tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/hunger-719/articlesHunger – The Conversation2024-03-17T08:42:31Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2242862024-03-17T08:42:31Z2024-03-17T08:42:31ZAlmost 50% of adult South Africans are overweight or obese. Poverty and poor nutrition are largely to blame<p><a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/malnutrition#tab=tab_1">Malnutrition</a>, in all its forms, includes undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate vitamins or minerals, overweight and obesity. </p>
<p>South Africa has undergone a nutritional transition over the past 30 years characterised by the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378313186_National_Food_and_Nutrition_South_Africa">triple burden</a> of malnutrition: households are simultaneously experiencing undernutrition, hidden hunger, and overweight or obesity due to nutrient-poor diets.</p>
<p>Results of the first in-depth, nationwide <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378313186_National_Food_and_Nutrition_South_Africa">study</a> into food and nutrition since 1994, the National Food and Nutrition Security Survey, found almost half the adult population of South Africa were overweight or obese. </p>
<p>While there was sufficient food to feed everyone through domestic production and imports, many families and individuals went to bed on empty stomachs.</p>
<p>Due to <a href="https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/statistics-south-africa-quarterly-labour-force-survey-quarter-three-2023-14#:%7E:text=The%20official%20unemployment%20rate%20was,the%20second%20quarter%20of%202023.">high unemployment figures</a>, families relied on social grants to buy basic food items. Many tended to buy food with little nutritional value to avoid hunger. </p>
<p>The survey, conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council, was commissioned by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to map hunger and malnutrition hotspots in the country. </p>
<p>Data was collected from more than 34,500 households between 2021 and 2023. Close to 100 indicators were used to compile the report. </p>
<h2>Overweight or obese: what’s the difference?</h2>
<p>Carrying excess weight poses a number of health risks. It increases the dangers of high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, sleep apnoea, and respiratory problems.</p>
<p>People are <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight#:%7E:text=For%20adults%2C%20WHO%20defines%20overweight,than%20or%20equal%20to%2030">overweight</a> if their body mass index, a measure of body fat based on height and weight, is greater than 25. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight#:%7E:text=For%20adults%2C%20WHO%20defines%20overweight,than%20or%20equal%20to%2030">Obese</a> adults have a body mass index greater than 30.</p>
<h2>Key facts</h2>
<p>Some of the significant findings were:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>69% of obese adults lived in food insecure households where families had little dietary choices and were forced to eat food with little nutritional value. </p></li>
<li><p>More than two-thirds (67.9%) of females were either overweight or obese. There were higher incidences of obesity among women than men.</p></li>
<li><p>Adults aged 35 to 64 years had a significantly greater prevalence of obesity than younger age groups. This could be explained by differences in <a href="https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1096/fj.202101930R">metabolism</a> and the fact that youngsters are more active than adults. </p></li>
<li><p>KwaZulu-Natal reported a higher prevalence of obesity (39.4%) compared to the other provinces. More research is needed to explore this finding and whether cultural factors are behind this.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The survey period overlapped with the tail-end of COVID-19. Focus group discussions took place in all districts where data was collected to assess the effects of the pandemic. </p>
<p>The survey found that the swift responses by government through various relief programmes significantly reduced the exposure of families to extreme poverty and food insecurity during this period.</p>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>Obesity is a global problem. A <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02750-2/fulltext">new study</a> released by the Lancet showed that, in 2022, more than 1 billion people in the world were living with obesity. </p>
<p>Worldwide, obesity among adults had more than doubled since 1990, and had quadrupled among children and adolescents (5 to 19 years of age). </p>
<p>The Human Sciences Research Council made the following recommendations to help address malnutrition in South Africa: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>focus on areas with high levels of malnutrition</p></li>
<li><p>encourage families to produce their own food to supplement social grants</p></li>
<li><p>invest in food banks at fruit and vegetable markets strategically located close to vulnerable households</p></li>
<li><p>help extremely poor households survive seasonal hunger</p></li>
<li><p>launch campaigns to educate the public on the benefits of consuming nutrient-rich foods and dietary diversity.</p></li>
</ul>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/research-shows-shocking-rise-in-obesity-levels-in-urban-africa-over-past-25-years-90485">Research shows shocking rise in obesity levels in urban Africa over past 25 years</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224286/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thokozani Simelane 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>South Africa’s national survey of food and nutrition security identifies the areas most in need.Thokozani Simelane, Professor of Practice, Human Sciences Research CouncilLicensed 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>
</figure>
<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>
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<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/2226572024-02-15T13:37:47Z2024-02-15T13:37:47ZIsraeli siege has placed Gazans at risk of starvation − prewar policies made them vulnerable in the first place<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575701/original/file-20240214-20-lgpktd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C215%2C6000%2C3754&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Displaced Gazan children wait in line to receive food.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/palestinian-children-holding-empty-pots-2-wait-in-line-to-news-photo/1993688681?adppopup=true">Belal Khaled/Anadolu via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The stories of hunger emerging from war-ravaged Gaza are stark: People resorting to<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/29/briefing/gaza-food-crisis.html"> grinding barely edible cattle feed</a> to make flour; <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/30/middleeast/famine-looms-in-gaza-israel-war-intl/index.html">desperate residents eating grass</a>; reports of <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/israel-gaza-war-famine-news-update-ckjntk93j">cats being hunted for food</a>. </p>
<p>The numbers involved are just as despairing. The world’s major authority on food insecurity, the IPC Famine Review Committee, <a href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-94/en/">estimates that</a> 90% of Gazans – some 2.08 million people – are facing acute food insecurity. Indeed, of the people facing imminent starvation in the world today, <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/95-percent-those-facing-starvation-world-are-gaza">an estimated 95% are in Gaza</a>.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://ccie.ucf.edu/person/yara-asi/">expert in Palestinian public health</a>, I fear the situation may not have hit its nadir. In January 2024, many of the top funders to UNRWA, the U.N.’s refugee agency that provides the bulk of services to Palestinians in Gaza, <a href="https://theconversation.com/funding-for-refugees-has-long-been-politicized-punitive-action-against-unrwa-and-palestinians-fits-that-pattern-222263">suspended donations</a> to the agency in response to <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/allegations-against-unrwa-staff">allegations that a dozen</a> of the agency’s 30,000 employees were possibly involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. The agency has indicated that it will no longer be able to offer <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146272">services starting in March</a> and will lose its ability to distribute food and other vital supplies during that month.</p>
<p>With at least <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-118">28,000 people confirmed dead</a> and an additional 68,000 injured, Israeli bombs have already had a catastrophic human cost in Gaza – starvation could be the next tragedy to befall the territory.</p>
