[LUM#15] Toward a Food Democracy
Restoring confidence in local food to limit the ravages of junk food. These are the recommendations of a team of researchers who have mapped the food environment in major African cities.
It is a global scourge with serious consequences, and one that has not spared the African continent, where obesity is on the rise, particularly in major cities. In Ghana and Kenya, nearly half of all women are overweight or obese, which brings with it a host of health issues, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic conditions.
Why has this phenomenon become such a significant issue? And, more importantly, how can it be addressed? To better understand the issue, a team of international researchers went to meet residents of three disadvantaged neighborhoods as part of a project bringing together nutrition and social science researchers from French teams atIRD and CIRAD in Montpellier, as well as universities in the UK, Ghana, and Kenya. “We really worked with the residents,” emphasize Michelle Holdsworth and Nicolas Bricas, “asking them, in particular, to take photos of where they shop and the factors that influence their daily diet in order to better understand their food landscape, ” explain the researchers from the Moisa* laboratory.
Top-rated supermarkets
These snapshots highlight a shift in eating habits: “Processed foods are increasingly popular at the expense of traditional local foods, which are typically sold at informal outlets such as kiosks or street stalls, ” the researchers note.
Why are residents turning more to these products? “Packaged foods—low in nutrients but high in fat and sugar—are easily accessible and heavily advertised in these poor communities, ” explains Michelle Holdsworth. And those aren’t the only reasons. “People are concerned about poor hygiene at informal distribution points; the fear of food poisoning is very real, ” adds Nicolas Bricas. This fear drives residents—reassured by the safety of the packaging—toward foods and beverages that are too high in fat, salt, and sugar.
Consultation
To reverse this trend, “we must restore confidence in local food by enabling small-scale producers to work under proper sanitary conditions: setting up sanitary processing and food service areas, organizing waste collection…”. Support for “small-scale, community-based food services” must, above all, be provided in consultation with residents. “These solutions for the future must be developed together through ongoing dialogue with all residents. In particular, we must ensure that these changes do not result in an increased workload for women, who are the most directly affected,” the experts caution.
Following this essential dialogue with residents, the researchers are now turning their attention to policymakers to incorporate these recommendations into urban planning policies, among others. “We need to view this as a true food democracy, ” conclude Michelle Holdsworth and Nicolas Bricas. The goal is to reshape a food landscape that is healthier and beneficial not only for public health but also for the local economy.
UM podcasts are now available on your favorite platform (Spotify, Deezer, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, etc.).