Koami Amegnran, “Taking Back Our Worlds: The 2021 Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Field School Project”
Mentor: Arijit Sen, Architecture

The shortage and the high cost of healthy foods are two of the multiple causes of food inequity in our society. These lead people from low incomes backgrounds and people with less knowledge on the values of healthy foods to consume junk foods or have a poor diet. As consequence, people, no matter the age, with weak immune systems are at a higher risk to contract foodborne illness. For example, reports have shown that 1 out of 6 -around 48 million- people in the U.S are infected by foodborne diseases. This paper investigated different ways to improve quality of life through diet, the impact of a healthy diet on chronic diseases, and expanded knowledge on the values of healthy foods and how to access them. Ethnographic and observational data were collected by working closely with Milwaukee local food activists and community gardeners through site visits and interviews. Reports from case studies that demonstrated how different ethnic groups across the world have used diet for both medical and food purposes were considered. And research included a comprehensive literature review using online and physical resources available at the UWM Library. This paper concludes that foods based on plants improve the quality of life, keep the immune system healthy, and prevent the body from chronic diseases.