<p>Indeed, two weeks after Israel initiated a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip, <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/starvation-weapon-war-being-used-against-gaza-civilians-oxfam">Oxfam International</a> reported that only around 2% of the usual amount of food was being delivered to residents in the territory. At the time, Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East director, commented that “there can be no justification for using starvation as a weapon of war.” But four months later, the siege continues to <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/world/gaza-humanitarian-aid-ceasefire/">restrict the distribution of adequate aid</a>.</p>
<h2>Putting Palestinians ‘on a diet’</h2>
<p>Israeli bombs have <a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-deliberately-attacks-bakeries-gaza-official#:%7E:text=The%20Israeli%20missiles%20demolished%20the,others%20injured%2C%20according%20to%20Maarouf.">destroyed homes, bakeries</a>, <a href="https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/140230">food production factories</a> and grocery stores, making it harder for people in Gaza to offset the impact of the reduced imports of food.</p>
<p>But food insecurity in Gaza and the mechanisms that enable it did not start with Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attack.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/movement-and-out-gaza-2022">U.N. report from 2022</a> found that a year before the latest war, 65% of Gazans were food insecure, defined as <a href="https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/food">lacking regular access to enough safe and nutritious food</a>.</p>
<p>Multiple factors contributed to this food insecurity, not least the <a href="https://www.unicef.org/mena/documents/gaza-strip-humanitarian-impact-15-years-blockade-june-2022">blockade of Gaza</a> imposed by Israel and enabled by Egypt since 2007. All items entering the Gaza Strip, including food, become subject to Israeli inspection, delay or denial.</p>
<p>Basic foodstuff was allowed, but because of delays at the border, <a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2007/07/27/gaza-almost-completely-aid-dependent">it can spoil</a> before it enters Gaza. </p>
<p>A 2009 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2009/jun/16/gaza-blockade-israel-food">investigation by Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz</a> found that foods as varied as cherries, kiwi, almonds, pomegranates and chocolate were prohibited entirely. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man delivers food to a throng of people behind a fence." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575702/original/file-20240214-30-6871gm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575702/original/file-20240214-30-6871gm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575702/original/file-20240214-30-6871gm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575702/original/file-20240214-30-6871gm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575702/original/file-20240214-30-6871gm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575702/original/file-20240214-30-6871gm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575702/original/file-20240214-30-6871gm.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">Not enough food aid to go around in Gaza.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/palestinian-children-wait-in-line-to-receive-food-prepared-news-photo/1993688439?adppopup=true">Belal Khaled/Anadolu via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At certain points, the blockade, which Israel claims is an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE78C59R/">unavoidable security measure</a>, has been loosened to allow import of more foods; for example, in 2010 Israel started to permit <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/Media/israel-signals-partial-easing-gaza-blockade/story?id=10873488">potato chips, fruit juices, Coca-Cola and cookies</a>. </p>
<p>By placing restrictions on food imports, Israel seems to be trying to put pressure on Hamas by making life difficult for the people in Gaza. In the words of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-19975211">one Israeli government adviser in 2006</a>, “The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.”</p>
<p>To enable this, the Israeli government <a href="https://www.gisha.org/UserFiles/File/publications/redlines/redlines-position-paper-eng.pdf">commissioned a 2008 study</a> to work out exactly how many calories Palestinians would need to avoid malnutrition. The report was released to the public only following a 2012 legal battle.</p>
<p>The blockade also <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/gaza-strip-the-humanitarian-impact-of-15-years-of-the-blockade-june-2022-ocha-factsheet/">increased food insecurity</a> by preventing meaningful development of an economy in Gaza.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://unctad.org/press-material/prior-current-crisis-decades-long-blockade-hollowed-gazas-economy-leaving-80">U.N. cites</a> the “excessive production and transaction costs and barriers to trade with the rest of the world” imposed by Israel as the primary cause of severe underdevelopment in the occupied territories, including Gaza. As a result, in late 2022 the <a href="https://gisha.org/en/gaza-unemployment-rate-in-the-third-quarter-of-2022/">unemployment rate in Gaza stood at around 50%</a>. This, coupled with a steady increase in <a href="https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/post.aspx?lang=en&ItemID=4403">the cost of food</a>, makes affording food difficult for many Gazan households, rendering them dependent on aid, which fluctuates frequently.</p>
<h2>Hampering self-sufficency</h2>
<p>More generally, the blockade and the multiple rounds of destruction of parts of the Gaza Strip have made food sovereignty in the territory nearly impossible. </p>
<p>Much of <a href="https://theconversation.com/gazas-food-system-has-been-stretched-to-breaking-point-by-israel-188556">Gaza’s farmland</a> is along the so-called “no-go zones,” which Israel had rendered inaccessible to Palestinians, who risk being shot if they attempt to access these areas.</p>
<p>Gaza’s fishermen are <a href="https://gisha.org/en/increase-in-israeli-navy-attacks-on-gaza-fishermen-including-children/">regularly shot at by Israeli gunboats</a> if they venture farther in the Mediterranean Sea than Israel permits. Because the fish closer to the shore are smaller and less plentiful, the average income of a fisherman in Gaza has <a href="https://emuni.si/ISSN/2232-6022/15.179-216.pdf">more than halved</a> since 2017. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, much of the infrastructure needed for adequate food production – greenhouses, arable lands, orchards, livestock and food production facilities – have been destroyed or heavily damaged in various rounds of bombing in Gaza. And <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/reviving-the-stalled-reconstruction-of-gaza/">international donors have hesitated</a> to hastily rebuild facilities when they cannot guarantee their investment will last more than a few years before being bombed again.</p>
<p>The latest siege has only further crippled the ability of Gaza to be food self-sufficient. By early December 2023, an <a href="https://observers.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231212-in-gaza-an-estimated-22-of-agricultural-land-has-been-destroyed-since-the-start-of-the-conflict">estimated 22% of agricultural land</a> had been destroyed, along with factories, farms, and water and sanitation facilities. And the full scale of the destruction may not be clear for months or years.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Israel’s <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2015/09/egypt-army-flood-rafah-tunnels-palestinian-houses.html">flooding of the tunnels</a> under parts of the Gaza Strip with seawater risks killing remaining crops, leaving the land too salty and rendering it unstable and prone to sinkholes.</p>
<h2>Starvation as weapon of war</h2>
<p>Aside from the many health effects of starvation and malnutrition, <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/gaza-blocking-food-supplies-gaza-will-have-life-long-impacts-children-malnutrition-rising-save-children">especially on children</a>, such conditions make people more vulnerable to disease – already a significant concern for those living in the overcrowded shelters where people have been forced to flee.</p>
<p>In response to the current hunger crisis in Gaza, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53WlmQB_pAc">Alex de Waal</a>, author of “<a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Mass+Starvation%3A+The+History+and+Future+of+Famine-p-9781509524662">Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine</a>,” has made clear: “While it may be possible to bomb a hospital by accident, it is not possible to create a famine by accident.” He argues that the war crime of starvation does not need to include outright famine – merely the act of depriving people of food, medicine and clean water is sufficient.</p>
<p>The use of starvation is <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/ar/customary-ihl/v2/rule53">strictly forbidden under the Geneva Conventions</a>, a set of statutes that govern the laws of warfare. Starvation has been condemned by United Nations <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2018/sc13354.doc.htm">Resolution 2417</a>, which decried the use of deprivation of food and basic needs of the civilian population and compelled parties in conflict to ensure full humanitarian access.</p>
