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Trashy Food in America's Prisons Cause High Rates of Physical & Mental Health Issues [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-09-25

While Americans feast on foodie YouTube videos, foodie television shows (after all, who doesn’t enjoy “The Great British Baking Show”), glitzy foodie pics on Instagram, and support pop up restaurants and food trucks, three times a day the incarcerated come face-to-face with food that is overcooked, nitrite-heavy, lacks nutrients, often is spoiled, decidedly unhealthy, frequently doesn’t meet the inmates’ religious needs, and tastes like crap. Prison pop-ups have inmates wondering what in the heck might pop out of their trays.

While the conditions in federal and state prisons vary, most experts and prisoners agree that the food served to the incarcerated is unhealthy, inadequate, and occasionally dangerous. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a rarity.

Although prisons have an obligation to provide a certain level of nutrients and calories to the incarcerated “how facilities deliver these nutrients and calories is highly varied,” Daily Meal’s Jacob Smith recently reported (https://www.thedailymeal.com/1213267/what-prison-food-is-really-like-around-the-united-states/).

According to Smith, “Many suggest that a key cause of poor prison diets is increased privatization as catering companies seek to maximize profit margins, often at the expense of quality. Consequently, food standards have fallen to shocking lows in many facilities across the nation. There have been reports of old, rotting food being served to inmates, as well as food that contradicts individuals' dietary requirements. In fact, some prison food is so bad that it's served as a form of punishment like the infamous ‘nutraloaf’ served in some prisons.”

If you haven’t had the pleasure, nutraloaf “is a baked loaf that's usually made from a hodgepodge of ingredients including carrots, spinach, and dried beans,” Smith notes. “The loaf is not a routine part of prison meals; instead, it is reserved for inmates deemed to be issues, such as those in solitary confinement. It is so disgusting that prisoners in numerous states have sued after being forced to eat it. Several states, like New York and Massachusetts, have even banned it.”

Smith cites the case of Terrill Thomas, a Milwaukee inmate who “died of dehydration after he was denied water and served nutraloaf for a week. The nutraloaf was reportedly so dry that dust from it set off the prison's fire alarm system. Sheriff David Clarke Jr. was running the prison at the time of Thomas' death. In an interview with NPR, he defended the use of nutraloaf, stating: ‘It's a food source; it contains all the vitamins and nutrients and minerals that a human being needs. It's been approved by the courts. I've had it myself — it's like eating meatloaf.’"

According to a 2020 report by Impact Justice, American inmates have limited access to fresh produce. In fact, 62.2% of respondents stated they rarely or never had access to fresh vegetables. 54.8% gave the same response when queried about fruit.

A study posted in the American Journal of Public Health (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5463225/)

looked at foodborne illness outbreaks in American prisons and jails from 1998 to 2014. Analyzing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System, the study’s authors Mariel A. Marlow, PhD, MPH, corresponding author Ruth E. Luna-Gierke, MPH, Patricia M. Griffin, MD, and Antonio R. Vieira, DVM, PhD, MPH, found that “Incarcerated persons suffer a disproportionate number of outbreak-associated foodborne illnesses.”

Some prisons have turned to fortified food and beverages. Smith pointed out that “While fortified products provide essential vitamins and minerals, they also pose issues of their own. WebMD reports that fortified foods are highly processed and frequently contain unhealthy levels of sugar, salt, and fat. Ultimately, these fortified foods are seen as a poor substitute for natural, whole foods.”

Prisoners who can afford it may supplement their meals thru commissary purchases, which are not only expensive, but are often limited to snack packs of chips, candy, packs of ramen, and other items that are salt and sugar dominant. A study published in Circulation found that “Incarcerated populations experience nearly two times the risk of Hypertension (HT) and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) relative to the general population” (https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circ.143.suppl_1.P083). Smith notes that “A study published in BMC Nutrition found that, when prison meals and commissary items were combined, the resulting diet exceeded recommended daily intake of sugar, saturated fat, and carbohydrates.”

Why should we be concerned about the food prisoners are consuming? Feeding any human being food that is inedible is appalling. But beyond that, nutritional deficiencies can contribute to diabetes, hypertension, and other significant health as well as serious mental health problems. Many inmates ultimately return to their communities and are forced to confront costly and debilitating health issues as well as the challenges of life on the outside.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/25/2195318/-Trashy-Food-in-America-s-Prisons-Cause-High-Rates-of-Physical-Mental-Health-Issues

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