Food Insecurity in Canada and Its Connection With Social Determinants of Health

Food Insecurity in Canada:
A Deep Dive into Its Connection with Social Determinants of Health
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July 19, 2023
Despite its wealth and prosperity, Canada grapples with a significant issue: food insecurity. This problem, where access to enough healthy and culturally appropriate food is uncertain or complex, significantly impacts the nation's public health. However, food insecurity does not exist in isolation. It is tightly woven into a larger social and economic fabric that forms the backdrop of our lives.
This is where the concept of Social Determinants of Health comes into play. This idea tells us that our health is not just about biology or lifestyle choices. It is also about the social, economic, and environmental factors surrounding us. So, if we want to understand and tackle food insecurity in Canada, we need to look at it through the lens of these social determinants.
This paper will explore how social determinants shape and drive food insecurity. We must examine the broader social factors influencing health outcomes to address food insecurity effectively.
Our main argument is this: to untangle the issue of food insecurity, we need to look at the bigger picture, the societal structures and forces that underpin this problem. We will explore how these social determinants interact with food insecurity. We will then use these insights to suggest ways to tackle this pressing problem in Canada.
To do this, our paper will follow several key steps. Specifically, the paper will look at what food insecurity is, how widespread it is in Canada, and what effects it has; explain the concept of Social Determinants of Health; and dive into how these determinants link with food insecurity, examining aspects like poverty, education, housing, and employment, and their effects on food access and nutrition. Finally, we will reflect on what we have found. We will critically assess existing ways of dealing with food insecurity, asking how effective and inclusive they are; then propose new strategies that adopt a broader, more inclusive approach to reducing food insecurity's harmful health and social impacts in Canada.
Detailed Description of Food Insecurity
Although relatively invisible, food insecurity is a strikingly pervasive issue in Canadian society. It is an experience that transcends the simple act of hunger; it is the unsettling predicament of not having consistent access to enough affordable and nutritious food for a healthy and active life. In this situation, people are involuntarily drawn into a cycle of uncertainty, often forced to choose between purchasing sufficient food and meeting other basic needs such as housing, heating, and medication.
According to a comprehensive report from PROOF (2022), an organization dedicated to food insecurity policy research, approximately 1 in 8 households in Canada - an alarming total of 4.4 million individuals, including 1.2 million children - faced food insecurity in 2020. These figures, in themselves, offer a sobering depiction of the magnitude of this predicament.
Food insecurity's impact on individuals' health and well-being is profound and far-reaching. Several studies indicate that those experiencing food insec...