<p>Human Rights Watch has already accused <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/18/israel-starvation-used-weapon-war-gaza">Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war</a>, and as such it accuses the Israeli government of a war crime. The Israeli government in turn <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/netanyahu-israel-cnn-gaza-civilians-b2446067.html">continues to blame Hamas</a> for any loss of life in Gaza.</p>
<p>Yet untangling what Israel’s intentions may be – whether it is using starvation as a weapon of war, to force mass displacement, or if, as it claims, it is simply a byproduct of war – does little for the people on the ground in Gaza. </p>
<p>They require immediate intervention to stave off catastrophic outcomes. <a href="https://www.972mag.com/rafah-children-hunger-aid/">As one father in Gaza reported</a>, “We are forced to eat one meal a day – the canned goods that we get from aid organizations. No one can afford to buy anything for his family. I see children here crying from hunger, including my own children.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yara M. Asi 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>Arable land has been destroyed, as have food production sites. But even before the current operation in Gaza, Palestinians there suffered high rates of food insecurity.Yara M. Asi, Assistant Professor of Global Health Management and Informatics, University of Central FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2179902023-12-20T13:17:01Z2023-12-20T13:17:01ZDo you eat with your eyes, your gut or your brain? A neuroscientist explains how to listen to your hunger during the holidays<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566694/original/file-20231219-19-9np3p9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2119%2C1414&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The particular stressors of the holiday season can make it difficult to listen to your body.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/cropped-closeup-photo-of-young-woman-in-red-and-royalty-free-image/1346694165">InspirationGP/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The holiday season is upon us, and with it, opportunities to indulge in festive treats. The proverbial saying “you eat with your eyes first” seems particularly relevant at this time of year. </p>
<p>The science behind eating behavior, however, reveals that the process of deciding what, when and how much to eat is far more complex than just consuming calories when your body needs fuel. Hunger cues are only part of why people choose to eat. As a scientist interested in the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=F31UkfUAAAAJ&hl=en">psychology and biology that drives eating behavior</a>, I’m fascinated with how the brain’s experiences with food shape eating decisions. </p>
<p>So how do people decide when to eat? </p>
<h2>Eating with your eyes</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2015.08.006">Food-related visual cues</a> can shape feeding behaviors in both people and animals. For example, wrapping food in McDonald’s packaging is sufficient to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.161.8.792">enhance taste preferences</a> across a range of foods – from chicken nuggets to carrots – in young children. Visual food-related cues, such as presenting a light when food is delivered, can also promote <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.6836286">overeating behaviors</a> in animals by overriding energy needs.</p>
<p>In fact, a whole host of sensory stimuli – noises, smells and textures – can be associated with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2013.01.002">pleasurable consequences of eating</a> and influence food-related decisions. This is why hearing a catchy radio jingle for a food brand, seeing a television ad for a restaurant or walking by your favorite eatery can shape your decision to consume and sometimes overindulge.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566695/original/file-20231219-23-bbv1i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of person holding plate of gingerbread cookies" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566695/original/file-20231219-23-bbv1i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566695/original/file-20231219-23-bbv1i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566695/original/file-20231219-23-bbv1i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566695/original/file-20231219-23-bbv1i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566695/original/file-20231219-23-bbv1i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566695/original/file-20231219-23-bbv1i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566695/original/file-20231219-23-bbv1i7.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">Your senses feast on food as much as your stomach does.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mixed-race-female-holds-plate-of-gingerbread-royalty-free-image/1360401442">Catherine McQueen/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, your capacity to learn about food-related cues extends beyond just stimuli from the outside world and includes the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011643">internal milieu of your body</a>. In other words, you also tend to eat with your stomach in mind, and you do so by using the same learning and brain mechanisms involved in processing food-related stimuli from the outside world. These internal signals, also called <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2021.558246">interoceptive cues</a>, include feelings of hunger and fullness emanating from your gastrointestinal tract.</p>
<p>It’s no surprise that the signals from your gut help set the stage for when to eat, but the role these signals play is more profound than you might expect.</p>
<h2>Trust your gut</h2>
<p>Feelings of hunger or fullness act as important interoceptive cues influencing your decision-making around food. </p>
<p>To examine how interoceptive states shape eating behaviors, researchers trained laboratory rats to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.peptides.2005.02.014">associate feelings of hunger or satiety</a> with whether they receive food or not. They did this by giving rats food only when they were hungry or full, such that the rats were forced to recognize those internal cues to calculate whether food would be available or not. If a rat is trained to expect food only when hungry, it would generally avoid the area where food is available when it feels full because it does not expect to be fed.</p>
<p>However, when rats were injected with a hormone that <a href="https://doi.org/10.2337/diabetes.50.8.1714">triggers hunger</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00012.2004">called ghrelin</a>, they approached the food delivery location more frequently. This suggests that the rats used this artificial state of hunger as an interoceptive cue to predict food delivery and subsequently behaved like they expected food.</p>
<p>Interoceptive states are sufficient to shape feeding behaviors even in the absence of external sensory cues. One particularly striking example comes from mice that have been genetically engineered to be unable to taste food but nevertheless show preferences for specific foods <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2008.01.032">solely by caloric content</a>. In other words, rodents can use internal cues to shape their food-related decision-making, including when and where to eat and which foods they prefer.</p>
<p>These findings also suggest that feelings of hunger and the detection of nutrients is not restricted to the stomach. They also involve areas of the brain important for regulation and homeostasis, such as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.048">lateral hypothalamus</a>, as well as centers of the brain involved in learning and memory, such as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.10.012">hippocampus</a>.</p>
<h2>What happens in vagus</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3071">gut-brain axis</a>, or the biochemical connection between your gut and your brain, shapes feeding behaviors in many ways. One of them involves the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537171/">vagus nerve</a>, a cranial nerve that helps control the digestive tract, among other things. </p>
<p>The vagus nerve rapidly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat5236">communicates nutrient information</a> to the brain. Activating the vagus nerve can induce a pleasurable state, such that mice will voluntarily perform a behavior, such as poking their nose through an open port, to stimulate their vagus nerve. Importantly, mice also learn to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.08.049">prefer foods and places</a> where vagal nerve stimulation occurred.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Vy6vl8RZrw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Your gut and brain are intimately connected.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The vagus nerve plays an essential role in not only communicating digestive signals but also an array of other interoceptive signals that can affect how you feel and behave. In people, vagal nerve stimulation can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.wnn.0000213908.34278.7d">improve learning and memory</a> and can be used to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-017-0537-8">treat major depression</a>.</p>
