tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/food-prices-3500/articlesFood prices – The Conversation2024-03-22T16:20:44Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2263452024-03-22T16:20:44Z2024-03-22T16:20:44ZFood prices will climb everywhere as temperatures rise due to climate change – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583725/original/file-20240322-30-xfqo14.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C0%2C3249%2C1685&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A food market in Ghana, where many already don't have access to a healthy and varied diet.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lauren Huddleston / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Climate change, and specifically rising temperatures, may cause food prices to increase by 3.2% per year, according to a <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpress.springernature.com%2Fresource%2Fcontent%2FFull%2520text%2520article.pdf%2F26871100&data=05%7C02%7CJ.L.Boxall%40soton.ac.uk%7C8d7c521279cc43e8292c08dc48356216%7C4a5378f929f44d3ebe89669d03ada9d8%7C0%7C0%7C638464642051145176%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=vaLG3ZuI77iJgx%2Fa3EUUqdGIhXYetv37lV44p%2BcgUVM%3D&reserved=0">new study</a> by researchers in Germany. As climate change continues to worsen, this price inflation will mean more and more people around the world don’t have a varied and healthy diet, or simply don’t have enough food.</p>
<p>The new analysis shows that global warming could cause food price inflation to increase by between 0.9 and 3.2 percentage points per year by 2035. The same warming will cause a smaller rise in overall inflation (between 0.3 and 1.2 percentage points), so a greater proportion of household income would need to be spent on buying food.</p>
<p>This effect will be felt worldwide, by high and low-income countries alike, but nowhere more so than in the global south. As with various other consequences of climate change, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10171450/">Africa will be worst affected</a> despite contributing little to its causes.</p>
<p>Our own research on food security in Ghana, west Africa, gives a sense of what price inflation might mean in practice. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change describes west Africa as a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0171921">“hotspot”</a> of climate change, with models predicting <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/06/SR15_Full_Report_High_Res.pdf">extreme rising temperatures</a> and reduced <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021010318">rainfall</a>. With more than half of the <a href="https://opencontentghana.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/census-final-results-2010.pdf">population</a> being directly dependent on rain-fed agriculture, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666154321001071">Ghana</a> is particularly vulnerable to climate change.</p>
<p>We recently carried out a <a href="https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25245082.v1">study</a> in Mion, a rural district in the north of the country. We spoke to almost 400 people, and every single one of them told us they had experienced some level of food insecurity in the previous 12 months. Some 99% said climate change was at least partly to blame.</p>
<p>Additionally, 62% were moderately or severely food insecure, with 26% experiencing severe food insecurity (going without food for an entire day). These percentages are much worse than Ghana’s <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc3017en">national averages</a> (39% and 6% respectively), but similar to some of the poorest countries in west Africa such as Togo, Burkina Faso and Benin. </p>
<p>We also carried out a similar study among refugees from neighbouring Burkina Faso who fled across the border to the upper east region of Ghana. Again, <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.31.23293476v1">100%</a> had experienced food insecurity.</p>
<p>Mion isn’t suffering from a sudden famine, and nothing particularly unusual has happened to cause this food insecurity. This situation is considered to be a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.706721">“normal phenomenon”</a> due to the effects of climate change.</p>
<p>Climate-related food inflation can be broken down into two interlinked problems.</p>
<h2>Shifting seasons, pests and diseases</h2>
<p>The first is that the same climate change effects that are causing the inflation are already making food harder to get hold of. For instance, higher temperatures can cause long-established and predictable farming seasons to shift and so may <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-alarming-africa-wide-report-predicts-30-drop-in-crop-revenue-50-million-without-water-224543">hinder crop production</a>. </p>
<p>Other consequences can include more pest and disease outbreaks that deplete livestock and food reserves, and heat stress to already-poor roads which makes it harder to access rural communities. </p>
<p>All of these <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-010-9263-9">factors</a> push prices higher and reduce the purchasing power of affected households. The drivers of food inflation are already worsening food insecurity.</p>
<p>The second part of this problem is the rise in inflation itself. A 3% annual price increase would mean households are less able to purchase what they need. </p>
<p>They would likely need to compromise on quality or perhaps even culturally important foods. This in turn makes people more vulnerable to disease and other health issues. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8910702/#:%7E:text=Worldwide%2C%20malnutrition%20is%20the%20main,against%20viral%20proliferation%20%5B135%5D.">Malnutrition</a> is the leading cause of immunodeficiency globally. </p>
<p>In Ghana, we found that those who reported more knowledge of climate change were more likely to be food secure. This is despite few people having any formal education. This is evidence that affected populations are very aware of the changing temperatures and unpredictability of the climate, and are perhaps engaging in proactive mitigation practices. </p>
<p>Those without any schooling are more likely to engage in a climate-sensitive occupations such as farming, and so would be more immediately exposed. Teaching people about climate change might provide some capacity to adapt to it, and therefore increase food security.</p>
<p>Alterations in the climate are a <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/gjas/article/view/179661">hunger-risk multiplier</a> for those populations with entrenched vulnerability. In light of this, 134 countries at COP28 signed a <a href="https://www.wri.org/news/statement-134-countries-sign-emirates-declaration-sustainable-agriculture-and-put-food-high-0#:%7E:text=Following%20is%20a%20statement%20from,millions%20of%20others%20are%20starving">declaration</a> to incorporate food systems into their climate action, to ensure everyone has enough to eat in light of climate change.</p>
<p>The researchers behind the new study suggest that reducing greenhouse gas emissions could limit any impacts on the global economy. We also suggest that diversifying economies would serve as some protection for those communities reliant on agriculture for both their food and income. </p>
<p>Government intervention could also ensure financial protection and nutritional aid for those vulnerable to becoming trapped in the poverty cycle by inflation and diminished accessibility to food. </p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Head has previously received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Department for International Development, and currently receives funding from the UK Medical Research Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Boxall does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Poorer countries will be hit hardest, as a new study shows.Jessica Boxall, Public Health & Nutrition Research Fellow, University of SouthamptonMichael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2242342024-02-29T22:55:50Z2024-02-29T22:55:50ZBeyond the cafeteria: The economic case for investing in school meals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578771/original/file-20240228-18-mnuihk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=66%2C8%2C5492%2C3692&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An investment in a national school food program today is an investment in a stronger Canada tomorrow.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The return on investing in universal school meals is clear. According to our new report, universal free school meals (breakfast and lunch for students regardless of income) have <a href="https://amberleyruetz.ca/assets/uploads/ruetz-consulting_the-economic-rationale-for-investing-in-school-meal-programs-for-canada.pdf">2.5 to seven times the return</a> in human health and economic benefits in comparable high-income countries. </p>
<p>The quality of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2017-0125">student diets in Canada across all socio-economic backgrounds is poor</a>, with only a small fraction meeting <a href="https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/">Canada’s Food Guide recommendations</a>. </p>
<p>Studies have shown that school-provided meals offer higher nutritional quality compared to home-packed lunches in many countries, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980012000699">Canada</a>, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1941406411399124">United States</a>, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007114510001601">United Kingdom</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/jns.2018.29">Denmark</a>. </p>
<p>A national school food program would join <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/campaigns/child-care.html">Canada’s universal child care program</a> and the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/canada-child-benefit-overview.html">Canada child benefit</a> as a crucial social support, bringing immediate relief to families while also delivering several short to long-term economic and social benefits. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustrated graphic titled 'the missing piece in existing social policies: national school food program'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578738/original/file-20240228-16-1t0o6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578738/original/file-20240228-16-1t0o6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578738/original/file-20240228-16-1t0o6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578738/original/file-20240228-16-1t0o6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578738/original/file-20240228-16-1t0o6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578738/original/file-20240228-16-1t0o6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578738/original/file-20240228-16-1t0o6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Universal free school meals have 2.5 to seven times the return in human health and economic benefits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Alexandra Sawatzky/Arrell Food Institute)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Immediate relief to household budgets</h2>
<p>Healthy food has become unaffordable for many Canadian families. In 2023, Canadians <a href="https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/sites/agri-food/Canada%27s%20Food%20Price%20Report%202023_Digital.pdf">spent less on food</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/inflation-is-down-overall-so-why-are-my-grocery-bills-still-going-up-210122">despite rampant cost increases</a>, and this is only predicted to get worse.</p>
<p>The 2024 Canada’s Food Price Report anticipates <a href="https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/sites/agri-food/EN_CANADA%27S%20FOOD%20PRICE%20REPORT%202024.pdf">an annual increase of $701 in food costs</a> per four-person household, which means Canadian families can expect to spend $16,297 on groceries this year.</p>
<p>Universal school meals could <a href="https://amberleyruetz.ca/assets/uploads/ruetz-consulting_the-economic-rationale-for-investing-in-school-meal-programs-for-canada.pdf">save families between $129 and $189 per child per month on grocery bills</a>, according to our report. </p>
<p>Universal school meals would put more money back into the pockets of Canadians, helping them keep up with the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/the-grind-submissions-1.7043269">increased cost of living</a> and allowing them to afford healthy meals when their children are not in school.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578646/original/file-20240228-22-s5xddp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578646/original/file-20240228-22-s5xddp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578646/original/file-20240228-22-s5xddp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578646/original/file-20240228-22-s5xddp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578646/original/file-20240228-22-s5xddp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578646/original/file-20240228-22-s5xddp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578646/original/file-20240228-22-s5xddp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Universal school meals could save families between $129 and $189 per child per month on grocery bills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Alexandra Sawatzky/Arrell Food Institute)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>In Sweden, one study found that participation in a universal free school lunch program led to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdab028">permanent household income increase of 2.6 per cent</a>. </p>
<p>Importantly, this permanent increase was not attributed to reduced household food expenditures, meaning school meals can help increase affordability in the short-term and increase household incomes in the mid-term. </p>
<h2>Supporting women in the workforce</h2>
<p>Preparing healthy school lunches is tough when parents work long hours. Universal free school meals support parents — particularly <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/31/1209763245/globally-women-are-cooking-twice-as-many-meals-as-men">women, who often spend more time making meals</a> — <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030911">by saving money and time, reducing financial stress, and guaranteeing kids eat well at school</a>. </p>
<p>This allows women to focus better at work, reduces interruptions and helps them achieve a healthier work-life balance, leading to increased productivity and career advancement opportunities.</p>
<p>In fact, the same Swedish study that was previously mentioned found that access to a universal free school lunch program increased mothers’ labour market participation by five per cent.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustrated graphic that lists the benefits of universal food programs on housholds and families" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578634/original/file-20240228-22-bph0sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578634/original/file-20240228-22-bph0sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578634/original/file-20240228-22-bph0sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578634/original/file-20240228-22-bph0sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578634/original/file-20240228-22-bph0sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578634/original/file-20240228-22-bph0sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578634/original/file-20240228-22-bph0sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">School food programs support families and especially women, who often spend more time making meals than men do.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Alexandra Sawatzky/Arrell Food Institute)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In China, the introduction of school lunches led to a <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11956/185233">nine to 14 per cent increase in mothers’ working hours per week</a>, with the greatest increases among low-income mothers and mothers in rural communities.</p>
<p>Overall, this means that in addition to increasing household income, universal free school meals can increase women’s workforce participation, thereby supporting gender equality, individual economic prosperity and national economic growth. </p>
<h2>Increasing earnings, reducing inequality</h2>
<p>In the long-term, universal free school lunches can also improve children’s health, academic performance and subsequent economic outcomes throughout life. </p>
<p>The previously mentioned Swedish study found that students exposed to a school lunch program throughout the entirety of primary school had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdab028">three per cent higher lifetime earnings</a> compared to students that did not participate due to improved nutritional health and education outcomes. </p>
<p>Among children from households in the lowest income bracket, access to free school lunches led to a six per cent increase in lifetime earnings. The program had the greatest positive impact on students from low-income households, showcasing the role school meals can play in reducing socioeconomic inequalities in adulthood.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustrated graphic of a bar graph demonstrating that students’ lifetime earnings when they have access to a universal school food program" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578630/original/file-20240228-16-amimj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578630/original/file-20240228-16-amimj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578630/original/file-20240228-16-amimj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578630/original/file-20240228-16-amimj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578630/original/file-20240228-16-amimj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578630/original/file-20240228-16-amimj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578630/original/file-20240228-16-amimj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Sweden, access to universal free lunch increased students’ lifetime earnings, creating more equitable societies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Alexandra Sawatzky/Arrell Food Institute)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Growing Canada’s agri-food economy</h2>
<p>Universal school meals can also support the Canadian agri-food sector. A national program has the potential to stimulate the <a href="https://sciencepolicy.ca/posts/national-school-food-program-a-short-term-opportunity-for-jobs-creation-and-economic-growth-2/">creation of as many as 207,700 jobs</a>. </p>
<p>Investments in school meal programs in <a href="https://www.choicesmagazine.org/UserFiles/file/cmsarticle_565.pdf">the U.S.</a> have led to the creation of jobs in food service, agriculture and nutrition and program administration, fuelling economic growth while curbing unemployment. </p>
<p>Furthermore, by adopting a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2012.0023">farm-to-school approach similar to that in the U.S.</a>, Canada could support local farmers and suppliers. According to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, every dollar allocated to such programs generates an additional <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.338161">$1.30 to $2.60 in local economic activity</a>. </p>
<p>Similarly, in British Columbia, every dollar allocated to procuring provincially grown food for public institutions yields a <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/growbc-feedbc-buybc/feed-bc-and-the-bc-food-hub-network#">twofold return to the economy</a>, showcasing the significant economic benefits of supporting local agriculture.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustrated graphic of a school with a farmer on one side and a vegetable stand on the other, with arrows leading from the school to both" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578625/original/file-20240228-18-s0zoch.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578625/original/file-20240228-18-s0zoch.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578625/original/file-20240228-18-s0zoch.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578625/original/file-20240228-18-s0zoch.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578625/original/file-20240228-18-s0zoch.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578625/original/file-20240228-18-s0zoch.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578625/original/file-20240228-18-s0zoch.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">School food programs can support local farmers and food businesses and contribute to Canada’s agrifood sector.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Alexandra Sawatzky/Arrell Food Institute)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>School food programs are recognized internationally as <a href="https://executiveboard.wfp.org/document_download/WFP-0000038526">one of the most successful drivers of health and education among schoolchildren and increased productivity</a> when they become working adults, as reported by the World Food Programme. </p>
<p>Our new research summarizes the <a href="https://amberleyruetz.ca/assets/uploads/ruetz-consulting_the-economic-rationale-for-investing-in-school-meal-programs-for-canada.pdf">strong economic rationale for investing in school meal programs</a> in Canada. Universal school meals can not only provide immediate relief to families, but also build a legacy of improved public health and economic prosperity for generations to come. </p>
<p>An investment in a national school food program today is an investment in a stronger Canada tomorrow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224234/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amberley T. Ruetz receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Arrell Family Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Flora Zhang receives funding from the Arrell Family Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabrielle Edwards receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Arrell Family Foundation. </span></em></p>From reducing families’ grocery bills to boosting the economy, school meals offer far-reaching benefits, fostering both immediate well-being and long-term economic prosperity.Amberley T. Ruetz, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, University of SaskatchewanFlora Zhang, Master of Public Health Student, University of TorontoGabrielle Edwards, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Food and Nutrition and Sport Science, University of GothenburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2178832024-02-28T12:33:55Z2024-02-28T12:33:55ZThe true cost of food is far higher than what you spend at the checkout counter<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577158/original/file-20240221-22-p0v0vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5822%2C3872&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Stickers don't tell the whole story.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/customer-shops-at-a-grocery-store-on-february-13-2024-in-news-photo/2008637358">Scott Olson/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After several years of pandemic-driven <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-105846">price spikes at the grocery store</a>, retail food price inflation is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/business/economy/food-price-inflation-cools.html">slowing down</a>. That’s good news for consumers, especially those in low-income households, who spend a <a href="https://theconversation.com/swelling-grocery-bills-are-pummeling-the-poorest-who-spend-over-a-quarter-of-their-incomes-on-food-186980">proportionally larger share of their income on food</a>.</p>
<p>But there’s more to the cost of food than what we pay at the store. Producing, processing, transporting and marketing food creates costs all along the value chain. Many are borne by society as a whole or by communities and regions. </p>
<p>For example, farm runoff is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-reduce-harmful-algal-blooms-and-dead-zones-the-us-needs-a-national-strategy-for-regulating-farm-pollution-186286">top cause of algae blooms and dead zones</a> in rivers, lakes and bays. And <a href="https://refed.org/food-waste/the-problem?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5rGuBhCnARIsAN11vgSiHk7wAwmYKS-jz9eGPkOcGbEmBtbSUvPCULQTHcrDZ39d5AlQA28aAvHzEALw_wcB">food waste</a> takes up one-fourth of the space in U.S. landfills, where it rots, generating methane that <a href="https://theconversation.com/about-one-third-of-the-food-americans-buy-is-wasted-hurting-the-climate-and-consumers-wallets-194956">warms Earth’s climate</a>. </p>
<p>Exploring these lesser-known costs is the first step toward reducing them. The key is a method called <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003050803/true-cost-accounting-food-barbara-gemmill-herren-lauren-baker-paula-daniels">true cost accounting</a>, which examines the economic, environmental, social and health impacts of food production and consumption to produce a broader picture of its costs and benefits. </p>
<h2>Trillions of dollars in uncounted costs</h2>
<p>Every year since 1947, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has released an important and widely read report called <a href="https://www.fao.org/publications/home/fao-flagship-publications/the-state-of-food-and-agriculture/en">The State of Food and Agriculture</a>, known in the food sector as SOFA. <a href="https://www.fao.org/publications/home/fao-flagship-publications/the-state-of-food-and-agriculture/en">SOFA 2023</a> examines how much more our food costs beyond what consumers pay at the grocery store. </p>
<p>Using true cost accounting, the report calculates that the global cost of the agrifood system in 2020 was up to US$12.7 trillion more than consumers paid at retail. That’s equivalent to about 10% of global gross domestic product, or $5 per person per day worldwide. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u1mV5S2QvlA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">True cost accounting is designed to measure the full impacts of producing, transporting and consuming food.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In traditional economics-speak, hidden costs are <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/externality.asp">known as externalities</a> – spillover effects from production that are caused by one party but paid for by another. Some externalities are positive. For example, birds, butterflies and insects pollinate crops at no charge, and everyone who eats those crops benefits. Others, such as pollution, are negative. Delivery trucks emit pollution, and everyone nearby breathes dirtier air. </p>
<p>True cost accounting seeks to make those externalities visible. To do this, scholars analyze data related to environmental, health, social and other costs and benefits, add them together and calculate a price tag that represents what food really costs. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://globalfutures.asu.edu/food/">Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems</a> at Arizona State University, which I direct, recently conducted a <a href="https://cdn.globalfutures.asu.edu/food/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/07/04252023-Unveiling-Hidden-Capitals_web.pdf">true cost accounting study</a> of <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2011/june/beef-cow-calf-production/">cow-calf operations</a> in the Western U.S., in partnership with Colorado State University. It found that the climate costs of these operations are very high – but that solving for climate change alone could threaten the livelihoods of 70,000 ranchers and the rural communities in which they live. A true cost accounting approach can illuminate the need for multidimensional solutions. </p>
<p>I study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GRi_wHAAAAAJ&hl=en">sustainable food systems</a> and am one of 150 scholars across 33 countries who worked together over several years to <a href="https://teebweb.org/publications/teebagrifood/">design and test this new methodology</a>. Our work was led by the U.N. Environment Program and partially funded by the <a href="https://futureoffood.org/">Global Alliance for the Future of Food</a>, a coalition of philanthropic foundations. </p>
<p>In many ways, true cost accounting is a modern and <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003050803-12/embedding-tca-within-us-regulatory-decision-making-kathleen-merrigan">improved version of cost-benefit analysis</a>, a method embedded in governmental decision-making in most advanced economies around the world. This approach <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cost-benefitanalysis.asp">quantifies expected rewards and costs</a> associated with taking a particular action and then compares them to see whether the action is likely to produce a net gain or loss for the public.</p>
<p>Advocates of true cost accounting assert that its <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cc7724en/online/state-of-food-and-agriculture-2023/true-cost-accounting-assessment.html">more nuanced approach</a> will address shortcomings in traditional cost-benefit analysis – particularly, failing to consider social and health externalities in depth. The hope is that because these two methods have many similarities, it should be relatively easy for governments to upgrade to true cost accounting as it becomes more widely adopted. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577165/original/file-20240221-24-uqywqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Dozens of young pigs feed in pens inside a large modern barn." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577165/original/file-20240221-24-uqywqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577165/original/file-20240221-24-uqywqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577165/original/file-20240221-24-uqywqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577165/original/file-20240221-24-uqywqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577165/original/file-20240221-24-uqywqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577165/original/file-20240221-24-uqywqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577165/original/file-20240221-24-uqywqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Large-scale livestock farms produce food efficiently at a low cost, but they generate odors and huge quantities of animal waste that can affect adjoining communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/FactoryFarmFuror/7e9ceabcae514e9e8111ee867ed05244/photo">AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall</a></span>
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<h2>True costs of food vary across countries</h2>
<p>The 2023 State of Food and Agriculture report <a href="https://www.fao.org/interactive/state-of-food-agriculture/en/">reveals some clear patterns</a>. Of the $12.7 trillion in worldwide hidden costs that it tallies, 39% are generated by upper-middle-income countries and 36% by high-income countries. </p>
<p>For wealthy countries, 84% of hidden costs derive from unhealthy dietary patterns, such as eating large quantities of red meat and heavily processed foods, which is associated with <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/whats-the-beef-with-red-meat">elevated risk of heart disease, cancer and other illnesses</a>. Getting sick takes people away from work, so these health effects also reduce productivity, which affects the economy.</p>
<p>In contrast, 50% of the hidden costs of food in low-income countries are social costs that stem from poverty and undernourishment. SOFA 2023 estimates that incomes of poor people who produce food in low-income countries would need to increase by 57% for these workers to obtain sufficient revenue and calories for productive lives. </p>
<p>Food insecurity on farms is also an issue in the U.S., where the people who produce our food <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-023-10448-0">sometimes go hungry themselves</a>. The food system’s reliance on <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-labor/#size">undocumented and low-paid workers</a> yields <a href="https://youthtoday.org/2022/10/youth-agricultural-workers-arent-protected-equally-under-u-s-labor-law/">undernourished children who often are unable to learn</a>. </p>
<p>The fact that many U.S. farmworkers lack access to health insurance also generates costs, since hospitals <a href="https://www.ppic.org/publication/health-care-access-among-californias-farmworkers/">treat them at public expense</a> when these workers fall sick or are injured. </p>
<p>Food production also has environmental costs. <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-few-heavy-storms-cause-a-big-chunk-of-nitrogen-pollution-from-midwest-farms-146980">Nitrogen runoff</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/epa-has-tightened-its-target-for-deadly-particle-pollution-states-need-more-tools-to-reach-it-223610">ammonia emissions</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-amazon-land-grab-how-brazils-government-is-clearing-the-way-for-deforestation-173416">deforestation</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-reduce-harmful-algal-blooms-and-dead-zones-the-us-needs-a-national-strategy-for-regulating-farm-pollution-186286">water pollution</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/food-production-generates-more-than-a-third-of-manmade-greenhouse-gas-emissions-a-new-framework-tells-us-how-much-comes-from-crops-countries-and-regions-167623">greenhouse gas emissions</a> combined represent about 20% of the global hidden costs of food production. Other environmental costs, such as those associated with species loss and pesticide exposure, are not included in the SOFA analysis. </p>
