30 The Nation. October 30, 2017
THE
FUTURE
OF
FOOD
its survival: The introduction of fast, cheap
food, ranging from Jiffy cornbread mix
to McDonald’s, provided an alternative to
labor-intensive farming and cookery. The
decline of coal is another factor. As coal
jobs inexorably disappear, service jobs, fre-
quently at fast-food restaurants, proliferate:
“Coal is all there is in Appalachia, unless
you join the ranks of the working poor
for a part time job at a grocery store, fast
food joint, or the local Wal-Mart,” writes
Nick Mullins, a former fifth-generation
coal miner, on his personal blog.
These jobs tend to pay less than jobs in
coal, partly because most aren’t unionized,
and thus employees have to work long hours
to support their families. That effectively
prevents them from growing food and rais-
ing livestock, and so they remain dependent
on the availability of fast, cheap food. “In-
dustrialization not only provides you with
money to buy other food; it also deprives you
of fresh water, soil, and air,” Lundy observes.
“It deprives you of time to provide food for
your family to last through the long haul.”
The dynamic bears a basic resemblance to
that of Appalachia’s company towns, where
coal miners were paid in scrip that could
only be used at company stores. The con-
temporary exploitation isn’t quite as blatant,
but it still exists, and it still traps communi-
ties in closed, controlled systems that profit
bosses the people here will never meet.
For Appalachia’s poorest, capitalism
creates a deadly double dilemma. First it
changed the way they eat, and then it de-
prived them of access to health care. “We
don’t live in food deserts here; we live in what
some people call ‘food swamps,’ ” says Smith.
“I’m sitting in Hazard, Kentucky, and I’m
surrounded by fast-food restaurants. It’s not
that people don’t have access to food—it’s
that they don’t have access to healthy food.”
People in Appalachia are still dispropor-
tionately more likely to die young: Accord-
ing to an August 2017 study, Appalachia’s
infant mortality rate is 16 percent higher
than the rest of the country’s, and between
2009 and 2013 the gap between the average
Appalachian’s life expectancy and the aver-
age American’s actually increased, from 0.6
to 2.4 years. That deficit is even larger for
Appalachians of color.
The study’s authors attributed this gap
to a variety of factors, including suicide,
the opioid epidemic, and chronic lower re-
spiratory disease. But other illnesses, like
diabetes and cardiovascular disease, are
linked to diet. The Centers for Disease
Control reports that more than 33 percent
of the so-called “diabetes belt” lies in cen-
tral and south Appalachia, and the rates
of diabetes increase further in the region’s
poorest counties. When entities like the Ap-
palachian Regional Commission talk about
economic transition, these are the sorts of
inequalities they hope to resolve.
And the region’s renewed farm and food
scene could help. “Right now, we’re seeing
new farmers’ markets coming online, new
farmers coming online, and really innova-
tive projects,” Smith says, pointing to the
Farmacy project in Whitesburg, Kentucky,
as an example. A partnership between the
Mountain Comprehensive Health Corpo-
ration, the Community Farm Alliance, and
Grow Appalachia, the project is open to all
pregnant women and Type I diabetes pa-
tients regardless of income; people who are
obese, or who suffer from Type II diabetes
or hypertension, can participate if their in-
come meets certain criteria. According to
the project’s website, participants receive a
“prescription” for a voucher, which they can
use at local farmers’ markets.
According to the Mountain Comprehen-
sive Health Corporation, the results have
been dramatic. A joint survey conducted
by the MCHC and the University of Ken-
tucky’s Department of Dietetics and Hu-
man Nutrition shows that 53.8 percent of
the participants spent less on health care as
a result. Other data collected by the MCHC
reveal a cumulative 2,776-point drop in
glucose levels. Appalachia needs more than
farmers’ markets, but remedying its “food
swamp” could save lives.
The Farmacy doesn’t exist in isolation.
Other projects abound: Pikeville, Ken-
tucky’s AppHarvest says that its new green-
house will employ 140 people in addition
to increasing access to fresh produce. Some
projects are smaller-scale, consisting of local
families who develop abandoned mine land
for farms or vineyards; some grow heirloom
Appalachian crops, but most grow the sorts
of fruits and vegetables that are popular
throughout the country. One former miner
told the environmental organization Appa-
lachian Voices that his land turned out to
be suited to growing blueberries. Some of
these projects also get assistance from the
federal government. On its website, the Ap-
palachian Regional Commission calls local
food a “targeted investment sector,” and its
2016–20 strategic plan boasts initiatives like
“Bon Appetit Appalachia!,” a campaign that
highlights over 800 culinary destinations
around the region. The ARC says it intends
to expand the campaign, which supports its
other investments in the tourism industry.
This is a clear opportunity for local farm-