducing the conditions that are associated with poor nutrition among several lower-middle class families (Melissa Kearney, Benjamin Harris, Elisa Jácome, and Lucie Parker, 9). Works cited Andreyeva, Tatiana, Michael W. Long, and Kelly D. Brownell. “The Impact of Food Prices on Consumption: A Systematic Review of Research on the Price Elasticity of Demand for Food.” American journal of public health 2010 : 216–222. DiSantis, Katherine Isselmann et al. “What ‘Price’ Means When Buying Food: Insights from a Multisite Qualitative Study with Black Americans.

” American Journal of Public Health 103 (2013): 516–522. French, Simone A. “Pricing Effects on Food Choices.” The Journal of nutrition 133 (2003): 841S–843S. Print. Grossmann, I, and M E W Varnum. “Social Class, Culture, and Cognition.” Social Psychological and Personality Science 2 (2010): 81–89. Melissa Kearney, Benjamin Harris, Elisa Jácome, and Lucie Parker. " A Dozen Facts about America’s Struggling Lower-Middle Class." The Hamilton Project 10 (2013): 1-28. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. Powell, Lisa M.

, and Frank J. Chaloupka. “Food Prices and Obesity: Evidence and Policy Implications for Taxes and Subsidies.” Milbank Quarterly 87 (2009): 229–257.