How Our Food System Acts as an Invisible Form of Oppression

We know all too well the visible forms of racism in our society. Less visible, however, is how our food system acts as the deadliest weapon used against the poor and minorities— keeping them poor, sick and fat, hijacking their brains and biology. The science is clear—our processed, sugary, starchy diet is the single biggest cause of disease and death—type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, and even dementia. And your zip code is more important than your genetic code in determining your risk of disease and death. If you are African American you are 80% more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, over 4 times as likely to have kidney failure, and 3.5 times as likely to suffer amputations as whites. I’ve explored these topics with a number of my guests on this podcast. This mini-episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy includes portions of my past conversations on this podcast with president of Black Lives Matter for the area of Greater New York, Hawk Newsome, Columbia University and Teachers College researcher Pam Koch and award winning NIH funded investigator and practicing family physician, Dr. Sean Lucan.