<h2>Should food cost more?</h2>
<p>The first question people ask me about true cost accounting is whether using it will make food more expensive. Some advocates do argue for pricing food at a level that internalizes its hidden costs. </p>
<p>For example, a Dutch organization called <a href="https://trueprice.org/">True Price</a> works with food companies to help them <a href="https://tonyschocolonely.com/us/en/our-mission/news/why-we-wont-stop-paying-a-higher-price-for-cocoa">charge more accurate prices</a>. The group operates a <a href="https://trueprice.org/supermarket-de-aanzet/">grocery store in Amsterdam</a> that charges conventional prices but provides receipts that also <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/how-much-do-things-really-cost">display “true” prices</a>, reflecting the goods’ hidden costs. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/ChH0pHdMbic/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Consumers are encouraged to pay these higher prices. When they do, the store shares the proceeds with two nonprofit organizations that promote <a href="https://landandlife.foundation/">land and wildlife conservation</a> and <a href="https://www.givedirectly.org/">poverty reduction</a> in Africa. </p>
<p>Rather than raising prices, I believe the most effective way to address the hidden costs of food would be to change government policies that provide <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cb6562en/cb6562en.pdf">$540 billion in agricultural subsidies</a> worldwide every year. Of this amount, 87% goes to support production systems that produce cheap food, fiber and biofuels but also generate social and environmental harms. Examples include subsides that promote chemical fertilizer and pesticide use, overuse of natural resources and cultivation of emission-intensive products such as rice. </p>
<p>U.N. agencies have urged world leaders to redirect these subsidies to reduce negative impacts – a strategy they call “<a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-report-calls-repurposing-usd-470-billion-agricultural-support">a multibillion-dollar opportunity to transform food systems</a>.” While it may seem that eliminating subsidies would raise retail prices, that’s not necessarily true – especially if they are repurposed to support sustainable, equitable and efficient production.</p>
<p>Using true cost accounting as a guide, policymakers could reallocate some of these vast sums of money toward production methods that deliver net-positive benefits, such as expanding <a href="https://theconversation.com/organic-food-has-become-mainstream-but-still-has-room-to-grow-164220">organic agriculture</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-can-make-farms-more-sustainable-heres-how-to-help-farmers-plant-more-222030">agroforestry</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-information-age-is-starting-to-transform-fishing-worldwide-179352">sustainable fisheries</a>. They also could invest in training and supporting next-generation food and agriculture leaders.</p>
<p>By creating transparency, true cost accounting can help shift money away from harmful food production systems and toward alternatives that protect resources and rural communities. Doing so could reduce the hidden costs of feeding the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217883/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathleen Merrigan served as a reviewer for the SOFA 2023 report described in this article. She has received funding from the Global Alliance for the Future of Food.</span></em></p>A new UN report finds that the true global cost of producing food is $12.7 trillion more than consumers pay at the checkout counter. We pay those uncounted costs in other ways.Kathleen Merrigan, Executive Director, Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223682024-02-06T19:08:26Z2024-02-06T19:08:26ZWe’re in a food price crisis. What is the government doing to ease the pressure?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573645/original/file-20240206-23-aernio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-local-woman-buy-vegetables-fruits-1280584279">PR Image Factory/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>An affordable daily diet has edged too far away for many Australians. Food prices have risen sharply since <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/australian-dietary-guidelines-price-indexes">2021</a>, fuelling cost of living pressures and food insecurity. Some <a href="https://reports.foodbank.org.au/foodbank-hunger-report-2023/">3.7 million Australian households</a> experienced food insecurity in 2023 – 10% more than in 2022.</p>
<p>Food prices have always been a challenge for many Australians. This is especially true for people on low incomes, refugees, people living in rural areas, single mothers, and people with disability. A basic healthy diet can cost city-dwelling families who are doing it toughest roughly <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7675258/">one-third</a> of their income.</p>
<p>So what is the Australian government doing to ease the cost of a supermarket shop? Let’s take a look.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/amid-allegations-of-price-gouging-its-time-for-big-supermarkets-to-come-clean-on-how-they-price-their-products-219316">Amid allegations of price gouging, it's time for big supermarkets to come clean on how they price their products</a>
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<h2>First, how much have food prices increased, and why?</h2>
<p>Food prices peaked in December 2022, with an average shopping basket costing <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/consumer-price-index-australia/latest-release">9.2% more</a> than in 2021. Although food prices have eased since that peak, they remain significantly <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/australian-dietary-guidelines-price-indexes">higher</a> now compared to before the pandemic. </p>
<p>Almost <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-10/food-price-data-pinpoints-most-expensive-items/101218998">all food</a> categories have been hit, but many healthy foods appear to have increased in price at almost <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/3146">double the rate</a> of discretionary (unhealthy) foods.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman looks at her supermarket receipt." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573646/original/file-20240206-21-ygh93u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573646/original/file-20240206-21-ygh93u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573646/original/file-20240206-21-ygh93u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573646/original/file-20240206-21-ygh93u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573646/original/file-20240206-21-ygh93u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573646/original/file-20240206-21-ygh93u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573646/original/file-20240206-21-ygh93u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Food prices are much higher now than pre-pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/senior-woman-supermarket-checks-her-grocery-2268463181">Lucigerma/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The COVID pandemic, climate events such as floods and bushfires, and international conflicts have all contributed, to varying degrees. These events have placed undue pressure on food supply chains through food shortages, increased fuel, energy and transport costs and a shortage of workers from farm to fork.</p>
<p>Big supermarkets have also been <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-22/food-price-groceries-rise-dairy-frozen-tinned-coles-woolworths/102755276">scrutinised</a> recently. In Australia, supermarkets can set prices, with little transparency. This is against a backdrop of one of the most <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/obr.12635">powerful</a> and concentrated grocery sectors in the <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/at/Documents/presse/at-deloitte-global-powers-of-retailing-2023.pdf">world</a>, severely limiting competition.</p>
<p>Claims of supermarket price gouging have inspired public outrage, particularly given the two supermarket giants each pocketed more than <a href="https://theconversation.com/amid-allegations-of-price-gouging-its-time-for-big-supermarkets-to-come-clean-on-how-they-price-their-products-219316">A$1 billion in profits</a> in 2022-2023.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-living-in-a-food-desert-these-maps-suggest-it-can-make-a-big-difference-to-your-health-196477">Are you living in a food desert? These maps suggest it can make a big difference to your health</a>
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<h2>So what is the government doing to ease the pressure?</h2>
<p>The government’s Standing Committee on Agriculture undertook an <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/foodsecurity">inquiry into food security</a> in Australia in 2023, and came up with <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2023-12/apo-nid325229.pdf">35 recommendations</a>. While many of these recommendations may indirectly influence food prices, only one explicitly addressed food prices: to provide subsidies for remote community stores so fresh food can be sold at an affordable price. These recommendations are yet to be implemented.</p>
<p>At the end of 2023, the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Supermarket_Prices/SupermarketPrices">Senate Select Committee on Supermarket Prices</a> was established to “inquire into and report on the price setting practices and market power of major supermarkets”. Submissions to the inquiry recently closed, with the final report due in May.</p>
<p>In early 2024, the government announced an independent review of the <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/appointment-dr-craig-emerson-independent-reviewer-food-and-grocery-code-conduct#:%7E:text=The%20Albanese%20Government%20has%20appointed,Competition%20and%20Consumer%20Act%202010.">Food and Grocery Code of Conduct</a> to ensure the grocery retailers and wholesalers are dealing fairly with suppliers. Although not specifically focused on the shelf price of food, a fairer deal between retailers and suppliers may flow to lower prices for consumers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young man stands in a supermarket holding a phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573648/original/file-20240206-21-6wsuub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573648/original/file-20240206-21-6wsuub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573648/original/file-20240206-21-6wsuub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573648/original/file-20240206-21-6wsuub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573648/original/file-20240206-21-6wsuub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573648/original/file-20240206-21-6wsuub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573648/original/file-20240206-21-6wsuub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A number of inquiries are happening into supermarket prices in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/handsome-man-shopping-supermarket-2314430167">Hryshchyshen Serhii/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Most recently, the Albanese government formally issued a directive to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to carry out a 12-month investigation into <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/jim-chalmers-2022/media-releases/government-launch-accc-inquiry-supermarket-prices">supermarket prices</a>. This will have more teeth than other inquiries, allowing the ACCC to use legal powers to gather information, including from the supermarkets themselves. </p>
<p>If wrongdoing is uncovered, the ACCC has the power to take the supermarkets to court. The pressure from the inquiry may also lead to supermarkets voluntarily lowering food prices, in a similar way to <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/supermarket-agreement-opens-way-for-more-competition">previous inquiries</a>.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-cost-of-living-is-biting-heres-how-to-spend-less-on-meat-and-dairy-206703">The cost of living is biting. Here’s how to spend less on meat and dairy</a>
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<h2>What are other countries doing?</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://neoskosmos.com/en/2024/01/18/news/australia/australian-supermarkets-face-scrutiny-over-food-costs-greece-counterparts-to-lower-prices/">Greece</a>, the government has temporarily forced supermarkets to reduce prices on basic products. For example, the price of at least one type of bread would be lowered and advertised to shoppers at this lower rate. The Greek government has also provided low-income households with a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/greece-seeks-price-transparency-supermarkets-help-families-2023-09-20/">monthly allowance</a> to support grocery costs, among other measures.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/how-france-secured-fall-food-prices-2023-06-12/">French government</a> has worked with the food sector to secure a commitment from 75 companies to cut their prices. It has also promised regular price checks at supermarkets to ensure prices fall, with financial penalties if they don’t.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.barrons.com/news/spain-extends-some-anti-inflation-measures-into-2024-bcc6e520">Spain</a>, the value added tax on basic foods, such as fruits, vegetables, pasta and cooking oils, has been eliminated or lowered. Government tax revenue will be reduced for these items, but retained for other non-basic foods (similar to the <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/gst/in-detail/your-industry/food/gst-and-food/gst-free-food">GST</a> in Australia).</p>
<h2>What next for Australia?</h2>
<p>The multi-year food price crisis has revealed the vulnerability of our food system. We need to recover from where we are, but we must do so in a way that ensures a more resilient food system with stable food prices over time.</p>
<p>While it’s too early to know what will come of the various food price inquiries, the government is and should continue to provide general cost-of-living support. The recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/middle-australia-wins-from-the-governments-tax-plan-but-the-budget-is-the-biggest-loser-222383">revised Stage 3 tax cuts</a> are an example of increasing the flow of money to those who need it most, easing pressure at the supermarket checkout. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trying-to-spend-less-on-food-following-the-dietary-guidelines-might-save-you-160-a-fortnight-216749">Trying to spend less on food? Following the dietary guidelines might save you $160 a fortnight</a>
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<p>Further support for vulnerable households could be implemented by expanding existing <a href="https://www.raisetherate.org.au/">social safety nets</a> through increasing income support payments.</p>
<p>The fate of food prices in Australia is, at least for now, uncertain. But one thing is for sure. Unless the government steps up to ease the pressure, too many Australians will keep struggling to put food on the table.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222368/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Backholer receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Heart Foundation, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health Organization, the National Health and medical Research Council, The Ian Potter Foundation, QUIT Victoria, and The Responsible Gambling Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christina Zorbas receives funding from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).</span></em></p>The COVID pandemic, climate events and international conflicts have all contributed, while supermarket giants have been accused of price gouging.Kathryn Backholer, Co-Director, Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition, Deakin UniversityChristina Zorbas, Research Fellow, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2209892024-01-11T23:03:10Z2024-01-11T23:03:10ZWhen can we stop worrying about rising prices? The latest inflation report offers no easy answers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568931/original/file-20240111-29-4eets5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C2136%2C1389&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Aisle be damned! Inflation is proving stubborn as the economy moves into 2024.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/handsome-asian-male-searching-for-groceries-from-royalty-free-image/1437990851?phrase=inflation+worry&adppopup=true">miniseries via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Tired of thinking about inflation’s impact on your wallet? You’re not alone. But like it or not, higher prices continue to be an economic and – with the presidential race – a political issue as we enter the early months of 2024.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation asked two <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929119921002406">financial economists</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VxWst50AAAAJ">D. Brian Blank</a> at Mississippi State University and Appalachian State University’s <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FKJSqjEAAAAJ">Brandy Hadley</a>, what they make of the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.toc.htm">inflation report</a> that dropped on Jan. 11, 2024, and whether there might be a time before too long when we can all stop worrying about increasing costs.</em></p>
<h2>Was inflation higher or lower in December 2023?</h2>
<p>Both, unfortunately. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/education/resources/explainers/inflation-and-its-measurement.html">Economists have many ways</a> of measuring how prices change over time. Two key measures are overall, or “headline,” inflation, which tracks the prices for a basket of goods and services, and “core” inflation, which tracks many of the same items but excludes those with unusually jumpy prices, such as gasoline. </p>
<p>In the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Jan. 11 report, which measured how much prices changed in December 2023, these indicators <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf">moved in different directions</a>. In other words, the higher one, core CPI – short for consumer price index – declined from an annual rate of 4% in November to 3.9% in December. And the lower one, headline inflation, rose from 3.1% to 3.4%.</p>
<p>While previously <a href="https://twitter.com/LizAnnSonders/status/1745448037105963151/photo/1">falling prices</a> for clothing, alcohol, new vehicles and gas <a href="https://twitter.com/LizAnnSonders/status/1745448037105963151">reversed course</a> in December, core inflation finally fell below 4.0%.</p>
<h2>But what does all this inflation confusion mean?</h2>
<p>What everyone wants to know is when will inflation go back to normal, or at least closer to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. And while no one knows the answer, <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/12/15/congressional-budget-office-inflation-unemployment-2024-2025/">there are reasons to believe</a> <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/TextView?type=daily_treasury_yield_curve&field_tdr_date_value_month=202401">it may</a> <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/TextView?type=daily_treasury_real_yield_curve&field_tdr_date_value_month=202401">happen soon</a>.</p>
<p>At this point, people should be <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/gs-research/macro-outlook-2024-the-hard-part-is-over/report.pdf">less worried about inflation</a> than they were in December 2022, when the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=rocU">headline figure was 6.4%</a>. While inflation is still higher than we have gotten used to over the past decade, it’s much lower than it has been over the past couple of years. </p>
<p>Hopefully, that indicates the Federal Reserve is <a href="https://www.usbank.com/investing/financial-perspectives/market-news/federal-reserve-tapering-asset-purchases.html">approaching the end of its battle</a> with inflation and may be able to <a href="https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2023/11/bofa-global-research-calls-2024--the-year-of-the-landing--.html">finally lower interest rates</a> later this year. Over the past two years, the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/13/the-federal-reserve-held-rates-steady-heres-what-that-means-for-you.html">central bank has raised rates 11 times</a> to tame consumer demand and prices.</p>
<p>But concerns remain about inflation persisting. <a href="https://www.gzeromedia.com/podcast/podcast-trouble-ahead-the-top-global-risks-of-2024">One risk factor</a> is <a href="https://www.lazard.com/research-insights/global-outlook-2024/">the impact that conflicts</a> in <a href="https://www.ssga.com/library-content/assets/pdf/global/global-market-outlook/2023/gmo-2024-full.pdf">Ukraine and now the Middle East</a> will have <a href="https://www.privatebank.bankofamerica.com/articles/what-rising-geopolitical-tensions-could-mean-for-the-markets-and-economy.html">on trade routes</a>, such as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/11/red-sea-crisis-could-jeopardize-inflation-fight-as-shipping-costs-spike-globally.html">those in the Red Sea</a>. Another area of concern may be <a href="https://twitter.com/biancoresearch/status/1745502587854709054/photo/1">home prices</a>, which builder <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/KBH/">KB Homes</a> reports <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/kb-homes-fourth-quarter-earnings-outlook-eb236fe0">may be rising more this year</a>.</p>
<p>Those worries could lead the Fed to wait <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/inflation-expected-risen-slightly-december/story?id=106222654">just a bit longer</a> to make any big decisions on <a href="https://twitter.com/LizYoungStrat/status/1745495575070429639/photo/1">whether to ease off</a> the brakes any time soon.</p>
<h2>So why did headline inflation tick higher?</h2>
<p>Overall inflation came in higher than forecasts largely due to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-cpi-report-inflation-01-11-2024/card/the-rent-is-too-damn-high-jCrjio72Nbm7L0TEaonc">the rising price of housing</a>.</p>
<p>Rent accounts for a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-consumer-prices-unexpectedly-rise-november-2023-12-12/">huge part of inflation</a>, since it’s one of many people’s largest expenses. However, CPI is calculated using rental data over the past year, which means the <a href="https://en.macromicro.me/collections/5/us-price-relative/49740/us-cpi-rent-zillow-rent-yoy">data lags behind real-time rent changes</a>. What’s more, real estate marketplace Zillow’s estimates of rent <a href="https://www.zillow.com/research/december-2023-rent-report-33579/">are falling</a> – a trend that’s expected to continue as <a href="https://twitter.com/jayparsons/status/1742925447409947099/photo/1">more apartments are built this year</a>.</p>
<h2>What matters to people: Prices or inflation?</h2>
<p>Even though inflation is slowing, costs are <a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/about-us/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator/consumer-price-index-1913-">18% higher than four years ago</a> and aren’t falling, which makes many people less optimistic about the economy than before the pandemic.</p>
<p>Some Wall Street forecasters and economists <a href="https://theconversation.com/economic-lookahead-as-we-ring-in-2024-can-the-us-economy-continue-to-avoid-a-recession-220007">struggle to understand people’s concerns</a> when labor markets are strong and the <a href="https://www.bnymellonwealth.com/content/dam/bnymellonwealth/pdf-library/articles/BNY_CMA_V4.4_21Nov2023.pdf">stock market is rising</a>. Still, consumer prices are near <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">all-time highs</a>, which is neither exciting for most people nor surprising to economists given that prices typically rise over time.</p>
<p>Despite high expenses, people still have a <a href="https://www.troweprice.com/content/dam/iinvestor/resources/insights/pdfs/tectonic-shifts-create-new-opportunities.pdf">degree of disposable income</a>. The cost <a href="https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/groceires-vs-going-out-what-may-be-behind-the-price-difference-consumer-price-index-food-home-away-sean-snaith-economic-forecasting-grocery-cost-servers-restaurants-wages-pay-thanskgiving-dinner">to eat out continues</a> to increase three times as fast as the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/food-prices-cheapest-option-groceries-restaurants-fast-food-2023-12">cost to eat at home</a>, which is both one of the largest differences on record and evidence that people <a href="https://www.pymnts.com/economy/2023/budget-constrained-consumers-prioritize-dining-out/">still have income to spend eating out</a>. </p>
<p>That shows the <a href="https://twitter.com/ConversationUS/status/1742516107133558804">mismatch between consumer behavior and “vibes”</a>: Americans <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIRECSL">have the money</a> to travel and go to restaurants, but still complain about <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t02.htm">airfare and menu prices</a>. </p>
<h2>When can we stop talking about inflation?</h2>
<p>We may have to wait until people stop feeling the <a href="https://www.privatebank.citibank.com/doc/investments/outlook/Citi_Wealth-Outlook-2024.pdf.coredownload.inline.pdf">inflation impacts</a> before they stop wanting to complain about it – and focus on it – each month. Could the Fed stop the inflation preoccupation <a href="https://saf.wellsfargoadvisors.com/emx/dctm/Research/wfii/wfii_reports/Investment_Strategy/outlook_report.pdf">by lowering rates</a>? Or does the Fed need to <a href="https://am.jpmorgan.com/content/dam/jpm-am-aem/global/en/insights/market-insights/mi-investment-outlook-uk-en.pdf">hold rates higher</a> for longer? <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/global-investment-strategy-outlook-2024">Only time will tell</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two important inflation indicators are trending in different directions. What gives?D. Brian Blank, Associate Professor of Finance, Mississippi State UniversityBrandy Hadley, Associate Professor of Finance and the David A. Thompson Distinguished Scholar of Applied Investments, Appalachian State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2187862023-12-06T21:01:36Z2023-12-06T21:01:36ZHere’s how much your holiday dinner will cost this year<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563793/original/file-20231205-17-ntjtmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=156%2C0%2C4119%2C2877&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The high cost of living and interest rates are causing some Canadians to recalibrate their holiday traditions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/heres-how-much-your-holiday-dinner-will-cost-this-year" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The holiday season is fast approaching and Canadians of all backgrounds are gearing up to celebrate by sharing food with loved ones. For many, <a href="https://theconversation.com/charles-dickens-and-the-birth-of-the-classic-english-christmas-dinner-108116">traditional Christmas foods</a> like turkey are front and centre, with vegetable dishes playing supporting roles. </p>
<p>But as the demographic makeup of Canada changes, so too does the Christmas table, with many choosing <a href="https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/plant-based-products.html">plant-based alternatives</a> or creating a <a href="https://canadianimmigrant.ca/living/community/blend-old-and-new-traditions-this-holiday-season">hybrid holiday</a> with traditional meals from home countries.</p>
<p>Regardless of one’s background, many of us tend to indulge — or indeed overindulge — during the holidays. This year, however, indulging in holiday foods will be an <a href="https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/inflation-compromises-nutrition-.html">expensive proposition</a>. </p>
<p>For the past few years, our <a href="https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food.html">Agri-food Analytics Lab</a> at Dalhousie University has been researching food prices. The cost of food has reached record highs, shaped by a number of factors, including adverse weather affecting growing and harvests, geopolitical events driving up the cost of energy and labour disputes disrupting supply chains. </p>
<p>Since the advent of the pandemic, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2023007/article/00005-eng.htm">food price inflation has risen over 20 per cent</a>. <a href="https://foodbankscanada.ca/hunger-in-canada/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6vaqBhCbARIsACF9M6mHg-gMjx_Bd6IgxHEXk0qhtsXHTWUbSj3z4VZdEyQr-ob5TgkkINMaAvPdEALw_wcB">Food bank usage is up 78.5 per cent since 2019</a>, with one-third of those relying on food banks being children. The high cost of living has put many families in a precarious position, causing some to recalibrate their holiday traditions. </p>
<h2>Costs of a holiday dinner</h2>
<p>Many Canadians are worried about the cost of hosting family dinners over the holidays this year. The traditional Canadian holiday meal is typically centred around turkey with side vegetables or meat pies, followed by a dessert of some kind. </p>
<p>However, this year, prices are higher than they have been in the past. According to data we’ve gathered at our lab, a traditional Christmas meal for a group of four to six people will cost consumers <a href="https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/xmas-dinner-alternatives.html">approximately $104.85</a> on average. </p>
<p>Although <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-the-long-slow-return-to-normal-for-food-inflation-in-canada/">food prices are slowly dropping back down</a> to normal, the food items typically associated with the holidays are still fairly high.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A white plate with sliced turkey, stuffing, asparagus and cranberry sauce on it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563800/original/file-20231206-27-ntjtmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563800/original/file-20231206-27-ntjtmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563800/original/file-20231206-27-ntjtmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563800/original/file-20231206-27-ntjtmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563800/original/file-20231206-27-ntjtmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563800/original/file-20231206-27-ntjtmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563800/original/file-20231206-27-ntjtmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The traditional Canadian holiday meal is typically centred around turkey with side vegetables or meat pies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Turkey is up five per cent, potatoes are up 6.6 per cent and carrots are up 12.8 per cent. The per unit costs of a full turkey dinner with gravy and rolls, fruitcake and eggnog is approximately $9.77 per person: arguably a reasonable price to overindulge with those you love.</p>
<p>Celebrations of the holidays are more joyful when shared with loved ones. Still, the upfront cost of feeding a table full of people may be too much for the average Canadian to bear this year, and holding on to family traditions may create undue stress and anxiety. </p>
<h2>Share the stress of cooking</h2>
<p>The great thing about traditions is that we can establish new ones. Because of high food prices, we expect to see many Canadians moving away from turkey and stuffing, choosing lower cost alternatives to share with family and friends. Ham for example, will reduce the cost of the meal to roughly $7.79 on average. </p>
<p>A simple Google search will net you thousands of dish ideas for both show-stopping side dishes and comfortable favourites. Ultimately, it matters less what’s on the table than who is seated around it.</p>
