Power and Food Security

Both pictures convey one message, which is  that certain persons are not allowed in and around this compound. This is illustrated through the sign on the wall of the building and also the fences with pointed edges, both forms of policing within urban this area. This photo displays one of the ways in which the disparities of power within urban areas has affected the food security of urban dwellers. The restriction of those on the lower end of the socio-economic ladder from food places by prices or infrastructural adjustments. This photo also reminds us that cities are places of unequal spaces.

Within many urban cities including those in Trinidad, there are clear disparities in socio-economic status and power. This difference in power influences the privileges that one may receive. It has often been taught that urban areas often obtain more benefits in comparison to rural areas when it comes to the purchasing of food items due to taxes and a number of other factors. However, the question one must ask is who exactly receives these benefits?  Power and authority can also influence the ease of accessibility to safe, healthy and affordable food. Often times these benefits are only affordable and received by the powerful and healthier urbanites (Delishe 1980).

Many poor persons are often robbed or in other words experience reduced accessibility to food due to power controls. For instance, we see in many urban restaurants there are increased evidence of silent policing of the areas through fences and awkwardly shaped benches. Or this can be obvious policing by having a security guard present. This is clearly to exclude those who are often poor and not of a certain social status to enter these place to have meals or to even ask for the left overs in their kitchens. Another means in which power has minimized the accessibility of poor persons to food is through the defining of public and private space. More and more we see what may have been seen as public spaces operated and controlled as private spaces, a debate which continues today. Again this leads to the exclusion of the less fortunate from certain spaces. Because, food accessibility is so intertwined in the meager salaries of poor persons, it puts them at increasing vulnerability to food security due to the inflation of prices.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/letters/High-food-prices-as-much-a-crime-against-citizens-241028211.html

This is due to the fact that poorer persons spend most of their income on food. With the increase in demands of food and economic status of many urbanites, food prices often increase. Poorer persons are then unable to purchase these food items and often left with the choice of consuming unhealthy foods or no food at all (Delishe 1980).

References

Delishe, Helene. 1990. Patterns of Urban Food Consumption in Developing Countries: Perspective From the 1980’s. Accessed March 15, 2014. ftp://ftp.fao.org/es/esn/nutrition/urban/delisle_paper.pdf.