<h2>Benefits of interoceptive awareness</h2>
<p>Your body’s capacity to use both external and internal cues to regulate how you learn and make decisions about food highlights the impressive processes involved in how you regulate your energy needs.</p>
<p>Poor interoceptive awareness is associated with a range of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1027/2512-8442/a000062">dysfunctional feeding behaviors</a>, such as eating disorders. For instance, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2017.00032">anorexia may result</a> when interoceptive signals, such as feelings of hunger, are unable to trigger the motivation to eat. Alternatively, the inability to use the feeling of fullness to dampen the rewarding and pleasurable consequences of eating palatable food could <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.08.020">result in binge eating</a>. </p>
<p>Your interoceptive signals play an important role in regulating your daily eating patterns. During the holidays, many stressors from the outside world surround eating, such as packed social calendars, pressures to conform and feelings of guilt when overindulging. At this time, it is particularly important to cultivate a strong connection to your interoceptive signals. This can help promote <a href="https://theconversation.com/intuitive-eating-a-diet-that-actually-makes-sense-112800">intuitive eating</a> and a more holistic approach to your dietary habits. Rather than fixating on external factors and placing conditions on your eating behavior, enjoy the moment, deliberately savor each bite and provide time for your interoceptive signals to function in the role they are designed to play. </p>
<p>Your brain evolved to sense your current energy needs. By <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.06.004">integrating these signals</a> with your experience of your food environment, you can both optimize your energetic needs and enjoy the season.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217990/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Johnson receives funding from the National Institute of Health</span></em></p>You likely know that the sight and smell of food can trigger cravings. But internal cues from your gut and your brain play just as important a role in the decisions you make around food.Alex Johnson, Associate Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2165912023-12-11T13:14:25Z2023-12-11T13:14:25Z‘You reach a point where you have nothing. You will just die’ – in East African refugee camps, food scarcity is a mortal concern<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564320/original/file-20231207-19-l8y174.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C2526%2C1411&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Empty bowls at a refugee camp in Kenya.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For refugees living in settlements across Africa, life got more difficult in 2023. </p>
<p>Shortfalls <a href="https://reporting.unhcr.org/underfunded-report-implications-underfunding-unhcr%E2%80%99s-activities-2023">in the operating budget</a> of the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/chad/wfp-and-unhcr-call-urgent-funds-avert-more-ration-cuts-refugees-chad">and the World Food Program</a> have brought increased precarity into the daily lives of millions of displaced people across the continent.</p>
<p>Having fled <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/us/about-unhcr/where-we-work/africa">violence, famine and insecurity</a> in search of survival, many African refugees now find themselves faced with similar circumstances in the very spaces designed to protect them. Most notably, over the past year, refugees in Central and East Africa have watched as their food rations and living stipends – already meager – <a href="https://www.wfp.org/news/critical-funding-shortage-forces-wfp-slash-food-rations-refugees-tanzania">have been cut</a> to unsustainably low levels.</p>
<p>In Africa’s <a href="https://reporting.unhcr.org/operational/operations/uganda?year=2021">largest refugee-hosting country</a>, Uganda, the <a href="https://www.businessamlive.com/unhcr-warns-of-heightened-risks-to-refugees-as-funding-shortfall-hits-650m/">budget for UNHCR programs</a> is currently funded at only 39% of its needs. Burundi, which has experienced <a href="https://reporting.unhcr.org/burundi-funding-2023">a 35% increase in its refugee population</a> since 2018, as well as a large increase in the number of returned Burundian refugees, has seen its own budget increase by only 12% in that same period.</p>
<p>The reasons for these shortfalls are multifaceted, including the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the <a href="https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/february-2023/one-year-later-impact-russian-conflict-ukraine-africa">Russia-Ukraine war</a>, which has affected food production and <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/blog/how-will-russias-invasion-ukraine-affect-global-food-security">resulted in an increase of prices</a>. Though refugees themselves say they are offered little explanation – “They just tell us that the order came from Geneva,” one refugee told us in reference to UNHCR’s headquarters in the Swiss capital.</p>
<p>The resulting cuts in food security programs have had <a href="https://doi.org//10.19088/K4D.2022.125">devastating effects</a> on refugee families and communities.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.shu.edu/profiles/alfaniro.html">We spent</a> <a href="https://history.utk.edu/people/nicole-eggers/">three months</a> in Africa this past summer interviewing over 200 refugees across seven refugee camps and urban refugee havens in Burundi, Uganda and Kenya. While we were there to primarily investigate the role of faith and religious community among refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, our interviews touched on many aspects of the refugee experience. All names used in this article have been changed to protect the interviewees identity.</p>
<p><iframe id="4MtaN" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/4MtaN/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>‘Just not enough’</h2>
<p>Cuts in food rations were on the minds of nearly all of the refugees whom we interviewed this summer.</p>
<p>In Burundi, for example, a number of refugees explained to us how 2023’s rations for their daily dietary staple – cornflour used to make a hard porridge known locally as “bukari” – had been cut from 10 kilograms (22 pounds) per month to three kilograms (6.6 pounds). One refugee in the Bwagiriza refugee settlement in Burundi, Jean-Claude, explained how if you try to divide that amount of food into 30 piles, one for each day, it’s “just not enough.” Ultimately, he said, “You worry because you have no idea how you will finish the month. Little by little, the quantity of food goes down at home.”</p>
<p>Stories like Jean Claude’s offer a glimpse of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2021.43">psychological stress</a> that refugees experience daily as they engage in an unending search for enough food to feed their families – a search that too frequently fails.</p>
<p>To make matters worse, <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/record-numbers-of-displaced-africans-face-worsening-prospects">rising inflation</a> has meant that the ability of refugees to draw on whatever modest resources they may possess to supplement their diets has been greatly undermined.</p>
<p>For parents, this leads to further trauma of explaining to their hungry children that there will be no food. One young mother in the Rwamwanja refugee settlement in Uganda told us how, in a desperate ploy to delay disappointment, she put an empty pot of water on the stove to boil just so that her children would go to bed with the hope that there would be food to eat in the morning.</p>
<h2>Hunger and exploitation</h2>
<p>Others resort to even more desperate ends, consuming inedible food that can sicken and even kill them.</p>
<p>“Whole families become sick. Some neighbors ate some roots because of hunger. All of them were vomiting,” a refugee mother named Mauwa explained to us in Burundi. “Mother, father, children … we are forced to eat food that doesn’t agree with us and makes us sick to our stomachs.” </p>
<p>Still others face the worst outcome imaginable.</p>
<p>Amina, a Congolese refugee living in Bwagiriza, described how, following days of not eating, her young child became violently ill after consuming some corn porridge, her severely malnourished body no longer able to digest it. The child’s condition should have been treatable, but because budget cuts had also recently ended medical transport assistance, they were unable to get to the hospital quickly enough and ultimately the child died.</p>
<p>“There is no food. There is no health care,” she said. “We are being trampled. You reach a point where you have nothing. You will just die.”</p>