<p>But there are ways of cutting costs this Christmas that don’t require sacrificing our most beloved meal items. The holidays are a chance to share meal costs without putting too much financial or social pressure on hosts or guests. Potlucks can be a fun conversation starter for new guests, an introduction to new and delicious foods or the start of a tradition that celebrates new and chosen family members.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of people serving themselves food from a table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563795/original/file-20231205-15-jh4ryd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563795/original/file-20231205-15-jh4ryd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563795/original/file-20231205-15-jh4ryd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563795/original/file-20231205-15-jh4ryd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563795/original/file-20231205-15-jh4ryd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563795/original/file-20231205-15-jh4ryd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563795/original/file-20231205-15-jh4ryd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The holidays are a chance to share meal costs without putting too much financial or social pressure on hosts or guests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Holiday traditions <a href="https://theconversation.com/give-the-gift-of-presence-and-love-during-the-holidays-196273">provide celebrants with a sense of belonging and joy</a>, togetherness and connection. But this doesn’t mean traditions can’t change over time. <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/annual-report-parliament-immigration-2023.html">Many immigrants embracing a new life in Canada</a> bring their own customs and rituals, resulting in <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6334311/new-canadians-holiday-traditions-christmas/">new celebrations and traditions</a>.</p>
<p>The potential for cross-cultural exchange within children’s schools or new romantic or working relationships could result in a blend of new and old traditions, offering a chance to cut back on financial costs, and ease the stress of getting holiday meal traditions just right.</p>
<p>Instead, this year, new traditions could infuse the holidays with fresh meaning. The holidays remind us that we have the power to choose how we celebrate, freeing ourselves from the social pressure to maintain traditions that may no longer bring joy or fit our budgets, whether it involves turkey or not.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218786/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Agri‑food Analytics Lab declaration of conflict regarding research lab funding:
<a href="https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/about/declaration-of-conflict-of-interest.html">https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/about/declaration-of-conflict-of-interest.html</a></span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet Music does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The cost of feeding a table full of people may be too much for the average Canadian to bear this holiday season.Janet Music, PhD Student, Social Anthropology, Dalhousie UniversitySylvain Charlebois, Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Professor in Food Distribution and Policy, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2170462023-11-28T23:49:49Z2023-11-28T23:49:49ZPolicing is not the answer to shoplifting, feeding people is<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561622/original/file-20231124-19-hilwzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=150%2C66%2C3875%2C2752&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The social and financial costs of policing food theft are higher than the costs of addressing poverty and income inequality.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/policing-is-not-the-answer-to-shoplifting-feeding-people-is" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Big businesses like to tell us that, as consumers, <a href="https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/business/sylvain-charlebois-we-all-pay-for-grocery-theft-100812369/">we all pay for food theft</a>. We’ve been sold a narrative that as consumers who don’t steal, we pay for the theft of food by others on our grocery receipts. </p>
<p>Reported increases in food theft in Canada are <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/grocery-shoplifting-on-the-rise-in-canada-amid-inflation-industry-insiders-say">linked to pressures from rising inflation</a> along with <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/staffing-cuts-recreation-libraries-winnipeg-budget-1.6742002#:%7E:text=%22We%20see%20cuts%20in%20community,staff%2C%20while%20libraries%20lost%2011.">diminished investment in social supports</a> such as housing, mental health, transit and crisis and community supports. </p>
<p><a href="https://yellowheadinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/police-budgets-praire-cities.pdf">Research has shown that in Prairie cities municipalities disproportionately fund police</a> over essential services like housing and mental health support. But instead of increasing social supports, the response to food theft has been surveillance, security and policing in our grocery stores.</p>
<p>Retailers would have us believe that the cost of food theft is limited to retailers passing on their losses to consumers. However, retailer investment in surveillance, security and special duty police officers are costs that are also passed on to consumers: we pay for the surveillance systems that surround us.</p>
<p>The social cost of policing food is much higher, and deeply concerning because it produces unequal community impacts. </p>
<h2>Food theft</h2>
<p>Food theft is framed as a threat to paying customers. That furthers the divide between those who can still afford groceries, and those who cannot. Media coverage of food theft often focuses on exceptional examples of theft to emphasize that the crisis is an issue of worsening crime. But that framing ignores the broader economic conditions that perpetuate the problem. </p>
<p>In response to media coverage of grocery theft, some have tried to highlight the connection between rising theft and unaffordable food prices. <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9425322/toronto-legal-firm-pro-bono-defence-shoplifting/">A Toronto-area law firm has even offered pro bono support for those charged for stealing groceries</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561623/original/file-20231125-20-qxiiqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a supermarket surreptitiously placing a product in a backpack." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561623/original/file-20231125-20-qxiiqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561623/original/file-20231125-20-qxiiqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561623/original/file-20231125-20-qxiiqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561623/original/file-20231125-20-qxiiqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561623/original/file-20231125-20-qxiiqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561623/original/file-20231125-20-qxiiqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561623/original/file-20231125-20-qxiiqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Reported increases in food theft in Canada have been linked to pressures from rising inflation and diminished investment in social supports.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When food theft is disconnected from social conditions, it also collectively distracts us from the underlying issue of rising food costs.</p>
<p>Following calls from the Canadian government to stabilize prices as food inflation outpaces general inflation, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-major-canadian-grocers-yet-to-confirm-discounts-price-freezes-federal/">grocers have submitted preliminary plans to lower food prices but have yet to implement them</a>. </p>
<h2>Policing food theft</h2>
<p>Buying into the food theft moral panic, divorced from its broader social conditions, has resulted in increased surveillance, security and policing. Retailers and police rely on these <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8604171/canada-grocery-store-shoplifting-rise/">extraordinary accounts of food theft</a> to create moral panic to be managed through securitization and policing. </p>
<p>We are emerging from a global pandemic that severely impacted unemployment rates, as cities grapple with underfunded social services and inflated police budgets. In these contexts, thinking about food theft through a lens of criminality limits interventions and responses.</p>
<p>In 2020, the Manitoba government established a <a href="https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?item=49281">Retail Crime Task Force with the goal of “reducing the number of thefts.”</a> The press release announcing the partnership was held in front of a Winnipeg grocer — sending a strong message that food theft will not be tolerated. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/retail-crime-task-force-manitoba-government-1.5733988">Project Stop Lifting</a> is another initiative between the Winnipeg Police Service and Manitoba Justice, and in a two-month period in 2020 it led to 74 arrests and 592 total charges were laid. </p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/crime/vancouver-police-arrest-258-people-in-shoplifting-crackdown">Vancouver Police have been cracking down on theft</a> and between Sept. 11-26, 258 shoplifting arrests were made. </p>
<p>These arrests and charges raise important concerns about how increased policing is being used as a purported solution to food theft.</p>
<h2>Impacts on racialized people</h2>
<p>Increased policing will disproportionately impact racialized and other marginalized people who are most vulnerable to over-policing and criminalization.</p>
<p>A charge for theft under $5,000 may not result in incarceration for some, but we know Indigenous and other racialized people are more likely to be arrested for minor offences. In Manitoba, Indigenous people are subject to overpolicing, racial profiling and over incarceration. <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/gladue/p2.html">Indigenous people represent 77 per cent of the provincially incarcerated population</a>. </p>
<p>Research shows that <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/en-ca/products/178-the-end-of-policing">increased policing</a> of grocery stores and pilot programs to increase arrests will <a href="http://www.ajic.mb.ca/volumel/toc.html">disproportionately impact</a> Indigenous and racialized shoppers. This is disconcerting given the <a href="https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf">Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action No. 30</a> which calls upon federal, provincial, and territorial governments to eliminate the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in custody. The cost of food theft does not justify the impacts of increased incarceration for Indigenous Peoples, as well as other racialized and marginalized people.</p>
<p>Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has argued the province’s approach to cracking down on theft <a href="https://winnipegsun.com/news/crime/province-announces-new-retail-crime-task-force">fails to address the root causes of crime</a>, and that the underlying problems that lead to theft need to be addressed. Theft cannot be divorced from the social conditions that leave individuals with no other alternatives, especially for needs as basic as food. </p>
<h2>The cost of policing food</h2>
<p>The cost consumers pay for food theft when grocers offload costs to their customers may be significant. However, the cost of policing and incarceration is far more substantial. <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3510001301">In 2021-2022 the average cost to incarcerate someone in Canada was $119,355</a>. Beyond the cost of incarceration, <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/ccc2014/system-systeme.html">we have to consider the cost of responding to food theft within the criminal justice system</a> that results in police costs, court costs, prosecution costs, legal aid costs, correctional services costs, probation costs as well as the cost of incarceration.</p>
<p>The social cost of such measures is important to consider. Going through the justice system will compound financial distress, subject individuals to police violence, and if incarcerated, will disrupt lives.</p>
<p>The costs associated with policing food, and incarcerating those who find themselves in a position of needing to steal food, should be redirected to feed people. Calls <a href="https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/yes-city-councils-can-cut-the-police-budget">to defund</a> and <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/en-ca/products/2571-a-world-without-police">abolish the police</a> have argued for the reallocation of police budgets towards life-sustaining social services and non-carceral alternatives to address crime. </p>
<p>The redistribution of public spending would address people’s struggles to afford food and reduce the high social and fiscal cost of criminalization and policing. By contrast, directing funding to surveillance, security and policing in response to food theft <a href="https://theconversation.com/defunding-the-police-is-a-move-towards-community-safety-181376">will compound harms</a>. </p>
<p>We have a serious problem if we would rather see people in prison than fed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217046/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Merissa Daborn receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>The food theft crisis is framed as a threat to paying customers. This furthers the divide between those who can still afford groceries and those who cannot.Merissa Daborn, Assistant Professor in Indigenous Studies, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2162642023-10-26T19:03:06Z2023-10-26T19:03:06ZGrowing your own food and foraging can help tackle your ballooning grocery bill. Here’s how<p>Up to 3.7 million Australian households have been hit by <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-23/food-insecurity-rising-in-australia-foodbank-hunger-report-shows/103002120">food insecurity this year</a> – many for the first time. </p>
<p>Of these households, four in five say the reason is the rising cost of living, as interest rate rises and many other cost increases force them to make unwelcome trade-offs – such as food. </p>
<p>These figures come from a new <a href="https://reports.foodbank.org.au/foodbank-hunger-report-2023/">hunger survey</a> from Foodbank, which found almost half of us (48%) now feel anxious about putting food on the table or struggle to access food consistently. About 70% of those polled said rising food prices were a reason for their food insecurity and 48% reported cutting back on buying fresh food. </p>
<p>Cutting back on food waste helps control costs. But what about growing your own food – is that financially sensible? Yes, to a degree. It’s generally not feasible to grow enough food to support yourself. But done cleverly and cheaply, you can <a href="https://theconversation.com/fennel-looking-a-bit-feeble-growing-enough-veggies-to-feed-yourself-depends-on-these-3-things-182475">cut your food bills</a> with fresh greens, vegetables, herbs and even by foraging. </p>
<h2>Growing food on the cheap</h2>
<p>If you don’t already have an established veggie patch or balcony garden, the set-up cost can be enough to put you off. </p>
<p>It’s worth looking first to see if there are community gardens near you. These let you <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1809707115">grow your own food</a> without having to shell out for garden beds, compost and gardening tools. </p>
<p>Some gardens have been running for decades. They’re usually run by local like-minded gardeners who can share their knowledge of what grows well where you are. </p>
<p>For those hoping to grow closer to home, you could consider “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-22/guerilla-gardeners-in-race-to-beat-the-heat/11448242">guerrilla gardening</a>”, where you convert your neighbourhood nature strips to food gardens. Before starting, it’s important to check if your <a href="https://theconversation.com/farming-the-suburbs-why-cant-we-grow-food-wherever-we-want-80330">local planning laws</a> allow it. Some councils do, but some do not. To get started, consult the guidelines by <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_g4B1Yu6fZdPxUMVYE5J1sVjWKtLtfI5/view">Farmers of the Urban Footpath</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555984/original/file-20231026-25-ekzom4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="community garden plots with vegetables" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555984/original/file-20231026-25-ekzom4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555984/original/file-20231026-25-ekzom4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555984/original/file-20231026-25-ekzom4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555984/original/file-20231026-25-ekzom4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555984/original/file-20231026-25-ekzom4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555984/original/file-20231026-25-ekzom4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555984/original/file-20231026-25-ekzom4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Established community gardens are an easy way to start growing your own food.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you have the space, you could set up your own veggie patch. Many <a href="https://localfoodconnect.org.au/community-gardening/why-wicking-beds/">raised garden beds operate as closed systems</a>, saving water and nutrients for later use by the plants. Good quality growing compost will improve harvest yields and save you money longer term. </p>
<p>What about apartment residents? If you have sunlight, you can grow food cheaply. Old food-safe containers, plastic pots or even repurposed household items can be an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/how-to/plant-into-anything/12727654">easy way to start growing</a>. Make sure to consider <a href="https://themicrogardener.com/choose-safe-containers-for-growing-food/">potential contaminants</a> if you take this approach, to make sure your soil and the food growing in it is clean. </p>
<p>If you get more serious, you could even dispense with soil entirely and look at retail hydroponic units. These allow you to produce a vast quantity of leafy greens from seed in just two or three weeks. While more expensive up front, hydroponics offer a more controlled growing environment to ensure higher yields and protect your plants against <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-06/climate-change-causes-indoor-farming-grows-in-popularity-qld/101718034">extreme or unpredictable weather</a> as the climate changes.</p>
<h2>Does it make financial sense?</h2>
<p>If you plant onions, cabbage and broccoli, you’ll find they take up space in the garden, grow reasonably slowly and only yield a harvest once. Similarly, it’s not usually worth planting carrots and potatoes as they’re among the cheapest to buy. </p>
<p>Instead, go for plants that offer you several harvests over many weeks. These include herbs, lettuces, cucumbers, zucchinis, silverbeets, peas, beans and tomatoes. Consult sites <a href="https://gardenate.com/">such as Gardenate</a> for month-by-month guides on what to grow in your growing zone, as well as tips on companion planting and how long until you can eat your produce. </p>
<p>When you’re starting out, it can be easy to get carried away by the thought of exotic vegetables. Artichokes? Rhubarb? Asparagus? But to cut your food bill, focus on what your household actually eats. </p>
<p>It’s common for beginner vegetable gardeners to plant once and then wait. But this can result in a glut and then nothing. Instead, explore <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/how-to/succession-planting/9429992">succession planting</a>, where you plant new plants every few weeks to extend your harvest. </p>
<p>When it’s time to harvest, pick only what you need for each meal. Lettuce and herbs are great because they can be picked by the leaf. That means there’s little to no waste and the plant can regrow. Savings add up particularly fast for herbs. Coriander, oregano and so on are often the most expensive produce per kilogram. Worse, they’re sold in bunches too big for one meal and can then quietly rot in your fridge. </p>
<h2>Grow and swap</h2>
<p>Sharing your excess veggies, lemons and eggs is a great way to share the abundance of your crops with like-minded people. You can also do produce swaps. Sharing harvests is as old as agriculture, but what’s new now is the variety of ways we can share it, whether by <a href="https://theconversation.com/food-sharing-with-a-21st-century-twist-and-melbournes-a-world-leader-96106">app, website or regular meeting</a>. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/food-sharing-with-a-21st-century-twist-and-melbournes-a-world-leader-96106">Food sharing with a 21st-century twist – and Melbourne's a world leader</a>
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<h2>For advanced cost-cutting, consider foraging</h2>
<p>Perhaps the ultimate way to avoid any cost associated with growing your own is not to do it at all. Instead, you could make the most of <a href="https://theconversation.com/rosemary-in-roundabouts-lemons-over-the-fence-how-to-go-urban-foraging-safely-respectfully-and-cleverly-167883">foraging and edible weeds</a> – going out and actively looking for food.</p>
<p>It’s not new – during the Great Depression, many Australians supplemented food from the markets with rabbits, dandelions and foraged fruit. It’s important to be respectful in where and how you harvest – and be mindful of the safety of the produce. Avoid foraging near busy roads, for instance, as the soil may have lead or other heavy metals in it. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556006/original/file-20231026-28367-23mm2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="mallow plant leaves, edible weed Malva parviflora" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556006/original/file-20231026-28367-23mm2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556006/original/file-20231026-28367-23mm2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556006/original/file-20231026-28367-23mm2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556006/original/file-20231026-28367-23mm2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556006/original/file-20231026-28367-23mm2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556006/original/file-20231026-28367-23mm2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556006/original/file-20231026-28367-23mm2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Edible weeds like mallow (Malva parviflora) sprout seemingly everywhere in gardens and suburbs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>The largest edible weeds and foraging <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/255804947779277">Facebook group</a> in Australia has almost 90,000 people. Communities like this are an excellent source of knowledge, suggestions and recipes, such as swapping <a href="https://www.diegobonetto.com/blog/on-mellow-mallow-the-edible-weed">mallow</a> for expensive kale when you make kale chips. Of course, it’s vitally important to eat only what is safe. When starting out, use <a href="https://www.eatthatweed.com/weed-id/">foraging guides</a> to confirm identification.<br>
Whatever you choose, the most important benefit of growing or foraging your own produce are the social connections you can make. After all, times are tough and one of the best things we can do is stay connected to our local communities and feel comforted by knowing we’re not alone – help is at hand.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/supermarket-shelves-stripped-bare-history-can-teach-us-to-make-do-with-food-135304">Supermarket shelves stripped bare? History can teach us to 'make do' with food</a>
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<p><em>Horticulturist and green infrastructure expert Michael Casey contributed to this article</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216264/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Neale receives research and project funding from various not-for-profit organisations for her work in therapeutic horticulture. She is a member of Therapeutic Horticulture Australia and has previously been a Foodbank Ambassador. She also runs her own consultancy business Digability. </span></em></p>As the cost-of-living crisis bites into our household budgets, growing or foraging food can save you money.Kate Neale, Researcher, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2140562023-10-25T17:53:55Z2023-10-25T17:53:55ZIn defence of Bill C-282: Canada’s supply management supports farmers while safeguarding consumers<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/in-defence-of-bill-c-282-canadas-supply-management-supports-farmers-while-safeguarding-consumers" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The recent passage of <a href="https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-282/third-reading">Bill C-282</a>, legislation that prevents Canadian trade negotiators from surrendering additional supply managed commodities — like eggs and dairy — in international trade negotiations, has reignited debates over Canada’s supply management system.</p>
<p>Canada’s supply management system is designed to align the production of dairy, eggs and poultry with domestic consumption through the judicious use of quotas and tariffs. </p>
<p>Critics of the bill <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/no-party-wants-to-kill-this-bill-that-could-keep-groceries-more-expensive-forever">argue it may hamstring our trade negotiators and raise food prices</a>, claiming that Canada’s supply management system is designed to “constrain supply, strangle competition with tariffs and keep prices high” by limiting dairy, eggs and poultry imports from the United States.</p>
<p>However, there is no evidence to support these claims. This kind of criticism relies on outdated beliefs in the sanctity of the so-called free market and its ability to produce cheap goods.</p>
<p>If Canada wishes to preserve domestic farms and enhance food security, officials must have limits on what they can give up to American and other foreign interests. We argue the current supply management model works to provide competitive prices to consumers, while also providing a living wage for farmers.</p>
<h2>The Canadian model is working</h2>
<p>If the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated anything over the past several years, it’s that <a href="https://www.uc.utoronto.ca/eating-age-covid-19-food-security-canada-during-and-after-pandemic">local food production is necessary to ensure food security</a>. Evidence suggests that the global food system has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2022.2129013">exacerbated environmental degradation and food insecurity</a> while consolidating power in the hands of a select few global food corporations.</p>
<p>It’s clear we need to invest in local, community-based food sources — something supply management is able to facilitate by the nature of its operation. The supply management model is focused on supplying food to the Canadian market, with very limited opportunity for exports. </p>
<p>Under this model, dairy and eggs are generally marketed in the region in which they are produced — <a href="https://grayridge.com/">Ontario eggs are sold</a> in Ontario supermarkets — thereby privileging the local.</p>
<p>Supply management also <a href="https://www.nfu.ca/campaigns/food-sovereignty/">reflects some of the concepts common to the food sovereignty movement</a>. Food sovereignty refers to the right for people to define their own food and agriculture systems and produce healthy and culturally appropriate food using ecologically sound and sustainable practices.</p>
<p>Food sovereignty puts community first, prioritizing local and regional food needs. Notably, Canada’s supply management system has been recognized as an <a href="https://www.nfu.ca/campaigns/supply-management/">important institution of food sovereignty</a> by the National Farmers Union because of its defense of local food production.</p>
<p>Canada’s supply management system also contributes to rural sustainability. Smaller dairy (an average farm size of 88 milking cows) and egg (an average farm size of 23,000 laying hens) farms provide a stability on rural concession roads that is unmatched when they are adequately supported. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.eggfarmers.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2019-02-20_Strengthening-Canadas-rural-economies.pdf">Supply-managed farms outshine their counterparts</a> in the hog, beef and oilseeds/grains sectors by making more investments, creating more jobs and contributing more to the GDP per farm.</p>
<h2>Fairer production</h2>
<p>Canada’s current supply management model works well for both consumers and producers. Producers reap the rewards of a system that ensures farmers are paid fair prices for their products, covering the costs of production. Meanwhile, consumers enjoy the benefits of a stable supply of eggs, safeguarding them from significant price fluctuations.</p>
<p>Supply management is a legitimate tool for co-ordinating production with demand and <a href="https://www.cirano.qc.ca/files/publications/2011DT-01.pdf">avoiding overproduction and waste</a> — two chronic issues that have plagued the United States and Europe, despite significant price supports, subsidies, government purchase programs and import restrictions.</p>
<p>In today’s economic landscape, ensuring food affordability is as critical as ever. Despite worldwide inflation, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/food-inflation-how-canada-s-grocery-prices-compares-to-other-nations-1.6425009">Canada had the second-lowest food inflation rate in the world</a> at 8.9 per cent over the year from June 2022. This stands in contrast to the 19.6 per cent increase in the United Kingdom and the European Union, Hungary’s 45.1 per cent and Argentina’s staggering 95 per cent.</p>
<h2>Farmer wages</h2>
<p>The connection between fair farmer incomes and food sustainability and sovereignty must be emphasized.</p>
<p>If food producers can’t make a living, they will leave the industry and cause catastrophic consequences. This is already happening in some places. In the U.K., rising production costs and lower farm prices <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/29/uk-dairy-farmers-costs-milk-price-energy-feed-bills">are forcing farmers out of the industry</a> and jeopardizing the U.K.’s self-sufficiency in the dairy sector.</p>
<p>In Australia, <a href="https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/agribusiness/dairy/dairy-farmers-leaving-industry-amid-major-loss-of-confidence/news-story/895e4ac0662678640937beed170ceaa0">farmers are leaving dairy by the thousands</a> because of price crashes. Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the world’s largest exporter of dairy, <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/131610390/indebted-dairy-farmers-in-for-a-tough-time-as-milk-price-weakens-while-costs-go-nuts">the livelihoods of dairy farmers remain precarious</a>. Egg prices in New Zealand increased year-over-year <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/492153/here-s-why-egg-prices-are-still-climbing-according-to-the-industry">by 75 per cent in June</a>.</p>
<p>Even in the U.S., <a href="https://edairynews.com/en/selling-cows-dairy-farmers-business/">the story is similar</a>. Rapidly rising input costs like fuel, insurance, feed prices and labour costs, combined with stagnant or lower milk prices, have led farmers to depart that industry.</p>
<p>As supermarkets, middlemen and global food corporations pay farmers less and input costs go up, this situation has been aptly called “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/opinion/300590422/higher-farming-costs-will-quickly-start-eating-into-dairy-profits">a cost of farming crisis</a>.”</p>
<h2>Deregulation threatens sustainability</h2>
<p>The recent passage of Bill C-282, and the discussion of the bill in the Senate, presents an opportunity to reflect on the importance of food systems that serve to enhance Canadian food sustainability, security and sovereignty. As the earlier international examples make clear, deregulation in dairy farming has not led to vibrant, sustainable industries, but quite the opposite. </p>
<p>Further proof is highlighted by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/31/us-dairy-policies-hurt-small-farms-monopolies-get-rich">food policy analysts in the U.S.</a> who are calling on the government to reform dairy policies they argue have caused “devastating farmer loss and hardship, and a worsening environmental outlook.” </p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2023/01/31/new-report-exposes-corporate-monopolies-driving-u-s-dairy-crisis/">Food and Water Watch report</a> illustrates how U.S. dairy policies centred around export markets have hurt family-sized farms by slashing on-farm profits, encouraging extreme industry consolidation and increasing environmental degradation and exploitative practices of resources. </p>
<p>Bill C-282 attempts to protect a domestic system that rejects this model. Policymakers and all Canadians should work to support systems that allow for valuable food industries to flourish, rather than dismantle them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214056/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Muirhead receives funding from Egg Farmers of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jodey Nurse has received funding from Egg Farmers of Canada in the past. Her current work is not funded by them.</span></em></p>If Canada wishes to preserve domestic farms and enhance food security, officials must have limits on what they can concede to American and other foreign interests.Bruce Muirhead, Professor of History and Egg Farmers of Canada Chair in Public Policy, University of WaterlooJodey Nurse, Faculty Lecturer, McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2146872023-10-11T19:32:50Z2023-10-11T19:32:50ZThe rising cost of living is eroding brand loyalty as consumers seek more cost-effective alternatives<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553090/original/file-20231010-26-fam18k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3829%2C2584&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cutting back on pricier food items and focusing on more affordable staple foods could help consumers deal with rising food costs, but these strategies affect brand loyalty.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-rising-cost-of-living-is-eroding-brand-loyalty-as-consumers-seek-more-cost-effective-alternatives" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>As Canadians <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9985761/food-insecurity-poverty-report-canada">grapple with the rising cost of living</a>, many consumers are reevaluating their daily choices and purchase habits. <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230718/dq230718a-eng.htm">The cost of groceries</a> is forcing many households to make difficult decisions, like having to choose between food quality and affordability.</p>
