Why children are getting and what UB is - University at Buffalo

More documents

Recommendations

Info

finalword Food for Thought By Samina Raja, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning Douglas Levere, BA ’89 Samina Raja is principal or co-investigator on several studies that test the effects of the built and food environments on health. She has written extensively on food security and health, and community food systems and urban planning. Food sustains our bodies and accompanies our celebrations. Eating and sharing food adds flavor to life’s ordinary and extraordinary occasions. Yet despite its central role in individual and community life, the food system in the United States— or the intricate web of actors, institutions and resources that facilitate the production, manufacture, distribution, consumption and disposal of food—has been neglected by policymakers for far too long. The consequences are serious, especially for people with limited means. An important factor is that consumers of food are literally and metaphorically removed from their sources of food. On average, food travels about 1,500 miles from farm to fork, resulting in greater transportation costs and energy usage. Agribusinesses, which rely on hyper-industrial models of food production, have replaced family farmers as the dominant player in the American food system. Meanwhile, higher-calorie, processed and low-nutrition foods are cheaper and more readily available compared to higher-nutrition, low-calorie alternatives. All this has grave consequences for public health. Research shows that to derive 1 unit of energy (measured in megajoules) from cookies we would have to pay about 20 cents on average, whereas to obtain that same amount of energy from carrots we would have to pay more than four times this price. Also troubling is the spatial dimension that has emerged in U.S. food retail. In some neighborhoods, the number of supermarkets and grocery stores has declined precipitously. Those food stores that do remain offer few healthful, affordable foods, contrasted with the often more plentiful snacks and cigarettes. Living in such neighborhoods—or food deserts, as they are sometimes called—impedes individuals’ ability to purchase healthful foods, especially for those who lack access to personal automobiles. One way to improve the food system is through a more thoughtful practice of urban planning, given the profession’s role: Farmland preservation impacts where and how much land for food production is protected from development, zoning codes regulate the location of food retail venues, design of mass transit routes impacts whether neighborhoods with low auto-ownerships rates are able to access grocery stores, and so forth. Yet urban planners in recent history have overlooked this connection, as our profession has focused on other issues. Fortunately, though, a growing movement of community residents, urbanplanning practitioners, policymakers and researchers is beginning to recognize the urgent need to repair and strengthen a community’s food system. Documenting spatial disparities in the food environment, its consequences on health and how urban planners can facilitate the creation of an improved community food system are a primary focus of my research. For example, our research team at UB mapped the spatial disparities in the food environment in Erie County using geographic information systems (GIS). We found that predominantly African American neighborhoods have about half the number of supermarkets within walking distance as do predominantly white neighborhoods. On the other hand, we found an extensive network of small independent food stores in these neighborhoods that currently carry few healthy options. We see these stores as an opportunity, however. If networked with local farms, they could be a venue for healthful produce in underserved neighborhoods. They also can serve as a market for struggling family farmers, who face considerable challenges in keeping their businesses viable. Rather than chasing after large supermarkets for underserved neighborhoods, it is time to reinvest in the existing food retail infrastructure there, while recognizing the global implications of our present-day food system, a fact that was recently brought home by the rise in worldwide food prices. 48 UBTODAY Winter 2009 www.alumni.buffalo.edu
Reaching others January 2009 Dear UB Today readers, Here at the University at Buffalo, we’re working every day to improve how we serve our students, our alumni and the many communities we reach in New York State and around the world. Our efforts include taking a careful look at what, how and when we communicate. We want to provide relevant, interesting and timely information to our more than 200,000 alumni in 130 countries around the world. And we want to do it in ways that meet your needs, while making wise use of resources. The time is right for a fresh look at how we communicate. There are more ways than ever to reach others. And the economic and environmental realities of our world require us to be good stewards. For these reasons, we have decided to not print a spring-summer 2009 issue of this magazine. We intend to publish again in the fall. We are proud of UB Today, and we know you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoy bringing it to you. We very much want to stay connected with our loyal alumni and friends. We plan to keep publishing our monthly alumni e-mail newsletter—@ UB—and providing you with frequently updated news and information on the alumni Web site at www.alumni.buffalo. edu. Please visit us online—and be sure to give us your e-mail address if you have not already done so at www.alumni.buffalo.edu/contact. As part of UB’s ongoing efforts to improve all that we do, we are working with our volunteer alumni leadership and colleagues from across the university to develop innovative, effective ways to keep our alumni informed. Watch for some exciting new developments in the months to come. Thank you for your continued interest in, and support for, the University at Buffalo. Sincerely, Jay Friedman, EdM ’00 & BA ’86 Senior Associate Director Office of Alumni Relations Joseph Brennan, PhD ’96 & MA ’88 Associate Vice President Office of University Communications
Page 1 and 2: Also inside Joe Freedy, BA ’02 |
Page 3 and 4: a publication of the university at
Page 5 and 6: from thePresident his year we are e
Page 7 and 8: drop us a line! mailbox Neighborhoo
Page 9 and 10: Go to www.buffalo.edu/news for the
Page 11 and 12: seenreadheard books, music and film
Page 13 and 14: From left: Larry Gergley (EdB ’64
Page 15 and 16: when UB researchers probe the compl
Page 17 and 18: As principal investigator in a numb
Page 19 and 20: opinion inmy Alumni share their tho
Page 22 and 23: National Institutes of Health, marr
Page 24 and 25: a c c s e“These are bright kids w
Page 26 and 27: From his inauguration as president
Page 28 and 29: Each year, the band chooses a theme
Page 30 and 31: 28 UBTODAY Winter 2009 www.alumni.b
Page 38 and 39: “I’m joining because I want to
Page 40 and 41: alumninews Association Billboard UB
Page 42 and 43: alumninews Ways to make a differenc
Page 44 and 45: alumninews Oozfest turns 25 Still m
Page 46 and 47: alumninews Alumni Roam Travel Progr
Page 48 and 49: alumninews i n m e m o r y o f U B
Page 52: UBtoday University at Buffalo 103 C

Why children are getting and what UB is - University at Buffalo

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?