<p>Other refugees emphasized how ration cuts contribute directly and indirectly to <a href="http://doi.org//10.1186/s13031-020-00336-3">heightening insecurity</a> in the settlements.</p>
<p>“Famine in the camp is torturing us,” said Amani, a father of seven. “Lack of food is causing our children to become thieves. The moment it is dusk, they break into homes seeking the food they saw you bringing into the house. They don’t look for anything else – just food.”</p>
<p>Refugees in Kyaka II and other settlements in Uganda described being exploited by local communities and how women and youths were <a href="https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/refugee-camps-in-northern-uganda-choke-on-sexual-abuse-cases-1749666">exposed to sexual violence</a>.</p>
<p>Vumilia, a mother from a Burundian camp, explained how young girls, including her own, were sexually exploited by adults in return for food: “These camps are harming our children. A child as young as 12 is getting pregnant. And it’s because of hunger that she is forced to consent so that she can get some food … and she is raped and she gets pregnant.”</p>
<p>Refugees also observed that ration cuts and food scarcity threaten to turn cordial relationships with local communities into ones defined by conflict.</p>
<p>“We will now be fighting with the [Ugandan host communities] and each other,” explained Furah, a Congolese woman in one of the Ugandan camps, “because you have brought insecurity in the camp. … This will then lead to conflicts. If they don’t kill me, I will kill them.”</p>
<h2>What chance self-reliance?</h2>
<p>In response to these cuts, the UNHCR is increasingly promoting <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/media/handbook-self-reliance-complete-publication">self-reliance</a> programs, but ration cuts <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13698249.2023.2209485">undermine such programs</a>. </p>
<p>Refugees are told that they must learn to depend on themselves and are taught various skills such as gardening, weaving and animal husbandry. But the strain on their resources leaves them unable to invest. </p>
<p>Marceline in the Kavumu settlement explained, “On this question of self-reliance, you ask yourself: With what resources are you supposed to become self-reliant? … If you’re going to tell someone to be self-reliant, you have to give them the materials to start with.”</p>
<p>We’ve seen that refugees work hard to help themselves and each other. But when resources are so minimal, it is impossible for them to bear the burden themselves.</p>
<p>Time and again, we’ve found that refugees are keen observers of the world around them and they can offer critical insight into the conditions that have been created on the ground, particularly in this context of increasing ration cuts. Listening to them reminds us that behind every budget cut is a human story.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216591/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger B. Alfani has received funding (Collaborative grant) from the National Endowment for the Humanities.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Eggers has received funding from the National Endowment for Humanities Collaborative Grant.</span></em></p>Budget cuts have resulted in increased hunger in camps in Uganda, Burundi and Kenya that house refugees from across the region.Roger B. Alfani, Core Fellow of Religious Studies and International Affairs, Seton Hall UniversityNicole Eggers, Assistant Professor of History, University of TennesseeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2158082023-12-10T19:07:34Z2023-12-10T19:07:34ZI’m trying to lose weight and eat healthily. Why do I feel so hungry all the time? What can I do about it?<p>Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, famously said nothing is certain except death and taxes. But I think we can include “you’ll feel hungry when you’re trying to lose weight” as another certainty. </p>
<p>The reason is basic biology. So how does this work – and what can you do about it?</p>
<h2>Hormones control our feelings of hunger</h2>
<p>Several hormones play an essential role in regulating our feelings of hunger and fullness. The most important are ghrelin – often called the hunger hormone – and leptin.</p>
<p>When we’re hungry, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11739476/">ghrelin</a> is released by our stomach, lighting up a part of our brain called the hypothalamus to tell us to eat. </p>
<p>When it’s time to stop eating, hormones, including <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8717038/">leptin</a>, are released from different organs, such as our gut and fat tissue, to signal to the brain that we’re full.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chemical-messengers-how-hormones-make-us-feel-hungry-and-full-35545">Chemical messengers: how hormones make us feel hungry and full</a>
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<h2>Dieting disrupts the process</h2>
<p>But when we change our diet and start losing weight, we disrupt how these <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4766925/">appetite hormones function</a>. </p>
<p>This triggers a process that stems from our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Their bodies developed this mechanism as a survival response to adapt to periods of deprivation and protect against starvation. </p>
<p>The levels of hormones <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23126426/">managing our hunger increase</a>, making us feel hungrier to tell us to eat more, while the ones responsible for signalling we’re full decrease their levels, intensifying our feelings of hunger.</p>
<p>We end up increasing our calorie consumption so we eat more to regain the weight we lost. </p>
<p>But worse, even after the kilos creep back on, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22029981/">our appetite hormones don’t restore</a> to their normal levels – they keep telling us to eat more so we put on a little extra fat. This is our body’s way of preparing for the next bout of starvation we will impose through dieting. </p>
<p>Fortunately, there are things we can do to manage our appetite, including:</p>
<h2>1. Eating a large, healthy breakfast every day</h2>
<p>One of the easiest ways to manage our feelings of hunger throughout the day is to eat most of our food earlier in the day and taper our meal sizes so dinner is the smallest meal.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32073608/">Research</a> shows a low-calorie or small breakfast leads to increased feelings of hunger, specifically appetite for sweets, across the course of the day. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man spreads avocado" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563857/original/file-20231206-16-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563857/original/file-20231206-16-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563857/original/file-20231206-16-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563857/original/file-20231206-16-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563857/original/file-20231206-16-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563857/original/file-20231206-16-2c5mdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563857/original/file-20231206-16-2c5mdc.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">Prioritise breakfast over dinner.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/soft-focus-shot-man-having-delicious-759322450">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(22)00344-8">Another study</a> found the same effect. Participants went on a calorie-controlled diet for two months, where they ate 45% of their calories for breakfast, 35% at lunch and 20% at dinner for the first month, before switching to eat their largest meal in the evening and their smallest in the morning. Eating the largest meal at breakfast resulted in decreased hunger throughout the day.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32073608/">Research</a> also shows we burn the calories from a meal 2.5-times more efficiently in the morning than the evening. So emphasising breakfast over dinner is good not just for hunger control, but also weight management.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-eat-breakfast-like-a-king-lunch-like-a-prince-and-dinner-like-a-pauper-86840">Should we eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper?</a>
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</p>
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<h2>2. Prioritising protein</h2>
<p>Protein helps contain feelings of hunger. This is because protein-rich foods such as lean meats, tofu and beans suppress the appetite-stimulating ghrelin and stimulate another hormone called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413106002713">peptide YY</a> that makes you feel full. </p>
<p>And just as eating a breakfast is vital to managing our hunger, what we eat is important too, with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24703415/">research</a> confirming a breakfast containing protein-rich foods, such as eggs, will leave us feeling fuller for longer. </p>
<p>But this doesn’t mean just eating foods with protein. Meals need to be balanced and include a source of protein, wholegrain carb and healthy fat to meet our dietary needs. For example, eggs on wholegrain toast with avocado.</p>
