Food systems, diets and nutrition
The issue of change in diets is historical and attributable to many factors including changes in crops grown on farms, availability of new food crops on farms or through the market, health conditions requiring one to alter their diets, changes in climate that has an influence on food crops grown, hunger and famine which forces people to consume whatever foods availed to them, advertisements with messages presenting particular food items as the best, and migration which takes individuals and groups to faraway places where available foods could be different from what they previously consumed in their locality. In relation to the last point on migration, I am currently involved in a research project on food choices of multicultural university students. The objective is to establish what food items students living away from “home” choose to eat and factors influencing the choices made. The study is part of a wider project on diversity, food choices and wellbeing – happy to share the report when ready.
To an extent, the issue of consumer habits and food systems relates to advertising and marketing. The world is moving towards a trend where industry is very visible in the food market from production to processing and sales. Being a business, we are witnessing a move towards mono-cropping (easier and profitable way to produce food) with a bias for grains and cereals. There exists aggressive marketing of products to rural areas where households faced with a variety of challenges opt for the easily available food items with less attention to the nutritional value provided. To informed consumers, limitations in food varieties and nutrients is being filled with food supplements; easily availed by another sector of industry.
The increased level of “lack of time” by most of us implies a readiness to embrace whatever answers industry provides in the form of food items and food supplements. To this level, households that lack information on balancing nutritional requirements end up consuming a few food varieties that do not provide the necessary nutrients, yet they have limited access to supplements until they are unwell and go for medical attention.
The challenge here relates to how best to educate households on food groups and related food items. Mass education projects, especially in rural areas to encourage households on the need to continue to cultivate a variety of foods to meet their nutritional needs. The current challenge is situations whereby households cultivate and market food items that are high in nutrients, and in return purchase food items of comparably less or no nutritional value. Such decisions relate to current marketing messages and opening up of trade: richer markets can afford to pay a higher price for locally produced organic and nutritionally rich food items. Poor households become vulnerable as their need for money for other necessities push them to sell their best harvest, mainly the ones full of nutrients. The challenge takes back to SDG 1 and 2 before Goal 3 can be met.
What will be the best way to counter marketing messages that encourage people to consume over-processed foods of low nutritional value?
One way could be through the formulation of policies that encourage industry to take responsibility in cases where their foods contribute to high levels of malnutrition of individuals or groups? On the other hand, what kind of information is required to convince people that cultural/ethnic foods are good for them, especially for the near future when a higher percentage of the world’s population will be urban-based? What makes individuals to strive to be uniform, yet diversity is enriching?
At the level of governments lies a concern on policy support and the signing of trade agreements with less consideration on how food exports and imports impact on the nutrition of local people. A good example is when governments sign trade agreements, e.g. to supply local foods such as fish to international markets, even in cases where they are not able to meet the fish requirements in local markets. How do we get government ministries in charge of trade to put nutritional health before money? One way could be a thorough analysis to demonstrate linkages between poor health and government expenditure on the provision of health services – when government supported trade agreements result in the export of nutrient filled foods from rural to urban areas and international markets, the national government could have higher health care expenditures to cater for malnourished and nutrient deficient individuals = with a ripple effect to education, manpower, governance, productivity, etc.
What comes first, health or wealth?
There is need for the synthesis and wider dissemination of case studies demonstrating the value of locally grown, cultural/ethnic-based foods. There is already enough literature out there establishing that more and more educated and wealthy people are reverting to indigenous foods as the easy way to meet their nutritional needs. How best to share similar messages to get households to produce and eat local, to diversify livelihood strategies as a way to avoid the sale of household foods as the only means to provide for other necessities = poverty alleviation.
Eileen Omosa