New book depicts how social disparity leads to food inequality in US

NEW YORK - A new book is detailing the challenges US mothers face in providing healthy, nourishing and enjoyable food for their children and families, reported the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday.

In "How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America," sociologist Priya Fielding-Singh reveals the social, educational, economic, ethnic and racial inequality behind the dining table.

She dispels the myth that access to good food is the primary reason for the nation's food and health disparities.

Rather, the societal norms and unrealistic expectations shouldered by mothers across cultures and classes are the obstacle to eating well, she argued.

In the book, a single mom living below the poverty line splurges on $10 lattes and takeout pizza for herself and her daughter, while an affluent white mom with the privilege of giving her children ample comforts and opportunities rejects junk food.

"Saying yes to junk food requests was how low-income moms prove to themselves that they were good mothers. Saying no was how affluent moms tried to drive that same sense of self-worth," said Fielding-Singh, who completed her book on years of meticulous field research, statistics and her own experience as a mother and biracial South Asian American woman.

This book "weaves lyrical storytelling and fascinating research into a compelling narrative that shows the devastating impact -- physical, emotional and economic -- (that) our industrial food system has not just on the 'other half,' but upon us all," said the book review published by the Chronicle.