Food Choices

As we learned from our readings and from our trip, diabetes is one of the biggest issues facing the modern Tohono O’Odham. The prevalence of the disease within their population is largely due to changes in dietary habits away from traditional foods. However, the population does not seem too eager to work towards decreasing this problem. Basha’s, the only grocery store on the reservation, agreed to try selling healthy foods to help the community work towards combating diabetes. This change was short-lived, because people did not buy the healthy options they offered. As a business, Basha’s has no reason to keep selling healthy food if no one is buying it. It was respectable of them to agree to even try it out, knowing that if it failed they would lose money during the trial period. There is only so much that businesses or organizations can do if people are not making healthy choices themselves.

            The Tohono O’Odham Community Action group (TOCA) was founded in 1996 to reconnect the Tohono O’Odham with their history and culture, including traditional foods. TOCA works to reintroduce traditional desert foods into people’s diets, but I am not confident that their actions are effective. Both days that we went to the Desert Rain Café, one of TOCA’s main initiatives to promote traditional foods, the clientele appeared to be almost exclusively non-native. While I cannot draw an accurate conclusion based on this experience alone, it makes me wonder how many tribal members dine at the Desert Rain Café. The food is not overpriced, but it is certainly more expensive than buying unhealthy foods at Basha’s, which lies in the same plaza. Some people may simply choose not to eat desert foods, but others may not be able to afford them. The International Sonoran Desert Alliance works to help people cultivate traditional foods, which is certainly less expensive than buying them, but growing your own food requires a significant time commitment. TOCA makes a valuable contribution to the community by making these foods more available at the Café and through cooking classes, but if people cannot take advantage of these options, no change will occur. Combatting diabetes on the reservation will require significant lifestyle changes, that can be expensive and time consuming. Agencies like TOCA and the Desert Alliance cannot alone induce change, they require widespread support and willingness to act.