<h2>3. Filling up with nuts and foods high in good fats and fibre</h2>
<p>Nuts often get a bad rap – thanks to the misconception they cause weight gain – but nuts can help us manage our hunger and weight. The filling fibre and good fats found in nuts take longer to digest, meaning our hunger is satisfied for longer. </p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12791613/">Studies</a> suggest you can include up to 68 grams per day of nuts without affecting your weight. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-will-eating-nuts-make-you-gain-weight-108491">Health check: will eating nuts make you gain weight?</a>
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<p>Avocados are also high in fibre and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, making them another excellent food for managing feelings of fullness. This is backed by a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6567160/">study</a> confirming participants who ate a breakfast incorporating avocado felt more satisfied and less hungry than participants who ate a meal containing the same calories but with lower fat and fibre content. </p>
<p>Similarly, eating foods that are high in soluble fibre – such as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24820437/">beans</a> and vegetables – make us feel fuller. This type of fibre attracts water from our gut, forming a gel that slows digestion. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Couple cook together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563854/original/file-20231206-25-s2excn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563854/original/file-20231206-25-s2excn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563854/original/file-20231206-25-s2excn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563854/original/file-20231206-25-s2excn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563854/original/file-20231206-25-s2excn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563854/original/file-20231206-25-s2excn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563854/original/file-20231206-25-s2excn.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">Fibre helps us feel fuller for longer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-man-and-a-woman-preparing-food-in-a-kitchen-hQocGyy0unQ">Sweet Life/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Eating mindfully</h2>
<p>When we take time to really be aware of and enjoy the food we’re eating, we slow down and eat far less. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28718396/">review</a> of 68 studies found eating mindfully helps us better recognise feelings of fullness. Mindful eating provides our brain enough time to recognise and adapt to the signals from our stomach telling us we’re full.</p>
<p>Slow down your food consumption by sitting at the dinner table and use smaller utensils to reduce the volume of food you eat with each mouthful.</p>
<h2>5. Getting enough sleep</h2>
<p>Sleep deprivation disturbs our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945708700133">appetite hormones</a>, increasing our feelings of hunger and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms3259">triggering cravings</a>. So aim to get at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep a night.</p>
<p>Try switching off your devices <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1477153515584979">two hours before bed</a> to boost your body’s secretion of sleep-inducing hormones like melatonin.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-our-brain-needs-sleep-and-what-happens-if-we-dont-get-enough-of-it-83145">Why our brain needs sleep, and what happens if we don’t get enough of it</a>
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<h2>6. Managing stress</h2>
<p>Stress increases our <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18568078/">body’s production of cortisol</a> and triggers food cravings.</p>
<p>So take time out when you need it and set aside time for stress-relieving activities. This can be as simple as getting outdoors. A <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00722/full">2019 study</a> found sitting or walking outdoors at least three times a week could reduce cortisol levels by 21%. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Person walks in house, next to grey dog" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563849/original/file-20231206-23-4atw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563849/original/file-20231206-23-4atw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563849/original/file-20231206-23-4atw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563849/original/file-20231206-23-4atw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563849/original/file-20231206-23-4atw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563849/original/file-20231206-23-4atw7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563849/original/file-20231206-23-4atw7u.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Take time out to reduce your stress levels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/gray-dog-looking-at-the-person-qqpfqFwAyDQ">Evieanna Santiago/Unsplash</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>7. Avoiding depriving ourselves</h2>
<p>When we change our diet to lose weight or eat healthier, we typically restrict certain foods or food groups. </p>
<p>However, this <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18568078/">heightens activity</a> in our mesocorticolimbic circuit – the reward system part of the brain – often resulting in us craving the foods we’re trying to avoid. Foods that give us pleasure release feel-good chemicals called endorphins and learning chemicals called dopamine, which enable us to remember – and give in to – that feel-good response.</p>
<p>When we change our diet, activity in our hypothalamus – the clever part of the brain that regulates emotions and food intake – <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18568078/">also reduces</a>, decreasing our control and judgement. It often triggers a psychological response dubbed the “what-the-hell effect”, when we indulge in something we think we shouldn’t feel guilty about and then go back for even more.</p>
<p>Don’t completely cut out your favourite foods when you go on a diet or deprive yourself if you’re hungry. It will take the pleasure out of eating and eventually you’ll give into your cravings. </p>
<p><em>At the Boden Group, Charles Perkins Centre, we are studying the science of obesity and running clinical trials for weight loss. You can <a href="https://redcap.sydney.edu.au/surveys/?s=RKTXPPPHKY">register here</a> to express your interest.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215808/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Nick Fuller works for the University of Sydney and has received external funding for projects relating to the treatment of overweight and obesity. He is the author and founder of the Interval Weight Loss program.</span></em></p>When we change our diet, we disrupt our appetite hormones. Here’s how it works – and how small changes to our diet can help us feel fuller for longer.Nick Fuller, Charles Perkins Centre Research Program Leader, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2190862023-12-07T16:52:53Z2023-12-07T16:52:53ZDear politicians: To solve our food bank crisis, curb corporate greed and implement a basic income<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/1df3b504-4e58-4b06-9db1-8fb2b4e73432?dark=true"></iframe>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-572" class="tc-infographic" height="100" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/572/661898416fdc21fc4fdef6a5379efd7cac19d9d5/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Have you noticed the line ups for the food banks in your city? (Or have you had to join one?) They are getting longer in a way we’ve never seen before. </p>
<p>According to the stats, the number of people using food banks has doubled since last year and <a href="https://northyorkharvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FINAL-WEB-REPORT-SPREADS-DB_3714-18_WhosHungry_Report_E-Clean_NYH.pdf">one in 10 people now rely on food banks in Toronto</a>. Nationwide, the numbers using food banks have <a href="https://fbcblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wordpress/2023/10/hungercount23-en.pdf">jumped by 32 percent from last year and 78 per cent since 2019</a>. And there is no one type of person who relies on food banks: for example, many in line have full-time jobs.</p>
<p>In other words, we are in the middle of a major food insecurity crisis. </p>
<p>And as we head into this holiday season, traditionally a time for giving and sharing and gathering around food, many of us are asking what we as individuals can do to help.</p>
<p>According to the latest Statistics Canada data, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/231114/dq231114a-eng.htm">almost one in five households experiences food insecurity</a>. Single-mother households are especially affected, as are some racialized homes. Black and Indigenous people face the highest rates of food insecurity, with <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/who-are-most-at-risk-of-household-food-insecurity/">over 46 per cent of Black children and 40 per cent of Indigenous children</a> living in households that don’t have a reliable source of food. </p>
