In the early twenty-first century, food security is an increasingly important issue in developed countries. Some neighborhoods i
n United States cities have been characterized as food deserts. Food deserts are areas with little or no access to healthy and affordable food or limited or no access to fresh fruits and vegetables. A. Describe what kinds of information geographers use to map food deserts (1 point). B. Identify and explain one reason that residents of urban areas in developed countries lack access to fresh foods (2 points). C. Identify and explain one impact of living in a food desert (2 points). answers
A. Geographers can map data that reveals the number of supermarkets and grocery stores in the region, the difficulty of access to supermarkets and grocery stores and the availability of vegetable gardens and food production sites in the region.
B. These regions promote a greater demand for fresh food, but the increasing urbanization and industrialization of these areas reduces the agricultural areas and, therefore, decreases the availability of these foods. In addition, the busy life of the inhabitants makes them look for faster and already prepared foods, which are industrialized products.
C. An impact that a food desert can provide is the mass malnutrition of the population, as well as a series of other diseases that can lead to a progressive decrease in the population of the region.
