Critical inquiry into Detroit's “food desert” metaphor

Abstract

ABSTRACTOver the last decade, the “food desert” metaphor has emerged, evolved, and expanded. The media use it as a negative metaphorical label applied to the city of Detroit, but those living in the city and working on food advocacy disregard it. The juxtaposition of the media's narrow narrative of a barren Detroit clashes with the sustained efforts of local food advocates and activists who continue to address the inequitable access to food experienced by a large segment of people in Detroit. The persistence of the “food desert” term reveals the unequal power relations between local food advocates and the dominant media and political institutions. This project presents a critical inquiry into the media discourses and ethnographic perspectives of local food advocates addressing food access issues in the purported “food desert” of Detroit.