<p>For years, advocates have been saying that <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/its-time-to-close-canadas-food-banks/article587889/">more food banks is not the answer</a>. So what is?</p>
<p>Our guest on this episode of <a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/episodes/to-solve-our-food-bank-crisis-curb-corporate-greed-and-implement-guaranteed-basic-income"><em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em></a> podcast is Elaine Power, professor of health studies at Queen’s University and co-author of <a href="https://btlbooks.com/book/the-case-for-basic-income"><em>The Case for Basic Income: Freedom, Security, Justice</em></a>. She has spent years working on this issue and says reducing food insecurity requires our political and business leaders to address the root causes — including the ability of household incomes to meet basic needs. She gets into what is needed, long-term, to solve this major societal problem — but also shares tips for individuals who want to make a difference in the meantime.</p>
<h2>Read more in The Conversation</h2>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/food-insecurity-in-canada-is-the-worst-its-ever-been-heres-how-we-can-solve-it-216399">Food insecurity in Canada is the worst it's ever been — here's how we can solve it</a>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/implementing-a-basic-income-means-overcoming-myths-about-the-undeserving-poor-218577">Implementing a basic income means overcoming myths about the 'undeserving poor'</a>
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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>
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<h2>Resources</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.foodnetwork.ca/article/what-is-food-insecurity/">“What is Food Insecurity? FoodShare’s Paul Taylor Explains (Plus What Canadians Can Do About It)”</a> (The Food Network) </p>
<p><a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/2021/anti-black-racism/">“When it comes to tackling food insecurity, tackling anti-Black racism is an important part of the puzzle”</a> (by Tim Li)</p>
<p><a href="https://btlbooks.com/book/the-case-for-basic-income"><em>The Case for Basic Income: Freedom, Security, Justice</em></a> by Jamie Swift and Elaine Power</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v10i1.567">“Dismantling the structures and sites that create unequal access to food”</a> (Paul Taylor and Elaine Power in <em>Canadian Food Studies</em>)</p>
<p><a href="https://houseofanansi.com/products/the-age-of-insecurity"><em>The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart</em></a> (Astra Taylor)</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ulxb-XOd064?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A summary of a PROOF report on household food insecurity.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Listen and follow</h2>
<p>You can listen to or follow <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em> on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/dont-call-me-resilient/id1549798876">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/37tK4zmjWvq2Sh6jLIpzp7">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_mJBLBznANz6ID9rBCUk7gv_ZRC4Og9-">YouTube</a> or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts. Full but unedited transcripts are available within seven days of publication. </p>
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With food insecurity at an all-time high and food banks buckling under high demand as we head into this holiday season, experts say we need to focus on long-term solutions to tackle the issue at its root.Vinita Srivastava, Host + Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientAteqah Khaki, Associate Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientJennifer Moroz, Consulting Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientLicensed 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>
<figcaption>
<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/2157722023-11-22T21:11:55Z2023-11-22T21:11:55ZWasting and edema — severe forms of malnutrition — affect millions of children worldwide as food insecurity grows<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/wasting-and-edema-severe-forms-of-malnutrition-affect-millions-of-children-worldwide-as-food-insecurity-grows" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Each year around the globe, <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240073791">45 million children</a> under the age of five experience wasting, which is very low body weight relative to height as a result of muscle and fat loss. Of these, 13.6 million have severe wasting, which puts them at an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnrdp.2017.67">11-fold risk of dying</a> from infectious diseases compared to children who are not wasted.</p>
<p>Nutritional edema (also known as kwashiorkor) is another manifestation of malnutrition that often goes unmeasured in surveys. But it is likely that worldwide, <a href="https://www.ennonline.net/childkwashiorkor">hundreds of thousands of children</a> per year have edema.</p>
<p>Children with edema have swelling in their feet at minimum, but their legs, hands, arms and faces can also become swollen. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104070">Researchers are still questioning</a> why some children develop edema versus wasting — or a combination of the two.</p>
<p>Severe wasting and edema were previously called severe acute malnutrition, but this didn’t reflect the fact that children can have wasting for months at a time and can have repeated bouts of it after recovering.</p>
<h2>Zero Hunger goals</h2>
<p>The world is halfway to the end of the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a> timeline, which includes ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030 as part of the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal2">Zero Hunger</a> goal. This means dropping the rate of wasting to below five per cent by 2025 as an intermediate target and below three per cent by 2030 — <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240073791">which we are not on track to achieve</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fsinplatform.org/global-report-food-crises-2023">2023 Global Report on Food Crises</a> stated that 258 million people in 58 countries needed urgent food assistance in 2022. This is the highest number since the first report seven years prior. The report highlights that acute food insecurity can be attributed mainly to conflict, economic shocks and extreme weather from climate change.</p>
<p>As an expert in malnutrition, when I see these figures, I expect a rise in severe wasting and edema as a significant consequence. But the international nutrition community is active in trying to reach more children who need treatment and deliver care based on available evidence.</p>
<h2>Treating severe wasting and edema</h2>
<p>Malnutrition in the form of severe wasting and edema is a complex child health issue that requires specialized nutritional and medical treatment.</p>
<p>A majority of children with wasting or edema can be treated in outpatient settings, under a model called Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition that was <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789280641479">backed by several United Nations agencies in 2007</a>. Before this model, all children with severe wasting and edema were admitted to hospital.</p>
<p>Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) is a key part of this treatment of children in their communities. RUTF is designated as a “<a href="https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/en/?lnk=1&url=https%253A%252F%252Fworkspace.fao.org%252Fsites%252Fcodex%252FStandards%252FCXG%2B95-2022%252FCXG_095e.pdf">food for special medical purposes</a>” for children with severe wasting and edema. It was added to the <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-MHP-HPS-EML-2023.03">WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children</a> in July 2023. This is seen as a huge achievement for many in the nutrition community because RUTF should be stocked like other important medicines, such as antibiotics, in places where wasting and edema occur. This could also help improve integration of nutrition into health systems.</p>
<p>RUTF is usually made of peanuts, oil, sugar and milk powder, with vitamins and minerals mixed in. These ingredients are squeezed into 500-calorie sachets that are shelf-stable for up to two years.</p>