<p>Amid these economic pressures, the concept of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118785317.weom090154">brand loyalty</a> — the preference consumers have for a particular brand over others — is undergoing a significant shift. Brand loyalty is the result of a mix of factors, including <a href="https://www.businessperspectives.org/images/pdf/applications/publishing/templates/article/assets/1721/im_en_2006_02_Matzler.pdf">trust</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11070969">habit</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i2/3885">the perceived value of goods</a>.</p>
<p>Brand loyalty <a href="https://doi.org/10.1362/026725706776861226">significantly benefits retailers by boosting sales</a>. Not only <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/01/29/the-value-of-investing-in-loyal-customers/">do existing customers spend more money than new customers</a>, but brand loyalty also reduces the amount brands need to spend on advertising. Effective loyalty programs increase <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/22786821211000182">customer retention</a> and result in positive word-of-mouth, meaning companies can <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/effects-brand-loyalty-competitive-price-promotional-strategies">spend less on marketing</a>.</p>
<p>Losing loyalty, on the other hand, can result in a competitive disadvantage for retailers. It can lead to revenue loss, increased marketing and customer acquisition costs and <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/1681254739">negative word-of-mouth</a>. </p>
<p>Once a cornerstone for many food retailers, brand loyalty is eroding as consumers <a href="https://financialpost.com/news/canadians-cutting-back-inflation-not-everything">prioritize immediate cost savings</a> over long-term brand relationships.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Nearly seven million Canadians are struggling to put food on the table. (Global News)</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Adapting to rising food costs</h2>
<p><a href="https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2022/05/consumers-in-canada-changing-spending-patterns-due-to-inflation-study-interview/">Inflation is impacting a wide range of income groups</a>: 81 per cent of lower-income, 50 per cent of middle-income and 35 per cent of high-income earners in Canada are impacted by inflation, spending less on clothing, beauty products and big-ticket items.</p>
<p>Consumers have been adopting various strategies to manage their budgets. <a href="https://canadiangrocer.com/canadians-prefer-eat-home-despite-high-food-prices-survey">Three-quarters of Canadians say they dine out less often</a> because of the rising cost of living, and 70 per cent say inflation has shifted the way they cook.</p>
<p>Despite rising grocery prices, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/ca/investing/is-inflation-making-restaurants-cheaper-than-groceries-heres-what-the-burrito-test-says/">eating at home is still more budget-friendly</a> than eating out and allows for better control over the cost of ingredients. </p>
<p>Some Canadians <a href="https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/news/169541/why-are-canadians-changing-their-eating-habits/">are also modifying their eating habits</a> by altering portion sizes, cutting back on pricier food items and focusing on more affordable staple foods. While these changes help consumers deal with rising costs, they also come at the expense of brand loyalty.</p>
<p>The digital landscape is also playing a key role in this shift. Consumers are increasingly turning to digital platforms to find economical food options. The convenience of online marketplaces and food delivery services <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-04-2021-0128">exposes them to a wide array of product choices and competitive pricing</a>. </p>
<p>Consumers also use <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2015.1112443">online tools like coupons and price comparison options</a> to seek discounts. Loyalty programs lose their appeal when consumers prioritize immediate savings.</p>
<p>This transparency and the ease of comparing prices online encourage consumers to explore various brands, making it more challenging for traditional food brands to sustain customer loyalty. </p>
<h2>Changing consumer priorities</h2>
<p>As prices rise and budgets tighten, consumers are more inclined to seek out more cost-effective options, which often means <a href="https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.42.2.141.62296">abandoning favourite brands in pursuit of better value</a>.</p>
<p>One report found that <a href="https://www.firstinsight.com/press-coverage/study-heres-how-inflation-is-changing-consumers-shopping-habits">42 per cent of consumers now seek sales or shop clearance</a>, 40 per cent adhere to a budget, 28 per cent buy less overall and 25 per cent prefer bulk stores or warehouse retailers.</p>
<p>In pursuit of cheaper alternatives, consumers become more open to trying <a href="https://brandstrat.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/navigating-inflation-in-retail-six-actions-for-retailers-1.pdf">private-label or store-brand products, discounted brands and generic or unbranded options</a>. These alternatives provide shoppers with a practical way to cope with rising prices, allowing them to manage their expenses while maintaining a satisfactory level of product quality.</p>
<p>Inflation also leads to changes in spending habits in a phenomenon known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1100.0630">consumption smoothing</a>. This often involves delaying the purchase of durable goods, prioritizing the purchase of necessities and opting for store-brand products.</p>
<p>In essence, consumers shift their priorities toward cost management, which in turn reduces their loyalty to specific brands. Food companies need to adapt to these changing consumer needs by recognizing affordability and value take precedence in an inflationary market.</p>
<h2>What can retailers do?</h2>
<p>The shift away from brand loyalty can pose challenges for business owners and retailers who depend on consumer spending. Aside from the most obvious solution to the issue — lowering prices — there are other things retailers can do to win back customers.</p>
<p>First, retailers can use <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/01/08/dynamic-pricing-the-secret-weapon-used-by-the-worlds-most-successful-companies/">dynamic pricing</a>, allowing them to adjust prices based on factors like supply and demand, inventory and competition. This approach enables them to offer competitive prices and discounts <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/poms.13525">while also minimizing food waste</a>.</p>
<p>Second, retailers can also introduce loyalty programs that go beyond conventional point-based systems. By using personalized data from consumers, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.103088">retailers can tailor rewards and incentives</a> to match individual shopping habits, experiences and preferences. Retailers can also collaborate with other businesses and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.01.031">incorporate gamification elements</a> to further enhance loyalty.</p>
<p>Lastly, retailers should consider using a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2021/09/09/four-powers-of-value-based-marketing/?sh=374b560d2400">value-oriented marketing</a> approach to elevate consumer experiences. Retailers should <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-017-0523-z">communicate the value of their products</a>, emphasizing quality, nutritional benefits and unique features to justify their price points.</p>
<p>Simultaneously, investing in exceptional customer experience, both in-store and online, can foster strong emotional connections between retailers and consumers. When consumers feel valued by brands, they are more likely to stay committed to that brand’s products. By assuring customers of their commitment to value, retailers can play a crucial role in guiding consumers through these challenging times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214687/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Once a cornerstone for many food retailers, brand loyalty is eroding as consumers prioritize cost savings over long-term brand relationships.Seung Hwan (Mark) Lee, Professor and Associate Dean of Engagement & Inclusion, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityOmar H. Fares, Lecturer in the Ted Rogers School of Retail Management, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2142002023-10-03T21:22:27Z2023-10-03T21:22:27ZGrocery retailers are benefiting from food subsidies in Northern Canada<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/grocery-retailers-are-benefiting-from-food-subsidies-in-northern-canada" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/an-economist-explains-what-you-need-to-know-about-inflation-188959">Soaring food prices</a>, <a href="https://www.cdhowe.org/intelligence-memos/greg-peterson-food-prices-where-real-fat">growing profit margins</a> and <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/competition-bureau-canada/en/how-we-foster-competition/education-and-outreach/canada-needs-more-grocery-competition">record-high profits</a> in the food industry have severely impacted the lives of many Canadians. According to Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s largest grocery chains <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/freeland-champagne-grocery-ceos-meeting-1.6970207">recently agreed to work with the federal government to stabilize prices</a>.</p>
<p>But for Canadians living in <a href="https://geo.sac-isc.gc.ca/NNCIM-CINNC/index-eng.html">remote northern communities</a>, food affordability <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/nunavut-food-prices-poverty-high-costs-of-northern-businesses_n_1588144">has been a crisis for decades</a>. Grocery prices are routinely <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nunavut-food-price-survey-2016-1.3650637">two to three times higher</a> in Northern Canada.</p>
<p>These high food prices, combined with <a href="https://foodbankscanada.ca/poverty-index/">limited economic opportunities and high rates of poverty</a>, have led to Northern Canada having the highest rates of food insecurity in the country. Almost <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.181617">half of all Nunavut households</a> are moderately or seriously food insecure.</p>
<p>The federal government’s main policy to tackle this is a program called <a href="https://nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1415385762263/1415385790537">Nutrition North Canada</a> that was launched in 2011. The program pays <a href="https://www.nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1415538638170/1415538670874">$131 million a year</a> in subsidies to retailers based on the weight of eligible food they ship by air to communities without year-round surface transportation. </p>
<p>Subsidy rates vary based on the <a href="https://geo.sac-isc.gc.ca/NNCIM-CINNC/index-eng.html">remoteness of communities</a> as well as <a href="https://nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1415548276694/1415548329309">item type</a>. For example, milk receives the highest subsidy, orange juice receives a lower subsidy and potato chips receive no subsidy.</p>
<p>Under the program, retailers <a href="https://nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1415626422397/1415626591979">sign an agreement</a> promising to pass subsidies on to consumers in a process known as a “pass-through.” This means that if the government pays a retailer $1 to ship an item, the price of that item should be $1 lower for consumers. </p>
<p>However, residents of these communities have <a href="https://www.nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1491505202346/1491505247821">expressed concern that retailers may be taking advantage of them</a> and using subsidies to increase their profits.</p>
<h2>Insufficient accountability measures</h2>
<p>To determine how much of the Nutrition North Canada subsidy was passed on to consumers, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2023.104971">our recent study</a> examined how much subsidy increases in October 2016 and January 2019 lowered food prices. We controlled for factors like food inflation, energy prices and high freight/operating costs. </p>
<p>We found that for every dollar paid to a retailer to reduce shipping costs, the prices paid by consumers fell by only 67 cents. When we considered communities with a single grocery retail store affected by the January 2019 subsidy increase, we found that an extra dollar paid to retailers reduced consumer prices by only 26 cents. </p>
<p>Our main finding — that the subsidy was not fully passed-through to consumers — remained unchanged when we considered only the most perishable goods, or accounted for economies of scale in shipping and other community characteristics.</p>
<p>Our findings indicate that Nutrition North Canada’s accountability measures are insufficient. Despite the <a href="https://www.nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1415647255632/1415647437113#tpc3">publication of data on the subsidy and the price of a retail basket</a>, and the existence of an <a href="https://www.nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1415538638170/1415538670874#tpc5">auditing mechanism</a> to ensure compliance with the program’s requirements, a substantial share of the subsidy is being captured by retailers.</p>
<p>The biggest retailer in the region — the North West Company — is a <a href="https://www.northwest.ca/investors/quarterly-reports">profitable, multi-billion dollar company</a> that receives over half of the annual Nutrition North subsidies because there is far less competition </p>
<p>these communities <a href="https://nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1424364469057/1424364505951">face far less competition</a> than in the rest of Canada. <a href="https://www.northwest.ca/community/community-engagement/255/making-healthy-food-choices-more-affordable">According to the North West Company’s website</a>, it “uses the entire amount of the subsidy to reduce retail prices for shoppers.”</p>
<h2>Better addressing the problem</h2>
<p>Why do existing accountability measures fail? First, it’s difficult to measure subsidy pass-through and retailer margins, especially with traditional audits. The contribution of retailer profits to high food prices today is still being debated. </p>
<p>Second, it may be even harder to punish retailers in this setting. A substantial share of the subsidy still goes to consumers, so punishing retailers by removing the subsidy would make food even more expensive.</p>
<p>How, then, can the federal government better address the problem of food affordability and insecurity in remote northern communities? Recent additions to the Nutrition North program, like the <a href="https://www.nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1586274027728/1586274048849">Harvester’s Support Grant</a>, are a response to <a href="https://www.itk.ca/projects/inuit-nunangat-food-security-strategy">communities demanding more control over their food systems</a>. This could involve subsidizing traditional hunting activities and funding community-led initiatives to support those in greatest need. </p>
<p>While these measures are promising, they are unlikely to replace the importance of store-bought food shipped by air. Measures to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/competition-bureau/news/2023/06/competition-bureau-makes-recommendations-to-promote-competition-in-canadas-grocery-industry.html">increase competition</a> may help since <a href="https://nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca/eng/1424364469057/1424364505951">retailers in these communities face far less competition</a> than in the rest of Canada, but it’s still challenging for small, remote communities to have substantial competition.</p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/grocery-price-controls-are-the-next-step-in-fighting-inflation/article_77f9aa30-9528-5d14-bac8-d38e35cfd350.html">price controls</a> and state-run stores (such as those in <a href="https://kni.gl/en/pilersuisoq/">Greenland</a>) <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-food-prices-the-canadian-governments-hands-are-tied-181585">could be worth exploring</a>, they also have pros and cons that need to be carefully considered.</p>
<p>A simple and more market-friendly approach would require retailers to publish the price of all subsidized goods online. Greater transparency about food prices would help communities and their leaders hold retailers accountable in the court of public opinion, and make analyses like ours easier to conduct. While not a standalone solution for food affordability and insecurity in these communities, it could ensure more of our tax dollars go to support those in need.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214200/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Li receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and a Nutrition North Canada Research Grant.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracey Galloway receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and a Nutrition North Canada Research Grant. </span></em></p>New research about the Nutrition North Canada program shows that the subsidy is not being fully passed on to consumers.Nicholas Li, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityTracey Galloway, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2101222023-07-30T12:39:25Z2023-07-30T12:39:25ZInflation is down overall, so why are my grocery bills still going up?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539853/original/file-20230727-17-s64aqz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=281%2C265%2C3072%2C1766&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Bank of Canada's interest rate hikes don't seem to be affecting food prices at all.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/inflation-is-down-overall-so-why-are-my-grocery-bills-still-going-up" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Despite Canada’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-inflation-rate-june-1.6909635">inflation rate falling to its lowest point in two years</a>, food prices remain high. The Consumer Price Index slowed to 2.8 per cent in June compared to last year, but food prices <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1810000403">increased by 8.3 per cent</a>. Food prices in stores increased by 9.1 per cent.</p>
<p>The gap between general inflation and food prices is puzzling — and frustrating — for many, especially because the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hikes don’t seem to be affecting food prices at all. In periods of high inflation, <a href="https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2019/02/price-check-inflation-in-canada">central banks raise interest rates to moderate price increases</a>, or, ideally, bring them down. </p>
<p>But food prices don’t respond to interest rate policies as much as other factors do. This is because food demand is relatively steady — we can’t put off food purchases like we might put off the purchase of a new computer or car.</p>
<p>So if interest rates won’t help bring down food prices, what will?</p>
<h2>Competition Bureau report</h2>
<p>Canada’s competition watchdog, the Competition Bureau, <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/competition-bureau-canada/en/retail-grocery-market-study">recently released a report</a> that called for more competition in the Canadian food retail market. The report suggested that more competition might help high food prices in Canada.</p>
<p>The report also acknowledged that some retailers have non-grocery businesses which can muddy the waters relative to food margins. In fact, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/article-tc-energy-shares-fall-5-on-plans-to-spin-off-oil-pipelines-business/">Loblaw executives have attributed the company’s growth to increased sales at Shoppers Drug Mart</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, Eric La Flèche, president and CEO of Metro, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/grocery-ceo-ottawa-1.6771887">told the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food in March</a> that Metro’s food margin had actually decreased, but was offset by a higher pharmacy product margin.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person rides a bicycle in front of a Sobeys grocery store" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539856/original/file-20230727-27-nzyjw3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539856/original/file-20230727-27-nzyjw3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539856/original/file-20230727-27-nzyjw3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539856/original/file-20230727-27-nzyjw3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539856/original/file-20230727-27-nzyjw3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539856/original/file-20230727-27-nzyjw3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539856/original/file-20230727-27-nzyjw3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canada’s competition watchdog released its much-awaited study into the country’s retail grocery market on June 27, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The CEO of Sobeys testified that they didn’t see the same growth as Metro and Loblaws <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/AGRI/meeting-52/evidence">because their pharmacy business is smaller</a>. However, the Competition Bureau’s report ignored this, instead focusing on individual profit growth, which was similar for all three major brands.</p>
<p>Although this is just a small sample, if margin growth truly played a significant role, we would expect it to be more directly reflected in profit growth.</p>
<h2>Foreign competition</h2>
<p>The Competition Bureau’s report also suggested that more foreign competition would benefit Canadian consumers, but that foreign competitors viewed the Canadian market as tough to break into. </p>
<p>A spokesperson from the Retail Council of Canada said <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/competition-bureau-grocery-1.6889712">foreign competitors didn’t feel they would be able to compete</a> when it comes to prices. Given this, it’s difficult to see how foreign competition would actually help bring prices down.</p>
<p>Retail concentration can be a concern if it gives companies the power to extract higher profits from consumers. On the other hand, size provides economies of scale, which allows companies to build efficient distribution networks and buy in larger volumes. </p>
<p>But the report is completely silent on the trade-offs between concentration and economies of scale. If too many efficiencies are lost through less concentration, prices could actually go up. </p>
<p>It is worth highlighting that when Sobeys bought a controlling share in Longo’s (a premium regional grocery chain in Ontario) <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sobeys-stake-longos-1.5951288">they highlighted distribution and sourcing</a> as key benefits of the deal. Longo’s will operate as it always has but benefit from better buys and distribution reducing costs.</p>
<p>If all of this is true, then what’s actually causing food price inflation?</p>
<h2>No single cause for food inflation</h2>
<p>The reality is that there isn’t a single cause for food price increases in Canada; there are a combination of factors that affect different food categories.</p>
<p><a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1810000403&pickMembers%5B0%5D=1.2&cubeTimeFrame.startMonth=06&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2023&referencePeriods=20230601%2C20230601">Edible fats and oils have gone up almost 20 per cent in the past year</a>, while ham and bacon have actually decreased by 3.4 per cent. This suggests price differences are coming from a variety of causes.</p>
<p>Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a significant impact on the prices of wheat and edible oils. As a result, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-price-inflation-pasta-canada">wheat-based products like pasta</a>, bread and flour have seen increases. </p>
<p>The impact of the war was made worse by countries limiting exports to protect domestic consumers. <a href="https://www.gro-intelligence.com/insights/india-bans-exports-of-wheat-flour-in-latest-move-to-stem-rising-food-prices">India curtailed wheat exports</a>, <a href="https://www.gro-intelligence.com/insights/argentina-s-freeze-on-soy-oil-exports-deals-blow-to-global-vegetable-oil-supplies">Argentina limited wheat and soybean oil</a> and <a href="https://www.gro-intelligence.com/insights/indonesia-s-palm-oil-export-curbs-will-squeeze-global-supplies">Indonesia limited palm oil exports</a>. This puts even greater pressure on price. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A cargo ship floating in the ocean" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539995/original/file-20230728-16516-cby2s4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539995/original/file-20230728-16516-cby2s4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539995/original/file-20230728-16516-cby2s4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539995/original/file-20230728-16516-cby2s4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539995/original/file-20230728-16516-cby2s4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539995/original/file-20230728-16516-cby2s4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539995/original/file-20230728-16516-cby2s4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bulk grain cargo ship TQ Samsun is anchored in the Black Sea near Istanbul, Turkey on July 17, 2023. Russia recently halted a deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Sercan Ozkurnazli/Dia Images via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While there was a short respite when Turkey brokered a deal with Russia to allow Ukrainian grain to flow, Russia recently said it will <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/07/25/russia-seeks-to-capitalize-on-ukraine-grain-deals-collapse-a81955">not renew the deal</a> and is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/25/business/economy/russia-ukraine-grain-danube-river-reni.html">attacking and destroying Ukrainian export infrastructure</a>. Prices may rise again.</p>
<h2>A perfect storm</h2>
<p>Extreme weather has also played a significant role in food price inflation. <a href="https://financialpost.com/commodities/agriculture/lettuce-prices-rise-stay-high-california-flooding">Flooding in California’s Salinas Valley caused disruptions in lettuce and tomato production</a>, leading to higher prices for these products. </p>
<p>Europe had <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/tomato-shortage-in-the-uk-is-just-a-taste-of-whats-to-come/2023/03/02/98afc4ca-b8c6-11ed-b0df-8ca14de679ad_story.html">price increases and product shortages</a> this winter due to bad weather conditions in northern Africa and southern Europe. As <a href="https://theconversation.com/extreme-weather-events-are-exactly-the-time-to-talk-about-climate-change-heres-why-210412">weather events get more intense and more frequent due to climate change</a>, these issues are likely to worsen in the future.</p>
<p>Besides extreme weather, other factors like supply chain disruptions and <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/canada/currency">exchange rate volatility</a> also contribute to changes in food prices. </p>
<p>All these factors are happening simultaneously to create a perfect storm of food price increases. Unfortunately, since there are so many factors involved, there isn’t a single factor that can bring down food prices. It’s a complex situation that will require careful consideration and multiple approaches to address.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210122/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael von Massow receives funding from a variety of organizations including the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Genome Canada, and Protein Industries Canada.</span></em></p>Many Canadians are puzzled by food prices remaining high despite the Bank of Canada’s efforts to curb inflation. If interest rate policies aren’t bringing food prices down, then what will?Michael von Massow, Professor, Food Economics, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2096642023-07-25T15:35:40Z2023-07-25T15:35:40ZFood crisis in Africa: the high cost of imported fertilisers is adding to the problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537470/original/file-20230714-17-ycstss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Subsidising fertiliser is costly for African governments.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Global fertiliser suppliers have made <a href="https://grain.org/en/article/6988-a-corporate-cartel-fertilises-food-inflation">incredibly high profits</a> in 2022/23 on the back of price spikes attributed to the Russia-Ukraine war. The profits of the world’s top nine producers trebled in 2022 from two years previously.</p>
<p>The margins and impacts have been even greater on fertiliser supplies to African farmers. Moreover, the super-high profit margins are being sustained in 2023 in many African countries even while international prices have come down (see figure 1). The harvest season has recently come to an end in most countries in southern Africa with farmer margins and production being squeezed by high input costs.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537581/original/file-20230715-80610-e17pa4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537581/original/file-20230715-80610-e17pa4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=220&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537581/original/file-20230715-80610-e17pa4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=220&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537581/original/file-20230715-80610-e17pa4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=220&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537581/original/file-20230715-80610-e17pa4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537581/original/file-20230715-80610-e17pa4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537581/original/file-20230715-80610-e17pa4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Urea prices in East and Southern Africa. World price is from the World Bank; South African price is inland, from Grain SA. East Africa is the average of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Prices are given before any government subsidies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: Compiled from different sources by the African Market Observatory</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The wide gaps between fertiliser prices in the region and international fertiliser prices point to major issues within the supply chain with excess margins of some 30%-80% being earned on sales to many African countries. </p>
<p>South Africa has the benefit of robust competition enforcement meaning prices in this country have come down substantially. This only serves to highlight the disadvantage being faced by farmers in other countries such as Malawi and Zambia. </p>
<p>High fertiliser prices undermine production, contribute to high food prices, and exacerbate food insecurity. </p>
<p>Our work on fertiliser and agri-food markets in the <a href="https://www.competition.org.za/africanmarketobservatory">African Market Observatory</a> points to major problems with how international and regional markets work, including the market power of large international suppliers. High prices for fertiliser inputs are squeezing African farmers who are cutting back on fertiliser use meaning low yields and supply, and high food prices. </p>
<p>International action is therefore urgently required on fertiliser prices to improve food security in Africa. </p>
<h2>Impact</h2>
<p>African countries are dependent on imported fertiliser and usage is relatively low. For example, Kenya and Zambia use around 70kg/ha, compared with 365kg/ha in Brazil.</p>
<p>Production</p>
<p>The harvest season has recently come to an end in most countries in southern Africa. There’s evidence that farmer margins and production are being squeezed by high input costs. High costs and low application are a factor in maize yields in Zambia being less than half of those in South Africa and a third of Argentina (according to the FAO). </p>
