Civilized Notions : Is Prison Food Cruel And Unusual Punishment?

Sunday, December 17, 2023

Is Prison Food Cruel And Unusual Punishment?

The prison system has an obligation to safely and properly protect and care for incarcerated people. The Eight Amendment of the Constitution of the United States clearly guards all of us against cruel and unusual punishments. Yet, we read about inmates who are assaulted, abused, denied medical care, bullied, raped, and murdered on a regular basis. In addition to the physical and emotional torment many prisoners endure, food is also used to punish and control them with multiple reports of inmates being served food that is inedible and spoiled.

It is indisputable that food is a basic and essential component of life. We need it to thrive and grow and live. Why, then, are inmates not afforded nutritious, healthy foods while in prison? Fresh fruits and vegetables are rare. Processed foods are common. And the privatization of meal services gives incentive to for-profit companies to make inmate meals as cost-effective as possible.

Back in 2015, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County bragged that his Arizona prison served inmates the cheapest meals in the country, costing only 15 to 40 cents to produce. He did this by not allowing prisoners any meat and serving only 2 meals a day. And he was applauded and re-elected, rather than condemned and questioned. To avoid hunger and starvation, inmates are forced to spend their own money in the prison commissary to buy supplemental processed food to eat.

Another despicable tactic of the prison system is to serve inmates something called Nutraloaf. It consists of a laundry list of ingredients mish-mashed together to create a paste that is then baked into a meatloaf-type of creation. It is said to be foul-smelling and inedible. Watch the video of people trying to eat a piece of Nutraloaf at the end of this post to see for yourself.

Nutraloaf is also called food loaf, lockup loaf, confinement loaf, grue, disciplinary loaf, and special management loaf because it is served alone and without utensils. Guards find it easy to just slap the plate in front of inmates in general population and especially in solitary confinement. This disgusting concoction can be served to inmates for days, weeks, and months based on the whim and discretion of wardens and guards. Some prisons have a rule that it can only be served for seven straight days, then one day of real food must be served before resuming another seven straight days of Nutraloaf. This pattern can be repeated over and over.

Nutraloaf is so foul, that multiple inmates have filed lawsuits and some states have banned it.

Certainly sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to me.

Regardless of how anyone feels about people who break the law or are alleged to have broken the law as many people in prison are later found innocent, a civilized society should demand better treatment of our fellow men. Especially when it comes to a need as basic and life-sustaining as nutrition.

Here's the video of people attempting to eat Nutraloaf: