Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

I made a separate submission specifically critiquing the centring of a supply chain thinking in the scoping document and appealing for a more holistic approach to be used. Here I make some other inputs in the attached in response to the prompting questions in the online consultation page.

Key points include:

• The need to give attention to the impact of advertising on food choices.
• Inequalities that shape food system decision making and outcomes and are unsustainable.
• The importance of learning from and building on the food systems created by the subaltern, especially in poorer countries. These are people’s solutions that work in their particular contexts and have shown great resilience. An example is a recently (2023) completed PhD by Dr Stephen Hahlani focussed on the resilience of the Mbare Musika market in Harare: https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/94268
• More attention needs to be given to the impact of conflict as shown in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere. This will require looking at international and regional peace keeping and justice, which are under extreme pressure at this time.

More details are in the attached. I hope these inputs are of interest.

Marc…

Input two from Dr Marc Wegerif

Thank you for taking forward discussion and work on the essential process of building resilient food systems. I appreciate the opportunity to share some inputs on the draft scope of the HLPE-FSN report.

I made a separate submission specifically critiquing the centring of a supply chain thinking in the scoping document and appealing for a more holistic approach to be used.

Here I make some other inputs in response to the prompting questions in the online consultation page.

Consumer choices are mentioned as a factor affecting whether or not people get enough nutrition, even when they have the resources. Access, education and awareness are mentioned as factors affecting this. There is no mention, however, of the probably far bigger impact of advertising. I urge that this be added. Food companies are some of the biggest spenders on advertising and clearly shape often bad food choices. This needs to be addressed.

While your questions to guide the consultation mention inequality, the scope document does not. I believe inequality is one of the major factors shaping our current food system/s and their outcomes and should therefore have a bigger place in the scope of the study. Inequality directly affects nutrition outcomes; who gets what. Inequality also exists in food system decision making power often leading to decisions that are shaped by powerful vested interests and not in the best interest of equity and sustainability. Inequality is also a factor of social division that can cause instability which threatens food systems.

We need to do more to recognise and learn from the food systems created by the subaltern, especially in poorer countries. The food systems I am talking about are the ones made up of many small-scale farmers, traders, local markets, etc. that feed many countries, including their cities, in much of Africa and Asia. As these are what people, especially those in poverty, create and have sustained for themselves over centuries, they have strong resilience and lessons we can learn. Understanding and building on what people are already doing, including what is working well, needs to be a principle of work on building a resilient food system. It is not that these are perfect but they should be a starting point to build on and they should not be undermined. These food systems are not utopian dreams, their strength is their pragmatism and their real-world proven ability to survive and operate within their particular and often challenging contexts. That is what we need for sustainability.

I believe my own work on food supplies to Dar es Salaam has useful insights into the nature of food system that provides for that large and fast-growing city[1]. My current and ongoing urban food system research in South Africa is showing how even in that corporate dominated economy street traders and public (municipal) markets are playing a large and important role at least in fresh produce supplies. They are out competing the supermarkets on price and other factors of accessibility, which is very important for food security and sustainability[2]. A range of other work has shown the importance of the informal sector for food accessibility in low income neighbourhoods[3].

A recently (2023) completed PhD by Dr Stephen Hahlani focussed on the resilience of the Mbare Musika market in Harare, which is the largest fresh produce market in Zimbabwe (https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/94268 ). This market has survived and prospered, playing a key role in food supplies, within changing and difficult times of political and economic crises from the colonial to the post-colonial times. 

There is too little of this kind of research that looks at the existing food systems, the economic organisation of the subaltern, and public markets. This requires more research that is not on supply chains and not applying the lens of supply chain thinking.

As has been shown by FAO et al state of food and nutrition security reports, and others, conflict is a major cause of food and nutrition insecurity. The wars and military conflicts including in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan clearly highlight that we cannot ignore the military and issues of peace and security if we want to ensure resilient food systems. Armed conflicts severely disrupt food systems from local to global levels. Therefore, measures to ensure peace and security, difficult as they are, need to be central in food system resilience strategies. This is not given much focus in the scope of work document and needs more attention than ever as the international system is under extreme pressure.