<p>In 2022, Kenya imported almost 30% less fertiliser and production fell. Maize output in 2022/23 was <a href="https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/countrysummary/default.aspx?id=KE&crop=Corn">18% lower</a> than the average for the previous five year, with yields and area planted both being lower, compounding the effect of poor rains. This has meant a substantial deficit relative to local demand and very high prices.</p>
<p>Continued high fertiliser prices will <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/agriculture-and-food/oecd-fao-agricultural-outlook-2023-2032_08801ab7-en">constrain production</a>, even while there is a great need to expand agriculture output to meet regional demand. </p>
<p>For example, Zambia has abundant arable land and water for agriculture to increase production. Of the country’s 42 million hectares of arable land, only 15% (or around 6 million) is under cultivation, including for pasture, with only 1.5 million of this cultivated for crop production. Zambia has around 40% of the water resources available for agriculture in the entire SADC region. </p>
<p>If farmers earned better returns, with cheaper input costs, then production could be a multiple of the current levels. </p>
<p>Food insecurity: Approximately <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/food-security-update-june-5-2023">73 million people</a> in the East and Southern Africa region are experiencing acute food insecurity. People in low- and middle-income countries bear the harshest burden – both in terms of the importance of small-holder farmers and in the vulnerability of low-income urban households to high food prices. </p>
<p>Most countries on the continent rely on food imports. Countries such as Kenya which have been affected by drought are struggling to source imports which has worsened food security in the country. This has been exacerbated by <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52246331e4b0a46e5f1b8ce5/t/648f544a586c3c37ffad0bff/1687114828018/AMO_Price+tracker+23_14062023.pdf">export restrictions on maize</a> imposed by Zambia and Tanzania, which have suppressed prices to farmers in those countries, even while input costs, notably fertilizer, have increased. </p>
<h2>Uneven playing field</h2>
<p>International fertilizer prices more than doubled in two months – from September to November 2021. The peak continued into early 2022, reaching an average price of US$915/t for the benchmark urea fertilizer between March and April 2022. This compares with around US$226 in the previous five years. This was driven by the world’s largest fertilizer companies taking advantage of the rise in the price of natural gas, an important input for nitrogen-based fertilizer, as well as supply disruptions associated with the Russia-Ukraine war. The fertilizer companies <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fighting-climate-change-by-reducing-use-of-nitrogen-fertilizers-by-jayati-ghosh-2023-06">exploited the shocks</a> and raised prices by more than the increase in costs. </p>
<p>By March 2023, the international price of urea had fallen back to close to $300/t. With additional costs to import to coastal countries which should be no more than $150/t and to inland regions no more than $250/t including a trader margin, South Africa’s inland prices now reflect fair prices but in other African countries super profits are continuing. </p>
<h2>What needs to be done</h2>
<p>To ease the adverse impacts of high fertilizer prices, governments in the region have tried to implement fertilizer subsidy programmes. For example, prices in Tanzania with the government subsidy have been reduced from around $1100/t to <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52246331e4b0a46e5f1b8ce5/t/64428362515c3e73b6f6cba1/1682080610704/AMO_Price+tracker+22_21042023.pdf">US$600-700/t</a>. </p>
<p>But the subsidies have huge costs for governments which many African countries have not been able to incur, while the programmes have generally <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52246331e4b0a46e5f1b8ce5/t/63ee42fdce241f3c496171fb/1676559103254/AMO_Price+tracker+20_16022023.pdf">not been working well</a>. In Malawi, for example, a large portion of the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) targeted beneficiaries <a href="https://malawi24.com/2023/01/21/only-13-percent-of-beneficiaries-have-accessed-npk-fertilizer-in-karonga/">did not receive fertilizer</a> under the 2022/2023 programme.</p>
<p>International action is therefore urgently required on fertilizer prices to improve food security in Africa. First, competition authorities in Africa should investigate signs of anti-competitive conduct. Second, investments are required in logistics, storage and advice on optimal usage. Third, a <a href="https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/news/commission-calls-applications-join-upcoming-eu-fertilisers-market-observatory-2023-03-16_en">fertilizer market observatory as the EU</a> is currently setting-up would provide ongoing data about fertiliser markets, factors affecting them, and exchange experiences and good practices for optimal usage.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209664/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>African competition authorities must investigate signs of anti-competitive conduct in fertilizer marketsSimon Roberts, Professor of Economics and Lead Researcher, Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development, UJ, University of JohannesburgNtombifuthi Tshabalala, Economist at Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093082023-07-16T11:57:05Z2023-07-16T11:57:05ZIncreasing monopoly power poses a threat to Canada’s post-pandemic economic recovery<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537149/original/file-20230712-21301-q8sobd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=282%2C0%2C3414%2C1912&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A recent report from Canada's competition watchdog found that a lack of competition in the grocery sector has led to higher prices for consumers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canada is currently grappling with a significant economic issue: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3357041">market concentration</a>. A select few corporations dominate key sectors, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/competition-bureau/news/2023/05/canadas-competition-moment-is-here-lets-seize-it.html">leading to reduced competition</a>, rising prices and limited purchase options for consumers.</p>
<p>Canada’s grocery industry is a prime example of this. A recent <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/competition-bureau-canada/en/how-we-foster-competition/education-and-outreach/canada-needs-more-grocery-competition">report from the Competition Bureau</a> found that a lack of competition in the grocery sector is resulting in higher food prices. </p>
<p>The grocery industry is dominated by five major players — Loblaws, Metro, Empire (the owner of Sobeys), Walmart and Costco. These five companies <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/competition-bureau-grocery-1.6889712">account for over three-quarters of all food sales</a> in Canada.</p>
<p>The Bureau <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2023/06/27/what-the-grocery-report-recommends-to-improve-competition.html">recommended four policies to encourage competition</a> in the sector. These include establishing a grocery innovation strategy, encouraging new independent and international players, introducing legislation for consistent unit pricing and limiting property controls.</p>
<p>While independent grocery chains could be a viable alternative, they don’t occupy as large a presence of the market as they do in other countries. The <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9796699/competition-bureau-canada-grocery-study-takeaways">Canadian grocery market is heavily concentrated</a> and limits the ability of independent chains to compete by forcing them to purchase their products from larger chains.</p>
<h2>History of monopolies</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A brass Hudson's Bay Company logo seen outside one of its stores" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537152/original/file-20230712-17-qpvwhi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537152/original/file-20230712-17-qpvwhi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537152/original/file-20230712-17-qpvwhi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537152/original/file-20230712-17-qpvwhi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537152/original/file-20230712-17-qpvwhi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537152/original/file-20230712-17-qpvwhi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537152/original/file-20230712-17-qpvwhi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Hudson’s Bay Company was granted a commercial monopoly over the entire Hudson Bay drainage basin, known as Rupert’s Land, in 1670.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
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<p>Canada’s economy has historically been marked by notable monopolies, thanks to its vast geographical expanse and relatively sparse population. </p>
<p>Entities like the <a href="https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/the-untold-story-of-the-hudsons-bay-company/">Hudson’s Bay Company</a> and <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-pacific-railway">Canadian Pacific Railway company</a> played significant roles in the country’s development. This largely happened out of concern that domestic companies would be overwhelmed by American competitors unless they grew significantly.</p>
<p>Recent trends indicate this phenomenon is not only persisting, but intensifying. While <a href="https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/pivot-magazine/canadian-business-monopolies">Sobeys, Loblaws, Metro, Costco and Walmart dominate</a> over 60 per cent of the grocery sector, Bell, Rogers and Telus command about 89 per cent of the wireless telecommunications market.</p>
<p>The concentration of power extends beyond these sectors. <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9634933/canada-big-banks-analysis/">The banking industry in Canada is dominated by six banks</a> — the Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, Scotiabank, the Bank of Montreal, CIBC and National Bank, which collectively control about 93 per cent of the industry.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/339828/market-share-of-the-canadian-brewing-industry/">the beer market is largely controlled by two multinational giants</a>, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Molson Coors.</p>
<p>And the Canadian telecommunications industry is still reeling from the recent <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/canadas-decision-rogers-shaw-deal-may-come-friday-2023-03-31/">merger between two of the industry’s giants</a>, Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications. The implications of this deal are far-reaching.</p>
<h2>The Rogers-Shaw merger</h2>
<p>The Rogers-Shaw merger’s final approval came with <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rogers-shaw-approval-1.6797175">21 enforceable conditions</a> Rogers and Videotron must adhere to, aimed at bolstering competition and reducing costs for customers. </p>
<p>The merger’s approval depended on Shaw selling its Freedom Mobile business to Quebecor’s Videotron. If Rogers breaches its conditions, it must pay up to $1 billion in damages. Videotron could be subject to $200 million in penalties if it fails to meet its commitments. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man holds up a sheet of paperwork as he speaks into a microphone attached to a podium" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537150/original/file-20230712-26-ztwm9r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537150/original/file-20230712-26-ztwm9r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537150/original/file-20230712-26-ztwm9r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537150/original/file-20230712-26-ztwm9r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537150/original/file-20230712-26-ztwm9r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537150/original/file-20230712-26-ztwm9r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537150/original/file-20230712-26-ztwm9r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne holds up a contract between the telecoms and the federal government as he speaks at a news conference about the Rogers-Shaw merger on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 31, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle</span></span>
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<p>Despite these conditions, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rogers-shaw-merger-official-1.6799566">some remain skeptical about the impact of the merger</a> on competition in Canada’s telecommunications sector. </p>
<p><a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9597898/rogers-shaw-merger-closes-new-telecom-giant/">Some critics have argued</a> the merger may lead to higher prices for consumers and less innovation. Carleton University political economy professor Dwayne Winseck warned it could lead to a “<a href="https://twitter.com/mediamorphis/status/1372207252363489290">tight oligopoly on steroids</a>.”</p>
<p>On the flip side, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rogers-shaw-internet-deal-1.5950727">other experts believe the merger could benefit consumers</a> by accelerating the rollout of 5G networks and improving infrastructure and services, particularly in rural areas.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-the-rogers-shaw-merger-could-benefit-canadian-customers-201132">Here's how the Rogers-Shaw merger could benefit Canadian customers</a>
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<p>However, these benefits could be offset by the potential for higher prices and less competition. The merger could lead to a dominant market share in Ontario, reducing competition and potentially leading to higher internet prices.</p>
<p>This is particularly concerning, given Ontario’s average monthly price of home internet services is <a href="https://www.cannettel.com/blog/rogers-shaw-merger-implications-internet-prices-ontario">already higher than the national average</a>. This situation underscores the need for a revamp of Canada’s competition laws.</p>
<h2>Loopholes in competition law</h2>
<p>The merger has sparked controversy because it exploited weaknesses in Canada’s anti-monopoly law, <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-34/fulltext.html">the Competition Act</a>, to push the deal through. </p>
<p>The Competition Act has been <a href="https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/magazine/canada-monopolies">criticized for failing to prevent acquisitions</a> that allow large firms to eliminate competitive threats and solidify their dominance.</p>
<p>As Canada’s competition watchdog, the Competition Bureau can review mergers to determine if they will be harmful to competition. But since its introduction in 1986, <a href="https://www.cigionline.org/publications/merger-policy-for-a-dynamic-and-digital-canadian-economy/">the bureau has only challenged 18 mergers</a> and has never won a challenge on final judgment.</p>
<p>The law also has a high bar for intervention in a merger, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9169363/merger-laws-canada-competition/">often favouring negotiated agreements</a> that include concessions or remedies that address some of the competition concerns, but not necessarily all.</p>
<p>The Competition Commissioner, Matthew Boswell, <a href="https://financialpost.com/feature/matthew-boswell-ballsy-bureaucrat-block-rogers-shaw">believes the existing competition laws are inadequate</a>. Boswell has been hamstrung by legal loopholes and unable to prevent anti-competitive mergers, like the Rogers-Shaw deal, from happening.</p>
<h2>Challenges and opportunities</h2>
<p>Along with rising consumer prices, limited purchase options and intensifying competition, the growth of monopolies in Canada has led to a host of other issues.</p>
<p>Monopolies have <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/february-2022/competition-hurts-innovation-canada">the potential to stifle innovation</a> — a key driver of economic growth, as a lack of competition tends to dampen innovative efforts. Productivity growth, which is crucial for improving living standards, <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/april-2023/the-low-productivity-of-canadian-companies-threatens-our-living-standards/">is also under threat</a>, as monopolies can create an environment less conducive to efficiency and progress.</p>
<p>As Canada embarks on its post-pandemic economic recovery, policymakers must ensure economic resilience and inclusiveness while preventing existing monopoly issues from worsening. </p>
<p>At the same time, there is an opportunity to reshape the economic landscape to encourage competition and foster innovation, benefiting everyone involved in the market.</p>
<p>This journey towards a more prosperous future will require rigorous scrutiny of developments like the proposed Rogers-Shaw merger and the wisdom to navigate the interplay of monopolies, competition and the broader economy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209308/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Garros Gong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As Canada embarks on its post-pandemic economic recovery, policymakers must ensure economic resilience and inclusiveness while preventing existing monopoly issues from worsening.Garros Gong, Ph.D. Student in Management Science, University of WaterlooLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093862023-07-13T20:06:07Z2023-07-13T20:06:07ZWhat this year’s El Niño means for wheat and global food supply<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537226/original/file-20230713-19-sng5wp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C246%2C5871%2C2984&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>The World Meteorological Organization has declared the onset of the first El Niño event in seven years. It estimates 90% probability the climatic phenomenon, involving an unusual warming of the Pacific Ocean, will develop through 2023, and be <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/world-meteorological-organization-declares-onset-of-el-ni%C3%B1o-conditions">of moderate strength</a>.</p>
<p>El Niño events bring hotter, drier weather to places such as Brazil, <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-official-australia-is-set-for-a-hot-dry-el-nino-heres-what-that-means-for-our-flammable-continent-209126">Australia</a> and Indonesia, increasing the risk of wildfires and drought. Elsewhere, such as Peru and Ecuador, it increases rain, leading to floods. </p>
<p>The effects are sometimes described as a preview of “the new normal” <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-so-many-climate-records-breaking-all-at-once-209214">in the wake of human-forced climate change</a>. Of particular concern is the effect on agricultural production, and thereby the price of food – particularly “breadbasket” staples such as wheat, maize and rice.</p>
<p>El Niño’s global impacts are complex and multifaceted. It can potentially impact the lives of the majority of the world’s population. This is especially true for poor and rural households, whose fates are intrinsically linked with climate and farming.</p>
<p>The global supply and prices of most food <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aax060">is unlikely to move that much</a>. The evidence from the ten El Niño events in the <a href="https://ggweather.com/enso/oni.htm">past five decades</a> suggests relatively modest, and to some extent ambiguous, global price impacts. While reducing crop yield on average, these events have not resulted in a “perfect storm” of the scale to induce global “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109321">breadbasket yield shocks</a>”. </p>
<p>But local effects could be severe. Even a “moderate” El Niño may significantly affect crops grown in geographically concentrated regions — for example palm oil, which primarily comes from Indonesia and Malaysia.</p>
<p>In some places El Niño-induced food availability and affordability issues may well lead to serious social consequences, such as conflict and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/feb/17/el-nino-leaves-100-million-people-hungry-short-of-water-droughts-floods-worldwide">hunger</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/global-temperature-rises-in-steps-heres-why-we-can-expect-a-steep-climb-this-year-and-next-209385">Global temperature rises in steps -- here's why we can expect a steep climb this year and next</a>
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<h2>Impact on global food prices</h2>
<p>The following graph shows the correlation between El Niño events and global food prices, as measured by the United Nations’ <a href="https://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/foodpricesindex/en/">Food Price Index</a>. This index tracks monthly changes in international prices of a basket of food commodities.</p>
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<p>Despite the general inflationary pattern, there have rarely been big swings in El Niño years. Indeed, it shows prices decreasing during the two strongest El Niño episodes of the <a href="https://ggweather.com/enso/oni.htm">past three decades</a>. </p>
<p>Other human-caused factors were at play – notably the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, and the Global Financial Crisis in 2007-2008. In 2015, prices decreased due to stronger (than expected) supply and weaker demand, when the El Niño event did not turn out to be as bad as feared. </p>
<p>This all suggests that El Niño does not usually play the lead role in global commodity price movements.</p>
<h2>Impacts on wheat supply</h2>
<p>Why? Because El Niño does induce crop failures, but for food grown around the world the losses tend to be offset by positive changes in production across other key producing regions.</p>
<p>For example, it can bring favourable weather to the conflict-ridden and famine-prone Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia).</p>
<p>A good example is wheat. </p>
<p>The following chart shows how El Nino has affected Australian wheat production since 1980. In six out of nine El Niño events of at least moderate strength, production has dropped significantly – in four cases, at least 30% below the “trend line” (representing the long-term average).</p>
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<p>Australia is one of the world’s <a href="https://www.tridge.com/intelligences/wheat/export">top three wheat exporters</a>, accounting for about 13% of global exports. So its production does affect global wheat prices. But in terms of total wheat grown it’s less significant – about <a href="https://www.aegic.org.au/australian-grains/wheat/#:%7E:text=Australia%20produces%20about%2025%20million,cent%20of%20annual%20global%20production">3.5% of world production</a>. And El Niño-induced crop failures tend to be offset by production in other key wheat-producing regions.</p>
<p>The next graph compare changes in Australia’s wheat production with other significant wheat exporters in El Niño years. Dips in Australia’s production tend tend to be offset by changes elsewhere.</p>
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<p>In 1994, for example, Australian wheat production dropped nearly 50% but barely changed elsewhere. In 1982, when Australian production dropped 30%, Argentina’s production was 50% higher. Such balancing patterns tends to be present across most El Niño years.</p>
<h2>But some will bear the cost</h2>
<p>That said, there will be at least some negative effects. Even if crop failures in one region are fully offset by rich harvests in others, some people are going to bear the costs of El Niño’s direct impact. </p>
<p>Australian farmers, for example, will be worse off if local wheat yields drop while global prices remain relatively stable. </p>
<p>Moreover, because most countries are connected via trade, El Niño will have wider <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022199617300120">economic impacts</a>. It could still lead to deeper societal issues in some region, such as famine and <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w28243">agro-pastoral conflicts</a>. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/global-warming-to-bring-record-hot-year-by-2028-probably-our-first-above-1-5-c-limit-205758">Global warming to bring record hot year by 2028 – probably our first above 1.5°C limit</a>
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<p>These effects may also be nuanced. For example, poor harvests in Africa may mitigate seasonal violence linked with the appropriation of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12364">agricultural surpluses</a>. But considering other vulnerabilities around the world, the odds are that even a moderate El Niño will make already dire socio-economic conditions in some countries worse. </p>
<p>Most of the usual warnings about the caveats of climate change apply here. The difference, of course, is that all this is happening now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209386/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Ubilava does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The new El Niño is unlikely to significantly increase global food prices, but some parts of the world will feel the pain.David Ubilava, Associate Professor of Economics, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2077022023-07-09T12:02:18Z2023-07-09T12:02:18ZThe true cost of food: High grocery prices are not the root issue<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535884/original/file-20230705-27-d02r66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=384%2C234%2C2745%2C1708&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">By only focusing on how to keep food costs low, we risk ignoring the underlying causes of why people cannot afford food in the first place.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Ashley Jean MacDonald)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-true-cost-of-food-high-grocery-prices-are-not-the-root-issue" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Inflation and skyrocketing grocery bills are highlighting how the cost of food is impacting our wallets. Higher prices cost everyone more, but they make it most difficult for those with low incomes to meet their basic needs. </p>
<p>On July 5, the federal government issued a one-time <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/goods-services-tax-harmonized-sales-tax-gst-hst-credit/grocery-rebate.html">grocery rebate</a> to help low-income Canadians with rising costs. Eligible families can receive up to $628 to help pay for their groceries. </p>
<p>In 2022, Canada saw the <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-631-x/11-631-x2023003-eng.htm">highest rate of food inflation in decades</a>. Although the rate of increase is slowing, Canadian families are estimated to pay up to <a href="https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/canada-s-food-price-report-2023.html">$1,065 more for food in 2023</a>. </p>
<p>However, by only focusing on how to keep food costs low, we risk ignoring the underlying causes of why people cannot afford food in the first place.</p>
<h2>Hidden costs</h2>
<p>The price of food at the checkout counter includes the production, processing, distribution and retailing of food. It does not include the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0196333">cost to health care from diet-related diseases</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15703-5_32">current and future environmental impacts</a> or social injustices, like <a href="https://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/312/304">underpaying farm workers</a> or using <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdy018">forced child labour</a>.</p>
<p>These are referred to as <a href="https://capi-icpa.ca/explore/resources/externalities-and-canadian-agricultural-policy-role-rationale-and-results/">negative externalities</a>. These are the spillover effects of a food production system that does not consider broader impacts on society.</p>
<p>In 2011, the external cost of agricultural production to the environment in Central and Western Canada alone was estimated to be about <a href="https://capi-icpa.ca/explore/resources/measuring-externalities-in-canadian-agriculture-understanding-the-impact-of-agricultural-production-on-the-environment/">$8.9 billion</a>. When externalities are taken into account, the true cost of food in the United States is <a href="https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/report/true-cost-of-food-measuring-what-matters-to-transform-the-u-s-food-system/">three times the amount Americans pay</a>. </p>
<p>This means that much of the food we buy is underpriced because of various social, economic and environmental externalities. We may not be paying for these hidden costs at the checkout, but we do so with our health-care costs, poor food quality and social inequalities. People in the Global South and those living with low incomes are disproportionately impacted by these hidden costs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534187/original/file-20230626-33547-m6ps6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman shops in the fresh produce section of a supermarket." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534187/original/file-20230626-33547-m6ps6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534187/original/file-20230626-33547-m6ps6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534187/original/file-20230626-33547-m6ps6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534187/original/file-20230626-33547-m6ps6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534187/original/file-20230626-33547-m6ps6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534187/original/file-20230626-33547-m6ps6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534187/original/file-20230626-33547-m6ps6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The prices we see at the supermarket often do not reflect the health, environmental and social costs of food production.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Putting food costs in perspective</h2>
<p>With the current focus on increasing food prices, it may be surprising that Canadians spend relatively little on food. According to a 2016 study — the last year for which data is available — Canada was among five countries in the world that <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/12/this-map-shows-how-much-each-country-spends-on-food/">spend the least on food</a>. </p>
<p>In 2022, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610058701">Canadians spent, on average, 11 per cent of their income on food</a>. Those with the highest incomes spent 5.2 per cent on food, while those living with the lowest incomes spent up to 23 per cent of their income on food. That means those with the lowest income most significantly felt the burden of increased food costs. </p>
<p>The percentage of income spent on food has been decreasing since the 1960s. In <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2018/statcan/62-531/CS62-532-1969-2.pdf">1969, Canadians spent 19.6 per cent of their income on food</a>. While food prices have increased due to the pandemic and inflation, food spending among Canadians has been relatively stable since 2010 at <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110022401&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2010&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2019&referencePeriods=20100101%2C20190101">between 10 to 11 per cent</a> of their incomes. </p>
<p>Although the cost of food increases, the most vulnerable people in the food system, farmers and farm workers, receive a small portion of the proceeds. In Canada, agricultural sector wages are below the average, with weekly earnings about <a href="https://cahrc-ccrha.ca/resources/document/how-labour-challenges-will-shape-future-agriculture-agriculture-forecast-2029">21 per cent less than other sectors</a>. In 2021, U.S. farmers and farm workers received only <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-dollar-series/download-the-data/">7.4 cents of every dollar</a> spent on food. In 2013, <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-dollar-series/download-the-data/">they received 10.2 cents</a>. </p>
<h2>High food prices are not the root issue</h2>
<p>High food prices are not the main reason people can’t afford food. Poverty is. Poverty is a systemic issue, often resulting from poor government policies, income inequality and systemic forms of discrimination. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610058701">average Canadian household</a> experienced a 16 per cent increase in income from 1999 to 2022. However, the amount of money spent on housing increased by 12 per cent, and spending on health by 35.6 per cent. </p>
<p>In addition, people with low incomes are increasingly identifying systemic issues, like racism and colonialism, as <a href="https://foodsecurecanada.org/resources-news/news-media/research-report-sustainable-consumption-all-revisiting-accessibility">main barriers to achieving food security</a>. Even with low food costs, racialized people face numerous barriers in achieving food security. Systemic discrimination leads to a concentration of social and economic disadvantages that increase food insecurity rates.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2022/07/staff-discussion-paper-2022-16/">Income inequality</a> in Canada increased substantially during the 1980s and 1990s. That pattern hasn’t changed. Today, the groups most likely to experience low incomes continue to be Indigenous Peoples and racialized Canadians. </p>
<p><a href="https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98-200-X/2021009/98-200-X2021009-eng.cfm#">According to the last census</a>, 18.8 per cent of Indigenous people lived in a low-income household, compared to 7.9 per cent of the non-Indigenous population. Indigenous communities in Canada face food insecurity at a rate two to five times higher than other Canadians.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.17269%2Fs41997-021-00480-0">First Nation Food, Nutrition and Environment Study</a> found households that had access to food obtained using traditional practices were more food secure, and less likely to have complex health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. For members of these households, access to growing and harvesting food for themselves and their community was more important than lower food prices.</p>
<h2>Cheap food comes at a cost</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2023/06/23/why-are-bananas-so-cheap/">Conventional bananas are one of the cheapest</a> food items in Canadian grocery stores. They have contributed to <a href="https://www.fairtrade.net/library/the-external-costs-of-banana-production-a-global-study">chronic underpayment of farmers and farm workers, child labour practices, loss of biodiversity and water pollution</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, conventional bananas have a much higher hidden cost than fair trade bananas. Most of this is attributed to inadequate wages and a lack of social security for farmers and farm workers. By buying fair trade bananas, consumers can significantly contribute to sustainability and greater equity. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532438/original/file-20230616-21-n8qt09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A farmer tending to a banana tree." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532438/original/file-20230616-21-n8qt09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532438/original/file-20230616-21-n8qt09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532438/original/file-20230616-21-n8qt09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532438/original/file-20230616-21-n8qt09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532438/original/file-20230616-21-n8qt09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532438/original/file-20230616-21-n8qt09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532438/original/file-20230616-21-n8qt09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A farmer from the Fairtrade International certified banana co-operative in Ecuador.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Fairtrade Canada)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fair trade produce might be more expensive, however as a result farmers and farm workers receive fairer wages and there is greater transparency throughout the entire supply chain.</p>
<p><a href="https://fairfoodprogram.org/">The Fair Food Program</a> encourages corporations to buy produce from farms that treat their workers humanely and compensate them fairly. <a href="https://indd.adobe.com/view/2e8c5302-3772-4122-a6a7-f345d4801a16">The latest report from The Fair Food Program</a> demonstrates a decrease in injuries, violence and reported sexual harassment among workers of farms that partake in the program.</p>
<p>In the early 2000s, buyers agreed to <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/food/2014/01/farm-workers-win-extra-penny-ultimate-penny-pincher-walmart/">pay a penny more</a> for every pound of tomatoes, passing it on to farm workers. This went directly to the farm workers, which equated to a 20-35 per cent increase in weekly pay.</p>
<p>The hidden costs of cheap food are disproportionally harming racialized communities and those with low incomes. They also deprive us all of a just, equitable and sustainable food system. Paying farmers and food workers more is an investment in the local economy and a more resilient, equitable and just global food system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207702/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monika Korzun currently holds a postdoctoral fellowship at Dalhousie University funded by the McCain Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashley Jean MacDonald and Donna Appavoo do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many people are experiencing the sticker shock of higher prices at grocery stores. But the amount we pay for food often does not reflect the real social, environmental and human costs of production.Monika Korzun, McCain Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie UniversityAshley Jean MacDonald, PhD Student, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie UniversityDonna Appavoo, Contract Instructor, Chang School of Continuing Education, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2086292023-07-07T12:28:34Z2023-07-07T12:28:34ZKakhovka Dam breach in Ukraine caused economic, agricultural and ecological devastation that will last for years<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535849/original/file-20230705-19-fgbepx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C6%2C4466%2C3017&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A well in Afanasyeva village, Mykolaiv region, damaged by flooding after the Kakhovka Dam breach. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-photograph-shows-a-well-in-afanasyeva-village-mykolaiv-news-photo/1501982154">Anatolii Stepanov /AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When an explosion <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-nova-kakhovka-dam-destruction/32446609.html">breached the Kakhovka Dam</a> in Ukraine on June 6, 2023, much analysis focused on near-term impacts, including the flooding of the city of Kherson, threats to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and consequences for Ukrainian military forces’ expected spring offensive against Russian troops. </p>
<p>But the most severe long-term effects will fall on Southeast Ukraine’s farmers.</p>
<p>Villages there were flooded. Roads, train tracks and irrigation canals were washed away. Crops in fields and orchards in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia region were inundated, then left to shrivel after the water drained.</p>
<p>The long-term ecological disaster will unfold over decades to come. Crimea, once a region known for its sunny beaches and rice fields, <a href="https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/backgrounder-the-water-crisis-in-crimea/">could dry up without irrigation</a>.</p>
<p>We are a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vqb_FxYAAAAJ&hl=en">U.S. political scientist</a> with research expertise on the post-Soviet region and a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Vitalii-Dankevych-2147613519">Ukrainian economist</a> who studies agriculture. While the long-term effects of the dam break are difficult to calculate, we believe that it will have a lasting impact on the <a href="https://superagronom.com/news/17266-opustelyuvannya-ruynuvannya-sistem-zroshennya-bagatorichnih-nasadjen-znijennya-agrovirobnitstva--nazvano-naslidki-pidrivu-kahovskoyi-ges?utm_source=superagronom&utm_medium=facebook&fbclid=IwAR27Z9kKLogJf01C3C2q71B5mYBPGqcjNW8xbccKjxAhN0oJdeH4yc_rEVc">climate of southern Ukraine</a>. </p>
<p>Farmland that is no longer irrigated and cultivated because canals are destroyed and the reservoir drained will dry up, becoming more vulnerable to soil erosion and dust storms. Agricultural production could be reduced for years to come, with impacts that <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-dam-breach-will-sow-huge-problems-food-security-uns-griffiths-2023-06-13/">ripple through supply chains</a> and affect food security around the world.</p>
<p>As we see it, the dam explosion has all the hallmarks of a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/scorched-earth-policy">scorched-earth strategy</a>, intended to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. It is hard to imagine any country inflicting damage this sweeping on its own soil. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A panoramic image showing the size of the dam and reservoir." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=113&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=141&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=141&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535894/original/file-20230705-18160-tmy8tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=141&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Panorama of the dam with reservoir in the background before the breach.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakhovka_Dam#/media/File:%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%93%D0%AD%D0%A1.jpg">Artemka/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A fertile farming region</h2>
<p>Like other Soviet hydroelectric projects, the Kakhovka Dam and power plant were hailed as harbingers of progress and a bright socialist future when they were built in 1956 on the Dnieper River. The North Crimean and Dnieper-Kryvyi Rih canals, constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, transported water from the Kakhovka reservoir to Crimea in the south and the Kryvvi Rih iron ore basin and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the north.</p>
<p>Local villages and towns came to <a href="https://www.eurozine.com/flooded-earth/">depend on water and electricity</a> from the dam and its reservoir. Some 545,000 acres (220,000 hectares) of arable land in these two regions <a href="https://forbes.ua/company/vsi-naygirshi-naslidki-pidrivu-dambi-poperedu-forbes-opitav-khersonskikh-agrariiv-shchodo-zbitkiv-y-skilki-rokiv-pide-na-vidnovlennya-06062023-14031">are irrigated</a>, including over 20% of Kherson’s farmland. </p>
<p>Kherson’s farms grow watermelons and tomatoes. The region’s cherry, apricot, peach, apple and plum orchards produce Ukraine’s sweetest fruits. Southeast Ukraine also grows vast quantities of soy and sunflower seeds, mostly destined for global markets.</p>
<h2>Flooded fields, toxic water</h2>
<p>The dam breach inundated fields along the Dnieper’s banks. By July 1, the Dnieper River near the Kherson post had returned to its natural level, although a number of settlements in the territory temporarily occupied by Russian forces remained submerged.</p>
<p>Based on conditions that have been reported so far, we expect that this year’s crops in the flooded zone will be waterlogged, and much of the harvest will be destroyed. Valuable perennial crops that relied on irrigation infrastructure fed by the reservoir will be flooded and then parched. Rich and productive topsoil may be washed away. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/64NsrW3AVB8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A news report a week after the dam breach shows the scale of the initial flooding.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Farther downstream, the lower Dnieper, Southern Bug and Inhulets river basins have been polluted, imperiling agriculture and drinking water for southern Ukraine. During the dam breach, 150 tons of oil leaked out, and at least 17 gas stations have been flooded. There is widespread concern about <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/digest/kakhovka-dam-destruction-wildlife">impacts on the region’s wildlife</a>, including many types of nesting and migratory birds.</p>
<h2>After the flood, water shortages</h2>
<p>Flooding from the reservoir also imperiled infrastructure that is critical for Ukraine’s agricultural exports, including <a href="https://www.planet.com/pulse/navigating-the-kakhovka-dam-collapse-nasa-harvest-consortium-assesses-agriculture-impacts-with-satellite-imagery/">irrigation canals</a>, hydraulic pumping stations, river ports and grain terminals. </p>
<p>Most importantly, without water from the reservoir, the fields of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea will dry out. Coastal towns on the Sea of Azov, most importantly <a href="https://rubryka.com/article/pidryv-kahovskoyi-ges">Berdyansk</a>, have lost their main source of drinking water.</p>
<p>Crimea is particularly <a href="https://glavred.net/ukraine/vse-mozhet-byt-huzhe-chto-budet-s-krymom-posle-podryva-kahovskoy-ges-10477531.html">dependent on irrigation</a>. Before Russia annexed it in 2014, Crimea’s farms planted rice and corn. After the annexation Ukraine blocked water from flowing to Crimea. When Russia captured Kherson in March 2022, it <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/12/1104418128/russia-ukraine-crimea-water-canal">reopened the North Crimean Canal</a> and allowed the peninsula’s reservoirs to fill. </p>
<p>Without the Kakhovka Reservoir, however, Crimea is <a href="https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-economy/3719250-kahovskij-ekocid-kostuvatime-ukraini-dodatkovo-desatki-milardiv-griven.html">unlikely to receive irrigation water for at least a decade</a>. Effectively, the peninsula will turn into a desert with a naval base.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1667121998697250818"}"></div></p>
<h2>Fewer exports, higher prices</h2>
<p>Beyond Ukraine, the dam breach will critically affect global food supplies. Southern Ukraine’s sunflower seeds, soy and cereals are major ingredients for industrially processed foods and livestock feed. They provide the proteins and lipids that are the building blocks of the 21st-century diet. </p>
<p>After these commodities are harvested, they have to be dried, transported domestically, stored and then shipped internationally. Many facilities along the Dnieper and its tributaries are key nodes in the supply chains that connect Ukrainian farms with world markets. </p>
<p>Storage elevators and loading terminals at the <a href="https://landlord.ua/news/cherez-terakt-na-kakhovskii-hes-zatopleno-perevantazhuvalnyi-terminal-nibulonu/">port of Kozatske</a>, located just downstream of the dam, were inundated within hours of the breach. The upstream ports of Kamianets-Dniprovska, Nikopol and Enerhodar are closed and <a href="https://defence-ua.com/people_and_company/scho_mozhe_buti_dali_pislja_pidrivu_kahovskoji_ges_z_vodopostachannjam_zaes_i_krimskim_kanalom-11802.html">likely will be inoperable for years to come</a>.</p>
<p>Global food commodity prices <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/wheat-and-corn-prices-jump-following-collapse-of-major-dam-in-ukraine/3245740/">shot up</a> hours after the dam broke, as global grain traders anticipated food commodity shortages. U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths told the BBC that the impact on food security could be significant. </p>
<p>“… That whole area going down towards the Black Sea and Crimea is a breadbasket not only for Ukraine but also for the world,” Griffiths told the BBC. “It is almost inevitable that we are going to see huge, huge problems in harvesting and sowing for the next harvest. And so what we are going to see is a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-dam-breach-will-sow-huge-problems-food-security-uns-griffiths-2023-06-13/">huge impact on global food security</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large machine cuts wheat plants in a field" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535896/original/file-20230705-23-87qnuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Harvesting grain in Odessa, Ukraine, in July 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/farm-implement-harvests-grain-in-the-field-as-russian-news-photo/1241712082">Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>An uncertain future</h2>
<p>Loss of the Kakhovka Dam is the latest blow to a region that has suffered heavily during the war. Most fields along the lower Dnieper are littered with mines. NASA satellite images show crops planted in 2022 that <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/map#5/43.700/36.241">were never harvested</a>. </p>
<p>Before the dam breach, the area under cultivation in 2023 in Ukraine <a href="https://www.ucab.ua/ua/pres_sluzhba/novosti/prognoz_u_2023_rotsi_posivni_ploschi_pid_zernovimi_v_ukraini_skorotyatsya_na_45_a_valoviy_zbir__na_60">had already contracted by 45%</a>, and overall yields had fallen by as much as 60% compared with 2021 before the war. With the loss of the dam and reservoir, harvests are likely to shrink further. </p>
<p>Many residents of the area’s <a href="https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/novyny-pryazovya-kakhovska-hes-ekolohya-kontrnastup-zsu/32447037.html">80 inundated villages</a> are farmers. If and when they are able to return to their land, the fields and orchards may not be able to produce and earn enough to sustain their families, who have already <a href="https://www.ponarseurasia.org/russias-war-on-ukrainian-farms/">suffered grievously</a> during heavy fighting in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.</p>
<p>In 1941, Joseph Stalin ordered Soviet troops to <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/european-remembrance-day-ukraine-little-known-ww2-tragedy/25083847.html">destroy the predecessor of the Kakhovka Dam</a> to slow the advancing German army. It was not rebuilt until 1956. Even if postwar relief efforts can replace the Kakhovka Dam more quickly, we expect that droughts between now and then will virtually destroy rural life in southeastern Ukraine as it existed before June 6.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208629/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susanne Wengle receives funding from the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies and the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, at the University of Notre Dame. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vitalii Dankevych does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Breaching the Kakhovka Dam and reservoir had all the hallmarks of a scorched-earth strategy. Two expert observers of the Russia-Ukraine war explain this event’s destructive long-term effects.Susanne Wengle, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Notre DameVitalii Dankevych, Doctor of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Law, Public Administration and National Security, Polissia National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2078372023-07-06T20:21:44Z2023-07-06T20:21:44ZEggs are so expensive right now. What else can I use?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534516/original/file-20230628-21-na5m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1279%2C852&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-man-in-a-black-shirt-cracking-an-egg-6944027/">Vlada Karpovich/Pexels</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The price of eggs <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-14/egg-shortage-high-prices-blamed-on-shift-from-cage-to-free-range/102474282">is rising</a>. So many of us may be looking for cheaper alternatives. </p>
<p>First, the bad news. Nothing can replace a boiled, poached or fried egg. </p>
<p>Now, the good news. Lots of other ingredients can make foods puff and rise, give your meal a rich taste, or hold together ingredients.</p>
<p>So try using some of these egg substitutes and save the real eggs for your breakfast.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-save-50-off-your-food-bill-and-still-eat-tasty-nutritious-meals-184152">How to save $50 off your food bill and still eat tasty, nutritious meals</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why are eggs so popular?</h2>
<p>Eggs are incredibly <a href="https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/monitoringnutrients/afcd/pages/default.aspx">nutritious</a>. They’re a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/3/684">rich source</a> of protein, vitamins A and D, pigments called carotenoids, and minerals.</p>
<p>Eggs are also versatile. We use them to make a range of savoury and sweet foods, sauces and drinks, not to mention breakfast.</p>
<p>Their popularity and versatility lies in the unique characteristics of the two main parts of the egg – the white and yolk. Each contribute <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Food-Cooking-Harold-McGee/dp/0684800012">different properties</a> in cooking.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/3/684">Egg yolk</a> is about 55% water, 27% fats, 16% protein (with small amounts of carbohydrate). <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/3/684">Egg white</a> is about 10% protein and 90% water, with only traces of fat and carbohydrates. Different types of protein in egg white contribute to them foaming when whisked.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-foods-that-used-to-be-bad-for-you-but-now-arent-50333">Five foods that used to be bad for you ... but now aren't</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Eggs are versatile</h2>
<p>Eggs have a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268005X2200131X?casa_token=1yXlEb1uvwQAAAAA:s3h5KCozwn-hjIn6kLOEoW45An255V6Z0G8TcJAQgTejfLEwV7nKqkS6VPWXiNkNxR4m5Mr2lHc">different role</a> in different types of cooking.</p>
<p><strong>1. Eggs are a raising agent</strong></p>
<p>Beaten or whisked eggs act as a raising agent by creating pockets of air in foods, which expand with cooking, making the foods puff and rise. This gives baked products like cakes, biscuits and muffins volume and an airy feel. </p>
<p>Using just the egg white leads to a remarkably light and delicate foam, as we see in meringues. In mousse and souffles the whites and the yolk are beaten separately, then mixed together. This leads to a light, airy and smooth texture. </p>
<p><strong>2. Eggs hold together other ingredients</strong></p>
<p>Eggs combine ingredients and hold them together during cooking. This gives foods – such as vegetable or meat patties – their structure.</p>
<p><strong>3. Eggs bind other liquids</strong></p>
<p>The liquid from eggs binds other liquids from other ingredients in the recipe into a soft, moist and tender mass. We see this in scrambled eggs, omelettes and egg custard.</p>
<p><strong>4. Eggs act as emulsifiers</strong></p>
<p>The egg yolk contains different proteins (livetin, phosvitin) and lipoproteins (lecithin). These act as emulsifiers, allowing fat and water to mix together in foods such as mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce.</p>
<p><strong>5. Eggs boost flavour</strong></p>
<p>The fat in egg yolks helps carry and release the flavour of some fat-soluble components of food. These foods <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224401000796">may taste differently</a> without the eggs. Eggs also contribute to foods feeling soft in the mouth.</p>
<p>As eggs have different roles in cooking, you may need different egg substitutes depending on the outcome you want. Here are some cheaper (and vegan) options.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-cracking-facts-about-eggs-150797">Eight cracking facts about eggs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Aquafaba</h2>
<p>Aquafaba is the liquid drained from cans of bean – typically from chickpeas as it has the most neutral flavour. This is the all-round winner, especially as most of us probably throw it away without realising what a gem it is. </p>
<p>Aquafaba is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224421001424?casa_token=P45Z4G2SFdsAAAAA:DRy8adcAU_QHl96LONyWOEhUXvrExVZsJ18xKvc8OiPYeVKHSOkGOKefiixXFPY9UhdscEaHF70">versatile</a>. You can whip it up like egg whites to form a foam that can be used to make meringue (even pavlova), gelato, in baked goods, and for binding ingredients in patties. It also contains emulsifiers and can be used to make mayonnaise.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534518/original/file-20230628-15-2hvg8r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chickpeas in strainer sitting over glass of aquafaba" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534518/original/file-20230628-15-2hvg8r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534518/original/file-20230628-15-2hvg8r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534518/original/file-20230628-15-2hvg8r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534518/original/file-20230628-15-2hvg8r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534518/original/file-20230628-15-2hvg8r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534518/original/file-20230628-15-2hvg8r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534518/original/file-20230628-15-2hvg8r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aquafaba is the liquid drained from cans of beans, usually chickpeas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-aquafaba-filtered-chickpea-broth-used-1907028793">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You’ll need different quantities of aquafaba depending on the recipe. Generally, though, you use about two to three tablespoons of aquafaba to replace the volume of fluid from an egg.</p>
<p>On the downside, aquafaba can taste a bit beany. So it is best to use it with stronger flavours to overcome this.</p>
<p>Nutritionally, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924224421001424?via%3Dihub">aquafaba</a> has small amounts of carbohydrate (about 2.6g/100 millilitre), and negligible levels of protein (about 1.3g/100 millilitre). </p>
<p>You can also freeze aquafaba.</p>
<h2>Vinegar and baking soda</h2>
<p>Mixing a teaspoon of baking soda with a tablespoon of vinegar can replace an egg in most baked goods. This produces carbon dioxide, which is trapped into air pockets, and makes foods rise.</p>
<p>This is a very cheap option, however its success may be limited by how heavy the rest of the ingredients are. This combination also has very little nutritional value.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-apple-cider-vinegar-really-a-wonder-food-86551">Is apple cider vinegar really a wonder food?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Commercial egg replacements</h2>
<p>These are available at most supermarkets, are very cheap compared with eggs, have a long shelf life, and are easy to use, with instructions on the packaging.</p>
<p>Typically, they contain different starches from potato, tapioca and pea protein (which act as leavening agents and form foams), along with raising agents. They are recommended for use in baked goods. However they have very little nutritional value compared to an egg.</p>
<h2>Flaxseed meal and chia seeds</h2>
<p>Use either a tablespoon of flaxseed meal, or chia seeds, added to about three tablespoons of water. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes to form a gel. </p>
<p>The gels can be used in baked goods, however this option isn’t as cheap as the others, and has a slight nutty taste. </p>
<p>Both these seeds provide nutritional value. They are both rich in the plant-based omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid. We <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/59/6/1304/4715808">can convert</a> this fatty acid into healthy omega-3 fatty acids, but at a slow rate. These seeds also provide fibre, polyphenols and antioxidants.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534946/original/file-20230630-27-kgb8rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chia seeds in a bowl, in a spoon, spilling onto surface" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534946/original/file-20230630-27-kgb8rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534946/original/file-20230630-27-kgb8rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534946/original/file-20230630-27-kgb8rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534946/original/file-20230630-27-kgb8rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534946/original/file-20230630-27-kgb8rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534946/original/file-20230630-27-kgb8rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534946/original/file-20230630-27-kgb8rn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You can add chia seeds to water to form a gel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/healthy-chia-seeds-wooden-spoon-on-331447064">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-tiktoks-chia-lemon-internal-shower-really-beat-constipation-heres-what-science-says-188744">Does TikTok's chia-lemon 'internal shower' really beat constipation? Here's what science says</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Tofu</h2>
<p>Tofu, which is made from soybeans, is widely available and fairly cheap. It has the most “eggy” appearance and so makes it ideal as a substitute for scrambled eggs and in quiche. However, you will need to use silken tofu and puree it. </p>
<p>Tofu is highly nutritious and provides protein, fat, calcium, polyphenols and anti-oxidants. </p>
<p>You could also use soy flour. Add one tablespoon to three tablespoons of water, then use immediately in baking and for binding ingredients together. However, soy flour does not contain calcium, which tofu does.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-fake-meat-healthy-and-whats-actually-in-it-187532">Is fake meat healthy? And what's actually in it?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Mashed fruit</h2>
<p>Mashed bananas or applesauce are also used as egg substitutes. These mainly act to bind and hold moisture in the food and help carry the flavours. </p>
<p>You also get the nutritional value of the fruit. Due to the natural sugar that in fruit, this will sweeten your baked goods so you will need to drop the sugar by about a tablespoon (or more) for each piece of fruit you add.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207837/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Evangeline Mantzioris is affiliated with Alliance for Research in Nutrition, Exercise and Activity (ARENA) at the University of South Australia. Evangeline Mantzioris has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, and has been appointed to the National Health and Medical Research Council Dietary Guideline Expert Committee.</span></em></p>There are lots of other ingredients you can use to make foods puff and rise, give your meal a rich taste, or to hold together ingredients.Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2063872023-05-29T21:26:04Z2023-05-29T21:26:04ZThe new Grocery Code of Conduct should benefit both Canadians and the food industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528659/original/file-20230526-24621-aq8k4m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C8%2C5590%2C3724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canada's first-ever grocery code of conduct is supposed to enhance transparency, predictability and fair dealing within supply chains.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The cost of filling your grocery cart in Canada increased by <a href="https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/sites/agri-food/Canada%27s%20Food%20Price%20Report%202023_Digital.pdf">10.3 per cent in 2022</a> and is projected to increase by an additional <a href="https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/canada-s-food-price-report-2023.html">five to seven per cent this year</a>. </p>
<p>What is particularly troubling about the food crisis is that the high prices seem to be impacting <a href="https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/sites/agri-food/Canada%27s%20Food%20Price%20Report%202023_Digital.pdf">all food product categories</a>, suggesting the problem is affecting the entire food supply chain rather than specific items or sub-sectors.</p>
<p>In response to this and other concerns, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food initiated studies on <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/AGRI/Work">Food Price Inflation and Global Food Insecurity</a>, which included two separate meetings with the heads of four of the five major Canadian grocery retailers.</p>
<p>A result of the meetings — and a cause for cautious optimism — is the decision to develop a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/agriculture-agri-food/news/2023/01/joint-statement-on-the-development-of-canadas-first-ever-grocery-code-of-conduct.html">grocery code of conduct</a> to address issues in the food supply chain.</p>
<p>The code is meant to address long-standing issues in the industry, including <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9590038/grocery-code-of-conduct-draft-canada">grocery retailers imposing large fee increases on suppliers without notice</a>.</p>
<h2>Standing committee meetings</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/AGRI/meeting-52/notice">On March 8</a>, the presidents of Loblaw, Metro and Empire (Sobeys) were summoned to Ottawa to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/grocery-hearings-inflation-1.6770378">testify before the House of Commons agriculture committee</a>. The president of Walmart Canada appeared before the committee <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/AGRI/meeting-55/notice">on March 23</a>. </p>
<p>In both meetings, the <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/grocery-ceos-deny-accusations-that-food-price-inflation-is-driven-by-profit-mongering-1.6303774">executives indicated that food price inflation</a> was due to problems with global supply chains in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic: commodity price increases, labour shortages, transportation bottlenecks, weather disasters and higher energy costs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two middle-aged white men wearing glasses and navy suits talk to one another while seated from behind a desk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528652/original/file-20230526-27-r22ygy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528652/original/file-20230526-27-r22ygy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528652/original/file-20230526-27-r22ygy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528652/original/file-20230526-27-r22ygy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528652/original/file-20230526-27-r22ygy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528652/original/file-20230526-27-r22ygy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528652/original/file-20230526-27-r22ygy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Michael Medline, President and CEO of Empire Company Limited, left, and Galen G. Weston, Chairman and President of Loblaw Companies Limited, wait to appear as witnesses at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food investigating food price inflation in Ottawa on March 8, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To what extent those meetings helped clarify the complex issues affecting grocery supply chains <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2023/03/08/top-grocers-testify-in-ottawa-today-canadians-will-finally-get-to-hear-from-the-ceos.html">appears to be still in debate</a>. But the decision to create a grocery code of conduct could make these meetings worth it in the long run. </p>
<p>The code of conduct is currently being drafted by grocers, suppliers and <a href="https://agriculture.canada.ca/en">Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada</a>, a government department focused on the country’s agriculture and agri-food sector.</p>
<h2>What the new code should include</h2>
<p>The grocery code of conduct <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2023/05/05/we-have-to-do-better-canadas-first-grocery-code-of-conduct-a-step-closer.html">is still in development</a>. The draft seems to prioritize <a href="https://financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/canada-proposed-grocery-code-conduct-resolve-disputes-impose-sanctions">resolving disputes</a>, rather than making long-term structural changes to the way the supply chain operates. </p>
<p>But this could change in the future. According to members of the code’s steering committee, it will be possible to amend the code once it’s up for review in 18 months. </p>
<p>As an expert in supply chain management, I have recommendations for future editions of the code to strengthen relationships and performance across the industry. These changes would benefit not only the companies involved, but also Canadian consumers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A meat counter in a grocery store" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528654/original/file-20230526-19-5fqomy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528654/original/file-20230526-19-5fqomy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528654/original/file-20230526-19-5fqomy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528654/original/file-20230526-19-5fqomy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528654/original/file-20230526-19-5fqomy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528654/original/file-20230526-19-5fqomy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528654/original/file-20230526-19-5fqomy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The grocery code of conduct is being drafted by grocers, suppliers and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The ultimate target of the new code should be consumers, while also securing prosperity of the supply chain. To do this, the code should accomplish two things: promoting horizontal competition while also fostering vertical co-operation in the industry. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.monash.edu/business/marketing/marketing-dictionary/h/horizontal-competition">Horizontal competition</a> refers to rivalry between organizations operating at the same level to gain customers — like competing retailers, for example.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6297(199605/06)12:3%3C277::AID-AGR7%3E3.0.CO;2-Y">Vertical co-operation</a> aims to strengthen relationships between companies operating at various stages of the supply chain. Its objective is to improve collaboration in areas including production, distribution, information sharing and pricing.</p>
<h2>Supply chain management practices</h2>
<p>Supply chain management practices could be used to foster both horizontal competition and vertical co-operation in the supply chain. </p>
<p>Extensive academic research has documented the successful implementation of these practices across industries <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/13598540710742527">including, but not limited to, groceries</a>. </p>
<p>There is equally ample evidence highlighting the benefits of these management practices in areas such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09537280801916157">supply and logistics costs</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/01443570710720595">delivery reliability</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-05-2020-0194">sustainability</a>.</p>
<p>The research recommends introducing collaborative practices that go beyond the dispute-resolution measures outlined in the code draft. These practices include:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-03-2014-0039">Collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR)</a>. This program aims to improve coordination across the supply chain to reduce uncertainty, improve responsiveness, and minimize costs such as bloated inventories and expedited orders. CPFR is highly applicable to the grocery supply chain. In fact, it was initially developed by <a href="https://www.supermarketnews.com/archive/wal-mart-cpfr-pilot-charts-course-stock-growth">Walmart in 1996</a> and is currently used by <a href="https://www.doingbusinesswithlcbo.com/content/dbwl/en/basepage/home/new-supplier-agent/demo/CPFR.html">the LCBO</a> and other consumer goods companies in Canada. The code should encourage the adoption of specific CPFR practices, such as joint forecasting between buyers and suppliers.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0053(200011/12)12:1%3C67::AID-JCAF11%3E3.0.CO;2-0">Target costing</a>. Under this approach, buyers and suppliers work together to reduce costs to guarantee a maximum selling price while protecting margins. As authors <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Lean-Thinking/James-P-Womack/9780743249270">James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones have indicated</a>, this approach requires the “relentless scrutiny of every activity along the value stream.” For this approach to be effective, it must be collaborative and include the fair distribution of responsibility, authority and benefits among supply chain partners.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2012.06.258">Information sharing</a>. Research indicates that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2019.1642530">knowledge exchange yields significant benefits</a> to both buyers and supply networks. The grocery code could facilitate the distribution and exploitation of knowledge, technologies and best practices across the supply chain. These processes would enable <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9597-8">joint problem-solving</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/kpm.304">improve optimization</a> and the ability to cope with variations in supply and demand. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Ultimately, competitive goals should apply to the entire supply chain, rather than to specific stages. It is well-known that squeezing suppliers can, in many instances, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jbl.12265">quickly erode the supply base</a>. These policies can be severely detrimental not only to the whole industry — including buyers — but also to consumers.</p>
<p>What we need is a comprehensive code of conduct that ensures the long-term sustainability of the industry, while also protecting consumers in the event of future supply imbalances.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206387/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Giovani J.C. da Silveira previously received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).</span></em></p>We need a comprehensive code of conduct that ensures the long-term sustainability of the industry, while also protecting consumers in the event of future supply imbalances.Giovani J.C. da Silveira, Professor, Operations and Supply Chain Management, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2060392023-05-24T15:19:06Z2023-05-24T15:19:06ZPrice inflation: five ways stronger UK supply chains can help reduce rising food costs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527826/original/file-20230523-19-ys3t1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C65%2C5462%2C3605&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-truck-hay-bales-agricultural-1789663295">Denis Belitsky/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Annual price inflation has recently fallen below double digits, but food costs are still rising rapidly. <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/latest">Official UK figures show food prices rose by 19.1%</a> in the year to April 2023.</p>
<p>To prevent further increases, the UK needs to face up to the deep and fundamental relationship between the rising cost of food and how it is supplied nationally.</p>
<p>At Downing Street’s recent Farm to Fork summit for the UK food industry, at least <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outcomes-from-the-uk-farm-to-fork-summit/an-update-following-the-uk-farm-to-fork-summit-held-at-10-downing-street-on-16-may-2023#skills-and-sufficient-labour">eight key commitments</a> were made relating to supporting innovation, skills and labour, farming schemes, fair supply chains, exports, water and energy security, and cutting red tape.</p>
<p>These are fair and wise areas to address, but action speaks louder than words. Food producers, retailers and other supply chain actors all have a role to play in <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/TG-08-2017-0050/full/html">shaping policy and practice</a> to improve UK supply chains and reduce food prices.</p>
<h2>Why do we have inflated food prices?</h2>
<p>The UK should not be in this position in 2023. This is part self-inflicted, as well as down to historical events and external influences. In 2022, the Ukraine war caused hikes in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/may/13/why-are-uk-food-prices-still-rocketing-and-when-will-it-stop">gas, wheat and sunflower oil prices</a> due to product unavailability.</p>
<p>More recently though, the root cause of food price inflation is reportedly less event-driven and more business-derived. “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/mar/12/global-greedflation-big-firms-drive-shopping-bills-to-record-highs">Greedflation</a>”, or profiteering by companies, is increasingly being blamed for high prices.</p>
<p>Whatever its cause, the Resolution Foundation thinktank says: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Food price shock is about to overtake the energy price shock as the <a href="https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/food-for-thought/">biggest threat to family finances</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This price inflation also needs to be brought under control. To make this happen, the food supply chain must promote UK food security, which means access to food at affordable prices. But there are at least five fundamental issues that require attention before the government’s latest pledges can be enacted and realised. </p>
<h2>1. Feed, fertiliser and fuel costs</h2>
<p>As Ash Amirahmadi, head of UK dairy company Arla Foods, has <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/arla-fuel-prices-cows-ukraine-b2043926.html">repeatedly pointed out</a>, a major driver for food price rises and wholesale <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/costoflivinginsights/food">food price inflation hitting almost 20%</a> is the rise in feed, fertiliser and fuel costs. Managing these costs where possible within the supply chain, and identifying where government subsidies can be introduced, will contribute to a decrease in food prices.</p>
<h2>2. Retailer profits</h2>
<p>Here in the UK, supermarkets have rigid contracts. During shortages and prices hikes, rising costs can be passed on to consumers. But in a highly price sensitive environment, such as during <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-supermarkets-are-rationing-food-and-how-to-prevent-future-shortages-200557">supply shortages</a>, supermarkets may not want to charge customers more, and so costs are absorbed by farmers and their suppliers instead.</p>
<p>Food retailers, shops and supermarkets have to keep running their businesses. The <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/producerpriceinflation/march2023includingservicesjanuarytomarch2023">prices these companies sell their products for</a> incorporate the costs of production, transport and also additional profits. </p>
<p>Supermarkets such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65312127">Tesco and Sainsbury’s</a> calculate profit margins at an average of between 3.1p and 4.1p in the pound. Releasing at least a penny or two from this margin would enable a reduction in the final cost paid by the consumer. Sainsbury’s says it has spent <a href="https://about.sainsburys.co.uk/news/latest-news/2023/27-04-23-preliminary-results">£560 million keeping prices low </a> over the last two years, but have customers actually seen this in their daily shop? </p>
<h2>3. Wage increases</h2>
<p>Food supply chains are highly interconnected – including the pay element. Workers need <a href="https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates">national minimum wage rises</a> as part of a wholesale improvement to tackle employability and improve job market prospects. These increases also have a positive impact on cost of living concerns, of course. </p>
<p>But labour costs also eat into the profit margins of food retailers and suppliers, and contribute to the total cost of food. Reviewing pay for those in the food sector may be very challenging or simply not possible given cost of living pressures on households at the moment. Employees need and deserve salary increments – but when and by how much should be considered in the overall context of price inflation, alongside manufacturing, logistics and other costs. </p>
<h2>4. Labour shortages</h2>
<p>General labour shortages in the logistics and supply sector are directly affecting the supply of food. There are simply <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/recent-challenges-faced-by-food-and-drink-businesses-and-their-impact-on-prices">not enough drivers, logistics, procurement, shipping and warehousing staff nationally</a> to meet existing – let alone future – demand. Finding, funding and <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/37f898e5-7580-44a2-a204-72f9dc72b085">facilitating workforce skills development</a> to get the chain moving is critical to supply chain performance and overall costs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Red truck cab driving along an empty road with grey clouds in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527996/original/file-20230524-25-bqw76h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527996/original/file-20230524-25-bqw76h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527996/original/file-20230524-25-bqw76h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527996/original/file-20230524-25-bqw76h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527996/original/file-20230524-25-bqw76h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527996/original/file-20230524-25-bqw76h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527996/original/file-20230524-25-bqw76h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Labour including drivers to supply food are in short supply in the UK.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/truck-on-highway-301750778">lassedesignen/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Food prices</h2>
<p>Food prices are generally set well in advance, through production planning horizons and futures contracts on perishable food staples. These factor in the forecast cost of energy and fertiliser, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62723567">which have also been rising sharply</a>.</p>
<p>Predictions of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/may/21/inflation-is-on-the-wane-but-a-longed-for-sharp-drop-is-far-from-in-the-bag">inflation reduction in 2023</a> have already been refuted as food prices continue to rise. This highlights the complex set of issues rooted in the engagement, involvement, interests and economic behaviour of chain actors. For the UK, this is enacted on a local level through growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers.</p>
<h2>What are the next steps to promote food security?</h2>
<p>Lack of access to consumer products is not a new phenomenon. Major events such as Brexit and the COVID pandemic have already taken their toll on <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/internationaltrade/articles/earlyinsightsintotheimpactsofthecoronaviruspandemicandeuexitonbusinesssupplychainsintheuk/february2021tofebruary2022">UK supply chains</a>. We are still seeing shortages in many vital products such as <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/02/why-is-world-experiencing-medicine-shortages-and-how-can-the-generics-industry-address-supply-challenges/">medicines</a>, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/semiconductor-strategy-1631bn-for-vital-microchip-sector-faces-criticism-12883968">semiconductors</a>, and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/electric-vehicles-world-enough-lithium-resources/">lithium</a> for batteries – often for the same reasons as the shortages in our food supply chains.</p>
<p>As international conflict, energy and climate crises unfold and continue into the future, food supply chains must work within these constraints to ensure
<a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/TG-08-2017-0050/full/html">food security</a>. Coordinated agreement for change is a must. And market makers such as food producers, distributors and retailers need to consider absorbing more corporate risk, in the form of reduced profits, “for the greater good”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amir Sharif receives funding from the NIHR and has received research grant funding from the UKRI (MRC, Innovate UK) and British Council. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Institute for Leadership and Management and is a Member of the Chartered Management Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kamran Mahroof and Liz Breen do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Change and communication across the food supply chain will help stop prices from rising further.Amir M. Sharif, Dean of the Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences and Professor of Circular Economy, University of BradfordKamran Mahroof, Associate Professor, Supply Chain Analytics, University of BradfordLiz Breen, Director of the Digital Health Enterprise Zone (DHEZ), University of Bradford, Professor of Health Service Operations, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2058702023-05-19T15:10:08Z2023-05-19T15:10:08ZFood prices are rising but farmers’ profits are still small – here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527016/original/file-20230518-21-44zymb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=74%2C45%2C3730%2C2075&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Farmers need a fair deal.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rear-view-female-farmer-box-fresh-1283971126">StockMediaSeller/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 60 food industry representatives came together at <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2023-05-16/families-told-to-accept-higher-food-prices-amid-no10-farm-to-fork-summit">a recent Downing Street summit</a> to discuss the UK food crisis. It was billed as an opportunity to brainstorm solutions to rising food prices, falling production and uncertainty over trade agreements with overseas partners. </p>
<p>Reports from attendees after the event have been mixed, with many seeing it only as <a href="https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2023/05/17/Food-industry-reacts-to-Rishi-Sunak-summit">a first step forward</a>. There is much more work to do to tackle rising food prices.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outcomes-from-the-uk-farm-to-fork-summit/an-update-following-the-uk-farm-to-fork-summit-held-at-10-downing-street-on-16-may-2023">report issued by the government</a> after the event showcased long-term government investment in infrastructure and the environment, <a href="https://www.nfuonline.com/media-centre/releases/nfu-response-to-farm-to-fork-summit/">which was welcomed by the National Union of Farmers</a>. </p>
<p>But it only had one short section on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outcomes-from-the-uk-farm-to-fork-summit/an-update-following-the-uk-farm-to-fork-summit-held-at-10-downing-street-on-16-may-2023#fairer-supply-chains:%7E:text=4.%204%3A%20Fairer%20supply%20chains">fair supply chains</a> – and that didn’t address the underlying problems. My research into unseen food supply costs shows transparency and fairness is vital to tackling current food-related challenges in the UK. </p>
<p>The UK needs healthy, nutritious and affordable food provided in a way that is fair to everyone involved. In a cost of living crisis, the media spotlight is going to fall on those in food poverty and on rising food prices. </p>
<p>These are crucial issues to address, but to have any real impact, the discussion must extend even further to cover the systemic unfairness throughout the UK food supply system. </p>
<p>Our food system is dominated by supermarket-style retailing and mass catering, which deal in bulk orders, food storage and big premises, making it very expensive to run with <a href="https://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/the-supermarket-system-balanced-on-a-knife-edge/">surprisingly few economies of scale</a>. </p>
<p>The overheads – the everyday expenses of these businesses, such as paying for staff and electricity – are huge. The profits returned to producers are minimal as a result. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bar charts showing the different income methods and costs versus profits for retailers, producers and farmers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/the-supermarket-system-balanced-on-a-knife-edge/">The Food Research Collaboration</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.sustainweb.org/news/nov22-unpicking-food-prices-new/">I carried out</a> research on food costs and pricing for <a href="https://www.sustainweb.org/about/">Sustain</a>, an organisation that represents the farming and fishing industries. </p>
<p>I found that out of the entire price you might pay for one grocery item, around 98%-99% goes to production and overheads for intermediary companies such as processors and distributors, and then retailers. Farmers and growers are left with the crumbs – sometimes as little as 1p of profit for each item of produce.</p>
<h2>Discounts along the food supply chain</h2>
<p>However many schemes the government has, the day-to-day survival of UK food businesses depends on a fair return on the work done to get food from farm to fork. But consumers want lower prices and to achieve this, buyers from retailers, catering and public procurement negotiate discounts. </p>
<p>As a director of a fresh produce distributor I interviewed for <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/publications/accounting-performance-measurement-and-fairness-in-uk-fresh-produ">an earlier project</a> said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Everyone wants the prices that come from trading [haggling] but the quality that comes from long-term relationships. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>When buying and selling food, organisations along the supply chain need some level of surplus for contingencies and reinvestment. <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/publications/discounts-as-a-barrier-to-change-in-our-food-systems">Expectations of discounts</a> from other parts of the chain, such as retailers, takes money away from those at the beginning: the farmers, growers and processors.</p>
<p>Along with negotiations for volume discounts, my research shows that these suppliers are often paid a price based on just the costs of producing the item, also called the marginal costs. This means seeds, feed, fertilisers and manual labour in the case of farmers, or ingredients, processing costs and packaging for manufacturers.</p>
<p>The trouble is, the factors that go into marginal costs – costs once overheads are covered – aren’t equal across the chain. For a supermarket, marginal cost includes all the expenses of running a store, <a href="https://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/the-supermarket-system-balanced-on-a-knife-edge/">which is typically over 90% of their costs</a>. So they set prices which enable them to cover that amount. </p>
<p>Other members of the supply chain such as farmers and growers, or bakers, class about <a href="https://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/the-supermarket-system-balanced-on-a-knife-edge/">70% of their costs as overheads</a>, leaving marginal costs of around 30%. A system where one party gets to cover over 90% of their costs while another can only cover 30% is not fair. </p>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/food-statistics-pocketbook/food-statistics-in-your-pocket">4 million people are employed</a> in the food and drink industry in the UK – around 13% of the UK workforce. Many of these people working for food businesses <a href="https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/one-five-food-workers-relying-29932073">need help to put food on the table</a> because of the cost of living crisis. </p>
<p>But their low wages stem from things like discounting and marginal cost negotiations by companies across the supply chain. </p>
<p>Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium (<a href="https://www.brc.org.uk/">BRC</a>), <a href="https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/supermarkets/supermarkets-face-competition-probe-after-profiteering-claims/679207.article">has said</a> retailers “are investing heavily in lower prices for the future”, expanding affordable food ranges, locking the price of many essentials and offering support to vulnerable groups.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman choosing vegetables from a shop display." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lucky Business/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The need for transparency</h2>
<p>Calls for greater transparency in food supply chains were implicit in the report from the recent government forum, but there are no explicit plans to do this. This would take government action at national and international level. </p>
<p>For example, when conducting my research, I found a lot of <a href="https://www.farmbusinesssurvey.co.uk/">detailed data was available</a> on the cost of production for food by farmers and growers due to a long post-second world war history of <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/publications/stocks-of-knowledge-simplification-and-unintended-consequences-th">creating benchmarks for production and fostering better business practices</a>. But not as much data was available from the retail side of the market. </p>
<p>While many listed companies have to segment their financial information, <a href="https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/results-reports-and-presentations">sales categories are often only broken down into</a> “Fuel” and “Everything Else”. A BRC spokesperson said: “This information is commercially sensitive, if it was published it would have an adverse impact on competition, the very thing which has kept prices lower for consumers.”</p>
<p>But even if it is commercially sensitive information, the current situation hardly leads to transparency about costs and profits across the supply chain. </p>
<p>The dairy and other regulations proposed in the Agriculture Act 2020 and highlighted by the government following its recent Farm to Fork forum are codes of practice, not fundamental regulations or legal requirements. Unless stronger rules are created to tackle the underlying unfairness of food supply chains, the overall picture will not change in a way that benefits everyone, including consumers and producers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205870/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Jack has written unfunded reports for the Food Research Collaboration and Sustain. She receives research-consultancy funding from the ECR Retail Loss Group for projects on food waste and other retail accounting practices.</span></em></p>Food supply chain discounts are causing issues for UK producers and processors.Lisa Jack, Professor of Accounting, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2044522023-04-30T13:12:17Z2023-04-30T13:12:17ZBasic income could help create a more just and sustainable food system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523025/original/file-20230426-1071-apkuk4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=398%2C0%2C3627%2C2275&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A farmer at the Roots Community Food Centre urban farm in northwestern Ontario harvests Gete-Okosomin squash in summer 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(C. Levkoe)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canada’s food system is <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/62f0014m/62f0014m2022014-eng.htm">experiencing ongoing stresses</a> from supply chain disruptions, price inflation and extreme weather events. Canadians are feeling the effects of these stresses: in 2021, nearly 16 per cent of provincial households <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Household-Food-Insecurity-in-Canada-2021-PROOF.pdf">experienced some degree of food insecurity</a>.</p>
<p>Federal programs such as the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application.html#h2.03">Canada Emergency Response Benefit</a> and the recent <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2023/04/minister-fraser-highlights-budget-2023-commitments-to-provide-a-new-grocery-rebate-for-canadians.html">grocery store rebate</a> point to the impact direct government income interventions can have on ensuring equity in times of emergency, including access to food. </p>
<p>Some have discussed <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-ottawas-grocery-rebate-signal-a-shift-to-a-broader-guaranteed-basic-income-203132">the new grocery store rebate</a>, which is to be delivered through the GST/HST tax credit system, as closely aligned with proposals for a basic income guarantee. But a basic income guarantee would involve regular payments, not just a one-time rebate.</p>
<p>A basic income guarantee could play a key role in <a href="https://www.northernpolicy.ca/bigandfoodinsecurity">reducing individual and household food insecurity</a> among society’s most vulnerable and ensure everyone can meet their basic needs with dignity. </p>
<h2>What the research says</h2>
<p>There is general support among basic income advocates in Canada for implementing <a href="https://basicincomecoalition.ca/en/what-is-basic-income/basic-income-we-want-for-canada/">income-tested basic income</a>, which would involve delivering cash transfers to individuals whose incomes fall below a certain threshold.</p>
<p>As sustainable food systems experts, we suggest that a basic income guarantee could not only be an important tool for addressing economic access to food, but also in supporting sustainability across the food system. </p>
<p>We draw on our research with <a href="https://basicincomecoalition.ca/en/about-coalition/">Coalition Canada</a>, a network of basic income advocacy groups. Our research brought interdisciplinary teams of scholars and practitioners together to <a href="https://basicincomecoalition.ca/en/actions/case-for-basic-income/">develop a series of case studies</a> examining basic income through the lens of different sectors. These sectors include the arts, finance, health, municipalities and the criminal justice system. </p>
<p>Our work focused on the <a href="https://basicincomecoalition.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1.-Case-for-agriculture-March-3-2023.pdf">agriculture</a> and <a href="https://basicincomecoalition.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Fisheries-basic-income-case-formatted-July-2022.pdf">fisheries</a> sectors and involved members of the National Farmers Union, Union Paysanne, Ecotrust Canada and the Native Fishing Alliance.</p>
<p>Overall, our research suggests that a basic income guarantee could have a significant impact on the <a href="https://www.nfu.ca/policy/towards-a-national-agricultural-labour-strategy-that-works-for-farmers-and-farm-workers/">economic uncertainties faced by farmers</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-005-6333-7">and fishing communities</a> in Canada. It could also contribute to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/local-food-is-not-enough-we-need-a-sustainable-transition-in-the-food-system-201991">more just sustainable transition in the food system</a>.</p>
<h2>Reducing economic uncertainty</h2>
<p>One potential impact of a basic income guarantee would be reducing economic uncertainty for the most vulnerable agriculture and fisheries workers.</p>
<p>People employed in food and fish processing and as farm labourers are especially vulnerable to seasonal unemployment, low wages, uneven employee benefits and unsafe working conditions, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.736680">high rates of occupational injury and illness</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A combine harvesting a wheat crop in a field." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A guaranteed basic income could have a significant impact on the economic uncertainties faced by those working in the agriculture and fishing industries in Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A basic income guarantee could offer individuals more financial security and control over their employment choices, and thus address the racialized, classed and gendered <a href="https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v9i2.521">disparities prominent in food systems labour</a>. </p>
<h2>Supporting new fishers and farmers</h2>
<p>A second potential impact of a basic income guarantee could be supporting new entrants in agriculture and fisheries. Across Canada, <a href="https://atlanticfisherman.com/the-greying-of-the-fleet/">the commercial fishing</a> and <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220511/dq220511a-eng.htm">farming workforces</a> are aging. </p>
<p>Supporting new farmers and fishers, especially those using more socially and ecologically sustainable practices, is an essential part of building a more resilient food system. </p>
<p><a href="https://foodsecurecanada.org/community-networks/new-farmers-fishers">New entrants face substantial barriers</a> related to high entry costs, such as access to land and equipment or purchasing a boat and fishing license, combined with uncertain and fluctuating prices for their goods. </p>
<p>While a basic income guarantee alone can’t address these challenges, it could provide greater <a href="https://www.nfu.ca/policy/an-income-stability-supplement-for-new-farmers/">economic stability for new farmers</a> and fishers when they invest in infrastructure and training.</p>
<h2>Preparing for future stressors</h2>
<p>A basic income guarantee could also be a step towards building resilience against ongoing stressors, like the climate crisis and extreme weather events, along with preparing for future emergencies. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that those with more stable incomes and flexible work arrangements are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.614368">better able to adapt to unexpected shocks</a>. For example, during the pandemic, boat-to-fork seafood businesses better weathered seafood chain disruptions because of their adaptable supply chain configurations and proximity to consumers. </p>
<p>At present, small-scale farmers and fishers tend to receive the least support, because most <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.539214">subsidies go to larger industrial enterprises</a>. However, these small-scale producers play a crucial role in <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-future-of-food-is-ready-for-harvest-103050">supplying food for regional and local markets</a>, which can serve as important buffers during times of crisis and reduce the stress of long-distance supply chains.</p>
<p>Establishing a basic income guarantee would be a proactive step in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2015.1004220">supporting equitable livelihoods</a> for small-scale farmers and fishers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People stand on the deck of a small fishing boat that is floating in the harbour of a body of water." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indigenous fishermen leave the harbour in Saulnierville, N.S. in October 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Next steps for the food system</h2>
<p>Although a basic income guarantee has the potential to bring about many positive impacts, it shouldn’t be a substitute for existing government-funded agricultural and fisheries programs such as grants, public research, and training and skills development programs.</p>
<p>A basic income guarantee also shouldn’t replace contributory programs, like the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-fishing.html">Employment Insurance fishing benefits</a>. A basic income guarantee would offer support to fishers whose earnings are too low to qualify for employment insurance, or who are unable to go out on the water.</p>
<p>Further research and policy efforts will be crucial for gaining a fuller understanding of how a basic income guarantee might intersect with other financial supports like insurance, loans and climate funding.</p>
<p>Additional research will also be crucial for understanding how a basic income guarantee could support migrant workers brought in through the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/temporary-foreign-worker.html">Temporary Foreign Worker program</a>. Migrant workers are an essential part of fisheries processing and meat and horticulture production.</p>
<p>There is also a need to think systematically and holistically about the role of basic income across the food system. The only way to accomplish this is with further input from farming and fishing communities and Indigenous communities in collaboration with anti-poverty, food sovereignty and food justice organizations.</p>
<p>We believe a basic income guarantee is a promising tool for contributing to sustainability and justice across agriculture and fishing sectors, while encouraging the development of cross-sectoral networks, research and policy agendas.</p>
<p><em>The authors would like to acknowledge the author teams of Coalition Canada’s Case for Basic Income Series for their contributions to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204452/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristen Lowitt receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Z. Levkoe receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Government of Ontario.</span></em></p>A guaranteed basic income is a promising tool for contributing to sustainability and justice across agriculture and fishing sectors.Kristen Lowitt, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies, Queen's University, OntarioCharles Z. Levkoe, Canada Research Chair in Equitable and Sustainable Food Systems, Lakehead UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2032192023-04-06T18:12:34Z2023-04-06T18:12:34ZThe Canadian government should make the grocery rebate permanent to combat the affordability crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519424/original/file-20230404-28-gmrcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=117%2C338%2C8414%2C5436&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The federal government's grocery rebate will provide one-time monetary relief to 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians and families.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the most anticipated measures of the <a href="https://www.budget.canada.ca/2023/home-accueil-en.html">2023 Canadian federal budget</a> is the <a href="https://www.budget.canada.ca/2023/report-rapport/chap1-en.html#m1">grocery rebate</a>. The rebate is designed to provide relief to millions of Canadians who are struggling with <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/62f0014m/62f0014m2022014-eng.htm">rising grocery prices</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.42.10.04">food insecurity</a>.</p>
<p>It is a temporary cash transfer of up to $467 for eligible couples with two children, $234 for single Canadians without children and $225 for seniors.</p>
<p>The rebate will cover 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians and families who currently receive the quarterly <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/rc4210/gst-hst-credit.html">Goods and Services/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) Credit</a>, which is based on recipients’ net income from their previous tax filing.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-budget-2023-grocery-rebate-is-the-right-direction-on-food-insecurity-but-theres-a-long-road-ahead-201926">Federal budget 2023: Grocery rebate is the right direction on food insecurity, but there's a long road ahead</a>
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<p>As I argued in an <a href="https://theconversation.com/better-income-assistance-programs-are-needed-to-help-people-with-rising-cost-of-living-190216">earlier <em>The Conversation Canada</em> article</a>, the GST/HST credit is the only program that provides targeted assistance to Canada’s low-income population. It provides a maximum annual benefit of $306 per adult and eligible dependant, plus $161 per child under 19 or for single individuals, and is paid quarterly. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A white middle-aged woman in a green suit gestured while speaking from behind a podium. A crowd of people are seated behind her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519406/original/file-20230404-16-r8g1qw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519406/original/file-20230404-16-r8g1qw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519406/original/file-20230404-16-r8g1qw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519406/original/file-20230404-16-r8g1qw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519406/original/file-20230404-16-r8g1qw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519406/original/file-20230404-16-r8g1qw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519406/original/file-20230404-16-r8g1qw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland delivers the federal budget in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 28, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Gradual policy changes</h2>
<p>The GST/HST credit is an example of policy incrementalism — gradual changes that take place over time. The <a href="https://www.budget.canada.ca/pdfarch/1986-sd-eng.pdf">original refundable sales tax credit</a> was introduced in 1986 to help about four million families and individuals. It paid $50 per adult and $25 per child for incomes below $15,000 annually.</p>
<p>Canada has a history of similar incremental policies. 1967 saw the introduction of refundable credits for seniors in the form of the <a href="https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/pensions/cpp-timeline_e.html">Guaranteed Income Supplement</a>. 1978 saw the introduction of the <a href="https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/the-introduction-and-evolution-of-child-benefits-in-canada">Child Tax Benefit</a> — which eventually became the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/canada-child-benefit-overview.html">Canada Child Benefit</a> in 2016.</p>
<p>What distinguished the sales tax credit (later renamed the GST credit) is its universality. All residents of Canada over the age of 19 are eligible for the credit, provided their family or individual income is sufficiently low.</p>
<p>Policy advocates often dismiss incremental policies as too modest to make a difference, and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/grocery-rebate-manitoba-1.6792638">the grocery rebate is no exception to this criticism</a>. </p>
<p>The often suggested alternative is the great <a href="https://ppforum.ca/articles/canadas-next-leap-of-faith/">leap of faith</a> to a fully funded and unconstrained new policy initiative, but even momentous advances, <a href="https://www.cjhp-online.ca/index.php/cjhp/article/view/498/492">such as medicare, proceeded in stages</a>. Canadian medicare began with universal medical coverage in Saskatchewan in 1962, before spreading to the other provinces over the rest of the decade under federal legislation.</p>
<p>History teaches us that policies requiring significant government funding usually start out as a smaller, pared-down version first. A limited and less expensive policy allows the government to assess the popularity and public willingness to pay for expansion of the policy.</p>
<p>The new <a href="https://www.budget.canada.ca/2023/report-rapport/chap2-en.html#m15">Canadian Dental Benefit</a> is limited to $1,300 over two years for children under 12 in families with incomes under $90,000. The expected national pharmacare program is likely to follow a similar path of modest beginnings.</p>
<h2>Basic income</h2>
<p>The GST/HST credit fits within a grander scheme for a basic income in Canada. The <a href="https://basicincomecanada.org/what_is_basic_income/">basic income movement in Canada</a> argues for an unconditional cash transfer to enable everyone to meet their basic needs, participate in society and live with dignity, regardless of work status. That goal can be met with a universal taxable benefit.</p>
<p>Alternatively, as is most often proposed in the North American context, the goal could also be met with a benefit that is reduced as income grows, so that only lower-income families and individuals are recipients. The GST/HST credit meets these requirements. </p>
<p>This approach has a significant policy history as a <a href="https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/negative-income-tax-explained">negative income tax</a> or guaranteed annual income. The essence of this approach is to provide a maximum benefit for those with lowest incomes, a benefit that is reduced as income increases, and a break-even level of income beyond which no benefits are paid.</p>
<p>Canada has run basic annual income pilot programs before — in <a href="https://www.umanitoba.ca/media/Simpson_Mason_Godwin_2017.pdf">Manitoba in the 1970s</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-cancellation-of-ontarios-basic-income-project-is-a-tragedy-101555">recently in Ontario from 2017-18</a> — but neither resulted in a basic income initiative.</p>
<p>Instead, we have witnessed significant incremental policy developments, primarily for seniors and families with children, that leave gaps for couples and individuals without children.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young Black woman looks at produce while leaning on a shopping cart. She is holding a pen and a piece of paper." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519425/original/file-20230404-26-gmrcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519425/original/file-20230404-26-gmrcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519425/original/file-20230404-26-gmrcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519425/original/file-20230404-26-gmrcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519425/original/file-20230404-26-gmrcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519425/original/file-20230404-26-gmrcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519425/original/file-20230404-26-gmrcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rebate is designed to provide relief to millions of Canadians who are struggling with rising food prices.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Making the rebate permanent</h2>
<p>The GST/HST credit rectifies policy gaps for couples and individuals without children, but is still very modest. The grocery rebate could be made permanent by doubling the size of the GST/HST credit. </p>
<p>Doubling the GST/HST credit would result in a refundable annual benefit of $1,868 for a family of four or $936 for an individual. This would still only amount to a modest four to five per cent of <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110006601">Canada’s official poverty measure</a>.</p>
<p>Permanently doubling the GST/HST would cost the government about $5 billion. That’s in the range of other program initiatives like the dental and pharmacare plans. It would signal the government’s intent to address poverty and achieve <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/results/poverty-reduction.html#h2">Canada’s official poverty goals</a>. </p>
<p>Affordability encompasses the rising cost of basic needs and its impact on lower-income Canadians. The <a href="https://www.budget.canada.ca/2023/report-rapport/chap1-en.html">2023 budget</a> addresses these concerns in terms of child care, junk fees, predatory lending, the right to repair and housing. </p>
<p>It is difficult to see how these measures, or <a href="https://theconversation.com/better-income-assistance-programs-are-needed-to-help-people-with-rising-cost-of-living-190216">others taken by the provinces and territories</a>, will have significant and immediate effects on Canadians like the grocery rebate will. In addition, only some of these measures target basic needs and those least able to meet them.</p>
<p>The main weapon against the rising cost of living <a href="https://www.bankofcanada.ca/core-functions/monetary-policy/">continues to be monetary policy</a>. This leaves income assistance as the primary way to protect those less fortunate and the GST/HST credit as the best universal lever available.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203219/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wayne Simpson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The federal government should make the grocery rebate permanent by adding it to the GST/HST credit.Wayne Simpson, Professor, Department of Economics, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2018192023-03-14T16:48:15Z2023-03-14T16:48:15ZInflation is proving particularly stubborn – but jitters over banking failures, softening economy complicate Fed rate decision<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515231/original/file-20230314-26-e4rlzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C71%2C5964%2C3871&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fed Chair Jerome Powell has a tricky job in balancing inflation fears with recession fears.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/FederalReservePowellCongress/c35f7c0a9abc49819a4ce60814c891d1/photo?Query=jerome%20powell&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1996&currentItemNo=11">AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Federal Reserve is facing a rather sticky problem. Despite its best efforts over the past year, inflation is stubbornly refusing to head south with any urgency to a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/20/the-federal-reserves-2percent-inflation-targeting-policy-explained.html">target of 2%</a>.</p>
<p>Rather, the inflation report released on March 14, 2023, shows <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">consumer prices rose 0.4% in February</a>, meaning the year-over-year increase is now at 6% – which is <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL#0">only a little lower than in January</a>.</p>
<p>So, what do you do if you are a member of the rate-setting <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy.htm">Federal Open Market Committee</a> meeting March 21-22 to set the U.S. economy’s interest rates?</p>
<p>The inclination based on the Consumer Price Index data alone may be to go for broke and aggressively raise rates in a bid to tame the inflationary beast. But while the inflation report may be the last major data release before the rate-setting meeting, it is far from being the only information that central bankers will be chewing over. </p>
<p>And economic news from elsewhere – along with jitters from a market already rather spooked by two recent bank failures – may steady the Fed’s hand. In short, monetary policymakers may opt to go with what the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-rise-after-bank-rout-cpi-data-awaited-2023-03-14/">market has already seemingly factored in</a>: an increase of 0.25-0.5 percentage point.</p>
<p>Here’s why.</p>
<p>While it is true that inflation is proving remarkably stubborn – and a robust March job report may have put further pressure on the Fed – digging into the latest CPI data <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">shows some signs</a> that inflation is beginning to wane.</p>
<p>Energy prices fell 0.6% in February, after increasing 0.2% the month before. This is a good indication that fuel prices are not out of control despite the twin pressures of extreme weather in the U.S. and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Food prices in February continued to climb, by 0.4% – but here, again, there were glimmers of good news in that meat, fish and egg prices had softened.</p>
<p>Although the latest consumer price report isn’t entirely what the Fed would have wanted to read – it does underline just how difficult the battle against inflation is – there doesn’t appear to be enough in it to warrant an aggressive hike in rates. Certainly it might be seen as risky to move to a benchmark higher than what the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-rise-after-bank-rout-cpi-data-awaited-2023-03-14/">market has already factored in</a>. So, I think a quarter point increase is the most likely scenario when Fed rate-setters meet later this month – but certainly no more than a half point hike at most.</p>
<p>This is especially true given that there are signs that the U.S. economy is softening. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics’ <a href="https://www.bls.gov/jlt/">Job Openings and Labor Turnover</a> survey indicates that fewer businesses are looking as aggressively for labor as they once were. In addition, there have been some major <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/for-laid-off-tech-workers-seattle-job-market-is-no-longer-quite-so-friendly/">rounds of layoffs</a> in the tech sector. Housing has also slowed amid rising mortgage rates and falling prices. And then there was the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank – <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-svb-and-signature-bank-failed-so-fast-and-the-us-banking-crisis-isnt-over-yet-201737">caused in part</a> by the Fed’s repeated hikes in its base rate.</p>
<p>This all points to “caution” being the watchword when it comes to the next interest rate decision. The market has priced in a moderate increase in the Fed’s benchmark rate; anything too aggressive has the potential to come as a shock and send stock markets tumbling.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201819/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Decker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The latest consumer prices report shows cost of living is still rising far above the Fed’s target. But don’t expect monetary policymakers to aggressively hike rates.Christopher Decker, Professor of Economics, University of Nebraska OmahaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2005412023-03-08T21:31:47Z2023-03-08T21:31:47ZFood prices are not the only obstacle to achieving food security: Root causes include systemic barriers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514290/original/file-20230308-1298-7pgly0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=206%2C0%2C5775%2C3889&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A change in food prices might immediately address the lack of economic access to food but will not address the root causes of food insecurity.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/food-prices-are-not-the-only-obstacle-to-achieving-food-security--root-causes-include-systemic-barriers" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Increasing food prices and stagnant incomes have been identified as <a href="https://foodsecurecanada.org/sustainable-consumption-for-all">major obstacles to achieving food security</a>. About <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/resource/household-food-insecurity-in-canada-2021/">one in six, or 15.9 per cent, of households in Canada experience food insecurity</a>. </p>
<p>Economic barriers like food prices are not the only obstacles to food security. Our study, published by <a href="https://foodsecurecanada.org/resources-news/news-media/research-report-sustainable-consumption-all-revisiting-accessibility">Food Secure Canada</a>, outlines that systemic barriers like colonialism, racism and other systems of injustice are among the root causes of food insecurity in Canada. </p>
<p>According to the
<a href="https://www.fao.org/3/y7352e/y7352e00.htm#TopOfPage">Food and Agriculture Organization</a> of the United Nations, food security requires economic, physical and social access to food. </p>
<p><em>Economic</em> access involves factors such as income, poverty and food affordability. <em>Physical</em> access is related to infrastructure and facilities like roads and transportation. <em>Social</em> access focuses on ensuring people have access to all the necessary resources within society for nutritious and culturally appropriate foods. Food insecurity happens if any of these paths fail.</p>
<h2>The interlinked barriers to food security</h2>
<p>Our research reveals three major barriers to accessing food: </p>
<ul>
<li>affordability </li>
<li>policies that perpetuate wealth and income disparity, and </li>
<li>systemic forms of discrimination like colonialism and racism. </li>
</ul>
<p>The findings demonstrate that those living with a low income demand long-term solutions that comprehensively address all forms of food access. </p>
<p>Our study identified affordability as the main barrier to food access. The <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230221/dq230221a-eng.htm">Consumer Price Index</a> shows that food prices have increased by 10.4 per cent in 2022. Similarly, <a href="https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/sites/agri-food/Canada%27s%20Food%20Price%20Report%202023_Digital.pdf">Canada’s Food Price Report in 2023</a> indicates that food prices remain a major concern for Canadians, increasingly putting pressure on household food security. </p>
<p>Income inequality in Canada has increased <a href="https://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/caninequality-aspx/#:%7E:text=Key%20Messages-,Income%20inequality%20in%20Canada%20has%20increased%20over%20the%20past%2020,income%20Canadians%20also%20lost%20share">over the past 20 years</a>. The <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/benefits/apply-for-cerb-with-cra.html">Canada Emergency Response Benefit</a> (CERB) is a policy targeted at reducing the effects of job disruption during the pandemic. For many <a href="https://hungercount.foodbankscanada.ca/assets/docs/FoodBanks_HungerCount_EN_2021.pdf">food activists</a>, CERB is an example of how a <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220713/dq220713d-eng.htm">basic income measure can address income inequality</a>. <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/resource/household-food-insecurity-in-canada-2021/">Recent statistics</a>, however, show that it was ineffective in improving food security for those receiving the benefit.</p>
<p>This suggests that future policies need to better address income disparities. Policies also need to address why certain groups — like Indigenous people living off reserves, recent immigrants and people with disabilities — are consistently among <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/poverty-reduction/backgrounder.html#h2.4">those who are living with low incomes</a> compared to other groups. </p>
<h2>Discrimination, racism and colonialism</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Canadian Wet'suwet'en indigenous first nation people fishing salmon by waterfall of Moricetown canyon, British Columbia." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514287/original/file-20230308-26-j0wigj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514287/original/file-20230308-26-j0wigj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514287/original/file-20230308-26-j0wigj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514287/original/file-20230308-26-j0wigj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514287/original/file-20230308-26-j0wigj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514287/original/file-20230308-26-j0wigj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514287/original/file-20230308-26-j0wigj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indigenous communities face challenges in maintaining practices like hunting and fishing, which are necessary for obtaining culturally appropriate food.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Various systems of discrimination such as racism and colonialism furthermore impact access to food. The highest percentage of <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/resource/household-food-insecurity-in-canada-2021/">individuals living in food-insecure households</a> in Canada are Indigenous Peoples (30.7 per cent), Arab/West Asian (27.6 per cent) and Black (22.4 per cent). Our study also highlights that racism and colonialism significantly shape the relationship that Black, Indigenous and people of colour have with food. A study participant stated that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Colonialism has an ongoing impact on how we view food, portions, and our relationships with food that needs to be challenged in order to move towards sustainable consumption.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://foodsecurecanada.org/residential-schools-and-using-food-weapon">Historic and ongoing colonialism</a> has separated Indigenous Peoples from their land and food systems. This created significant barriers to accessing foods integral to Indigenous health and well-being. Indigenous communities also face challenges in maintaining practices like hunting and fishing, which are necessary for obtaining culturally appropriate food. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-babies-going-hungry-in-a-food-rich-nation-like-canada-165789">Why are babies going hungry in a food-rich nation like Canada?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In addition, our study found that community initiatives led by Indigenous, Black and people of colour face barriers to receiving grants and funding due to the eurocentric structures and processes included in the application and reporting processes. This limits the number of culturally or heritage-specific programs that organizations can offer to their communities.</p>
<h2>A road map towards food security for all</h2>
<p>A drop in food prices might immediately address the lack of economic access to food but will not address the root causes of food insecurity. Addressing systemic barriers is vital to ensure economic, physical and social access to food for all people, at all times. These three types of food access are interconnected. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="man standing in supermarket choosing food" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514289/original/file-20230308-24-tblgx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514289/original/file-20230308-24-tblgx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514289/original/file-20230308-24-tblgx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514289/original/file-20230308-24-tblgx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514289/original/file-20230308-24-tblgx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514289/original/file-20230308-24-tblgx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514289/original/file-20230308-24-tblgx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Addressing systemic barriers is vital to ensure economic, physical and social access to food for all people, at all times.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Participants in our study highlighted some initiatives that are a step in the right direction. For instance, in 2021 the City of Toronto approved the <a href="https://www.bfstoronto.ca/bfs-plan">Toronto Black Food Sovereignty Plan</a>. This is a community-led, five-year program focused on addressing and creating long-term solutions to food insecurity among Black Torontonians. </p>
<p>One participant described its significance: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“(The plan) aims to champion the right of people of African descent to healthy and culturally-appropriate food, produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems and build their own institutions to advance community capacity and resilience for food access.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Simply identifying systemic barriers to food security is not enough to create change. Long-term solutions will require elected officials and industry leaders to make significant institutional changes. As proposed in this <a href="https://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/2021/en/">Food and Agriculture Organization report</a>, inclusivity and accounting for structural inequalities is required for tackling food insecurity. </p>
<p>Our study argues that any solution must be done in a democratic, just and inclusive manner. These approaches should consider Indigenous traditional knowledge and address racism, colonialism and other systems of discrimination. Achieving food security requires Canadians to focus on the underlying causes of food insecurity, not only saving money at the grocery store check-out counter.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200541/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>For the report titled 'Sustainable consumption for all: Revisiting the accessibility of sustainably produced food in Canada during COVID-19', Food Secure Canada received funding from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Contributions Program for Non-profit Consumer and Voluntary Organizations.</span></em></p>A drop in food prices might immediately address the lack of economic access to food but will not address the root causes of food insecurity.Farzaneh Barak, Research scientist, School of Human Nutrition, McGill UniversityMonika Korzun, McCain Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.