<p>However, one in five children with severe wasting and edema needs to be admitted for hospital treatment at specialized centres called nutritional rehabilitation units (NRUs). These are extremely vulnerable children, suffering from this serious form of malnutrition in combination with co-morbidities <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnrdp.2017.67">like HIV or tuberculosis</a>. Mortality rates in NRUs vary <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5034633/">from 10 to 40 per cent</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A hand holding packets of Plumpy'Nut ready-to-use therapeutic food" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560577/original/file-20231121-15-d1cauc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560577/original/file-20231121-15-d1cauc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560577/original/file-20231121-15-d1cauc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560577/original/file-20231121-15-d1cauc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560577/original/file-20231121-15-d1cauc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560577/original/file-20231121-15-d1cauc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560577/original/file-20231121-15-d1cauc.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">Ready-to-use therapeutic food was added to the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children in July 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/33140342933/in/photolist-SuuVmZ-Turv6S-fQ7sWG-dCeA5e-dCezHk-atBkZt-cMCRCd-dCk2Db-ieaX7q-dYfe8h-TJnhQg-ieaFqY-dCk1os-7pYKg8-fQ7teG-d8Wv5f-ifyvyb-qe1yqF-ie9mnE-ie7aFc-ie8YUi-TwT8dZ-iea6S4-ieaaKT-iea5Qc-ie3T4i-ieatqW-ieaxSG-SuuWnM-ie6r8B-TEKyAW-ie2dog-neNZrD-ie4SUE-fQ7vK7-77Ghsz-ie9PDo-ie2wAE-ie4nNy-ie1bPp-idZRjz-ieadpG-SrQxQm-fTremr-fPPWzM-ie1f7X-fPPWCx-fQ7sj5-e37dje-ie7Qm6">(Russell Watkins/DFID/flickr)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When children are admitted to NRUs, health-care workers prioritize identifying and managing life-threatening conditions. The first phase of treatment, the stabilization phase, involves giving children a specific type of therapeutic milk known as F-75 — because it has 75 calories per 100 millilitres — every few hours along with breast milk for younger children. </p>
<p>F-75 is relatively low in calories and protein to lower the chance of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2016.05.016">refeeding syndrome</a>. Refeeding syndrome occurs when food is consumed too quickly after starvation, causing serious shifts in electrolytes and fluids that can be fatal.</p>
<p>Once stabilized, children can transition to F-100 and/or RUTF while being treated in NRUs, at which point they start to regain weight. When children meet criteria that deems them healthy enough to leave the hospital, they continue with their treatment at home until they recover.</p>
<h2>Global action and commitments</h2>
<p>The current model of care has enabled treatment of most children with severe wasting and edema in their communities, apart from the sickest children who need NRU care. But still, two-thirds of children with severe wasting do not receive treatment, <a href="https://www.unicef.org/reports/no-time-waste">according to UNICEF</a>.</p>
<p>UN partners announced the <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/global-action-plan-on-child-wasting-a-framework-for-action">Global Action Plan (GAP) on Child Wasting</a> in 2019, calling for a concerted global effort to tackle wasting and edema. In January 2023, they posted a <a href="https://www.unicef.org/documents/UN-GAP-Call-to-Action">call to action</a> to protect children in 15 countries hit hard by the global food and nutrition crisis.</p>
<p>As part of the GAP, <a href="https://app.magicapp.org/#/guideline/noPQkE">the WHO has released a new evidence-based guideline this year</a> that covers the <em>prevention</em> of wasting and edema as well as <em>management</em> of: </p>
<ul>
<li>severe wasting and edema; </li>
<li>moderate wasting (a less serious form of wasting than severe wasting that afflicts about 31 million children); and </li>
<li>infants under six months old at risk of poor growth and development. </li>
</ul>
<p>The <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241506328">previous WHO guideline</a> was published a decade ago and only addressed treatment of severe wasting and edema.</p>
<p>There is also substantial financial support to reach more children with severe wasting and edema, such as a combined <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/over-half-billion-dollars-pledged-tackle-severe-wasting-july-unprecedented">half a billion U.S. dollars commitment last year</a> from donors and governments to address wasting, including <a href="https://www.devex.com/news/unprecedented-280m-raised-for-child-malnutrition-treatment-104018">$56 million from Canada</a>.</p>
<p>And many countries affected by wasting and edema have <a href="https://www.childwasting.org/the-gap-framework">made major commitments</a> to update policies and accelerate wasting and edema management and prevention, with funds from national budgets earmarked for these actions.</p>
<p>The combination of political and financial actions that strengthen nutrition programs within health systems and reach more children with wasting and edema who need treatment will mean more children survive. New global guidance on how best to prevent and manage wasting will help to improve the care of these children.</p>
<p>But it needs to be all hands on deck — within and beyond the global nutrition community — to curtail the surge in wasting and edema in the highest risk children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215772/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Allison Daniel is involved in the WHO guideline on prevention and management of wasting and nutritional edema, but the views in this article do not necessarily reflect those of WHO.</span></em></p>As global acute food insecurity increases, severe wasting — which already affects 13.6 million children — is expected to rise with it. Treating wasting requires specialized nutrition and medical care.Allison Daniel, Adjunct Professor, Food, Nutrition and Health, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2163992023-11-19T13:00:25Z2023-11-19T13:00:25ZFood insecurity in Canada is the worst it’s ever been — here’s how we can solve it<p>According to the latest Statistics Canada data, household food insecurity in the 10 provinces has reached a record high. Drawing on data from StatCan’s Canadian Income Survey, our <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/resource/household-food-insecurity-in-canada-2022/">new report</a> has found that the percentage of households with inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints rose to 17.8 per cent in 2022 from 15.9 per cent in 2021.</p>
<p>That amounts to 6.9 million Canadians — 1.1 million more than in 2021 — living in households with experiences that range from worrying about running out of food before there’s enough money to buy more to not eating at all for entire days because of a lack of income.</p>
<p>One-quarter of food-insecure households were severely food insecure, meaning 1.5 million Canadians had to cut or skip meals over the past 12 months.</p>
<p>These estimates don’t include people living in First Nations or the territories – the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut – <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/resources/indigenous-food-insecurity/">where rates of food insecurity are typically even higher</a>.</p>
<p>The rate of household food insecurity differs dramatically across the provinces, ranging from 13.8 per cent in Québec to 22.9 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2022. Every province experienced an increase from the previous year.</p>
<h2>Health-care system impact</h2>
<p>These numbers are important because they tell us about more than just household food situations. By the time someone reports being unable to afford the food they need, they’re likely compromising spending on other necessities, like housing and <a href="https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20190075">prescription medications</a>.</p>
<p>Living in these circumstances is <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/what-are-the-implications-of-food-insecurity-for-health-and-health-care/">very harmful to people’s health and well-being</a>. The health implications extend beyond poor nutrition and diet-related diseases to a sweeping array of adverse health outcomes, including physical and mental health conditions and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.190385">premature death</a>.</p>
<p>When we look at the health administration records of Canadians living in food-insecure households, the extraordinary toll food insecurity is taking on individuals and on our health-care system is obvious.</p>
<p>Because their health is worse, people living in these households require more health care. Both <a href="https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-023-00812-2">the children</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.150234">the adults</a> in food-insecure households are more likely to use outpatient services and to be hospitalized. Once admitted, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01637">they stay in acute care for longer and are more likely to require readmission</a>. </p>
<p>The increased use of the health-care system translates to greater health-care costs and an additional burden on our public system that simply isn’t necessary.</p>
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<h2>Evidence-based policy interventions</h2>
<p>Reducing food insecurity requires concerted efforts by federal and provincial governments to address the root cause — the inadequacy of household incomes to meet basic needs. </p>
<p>Providing better income support gives households a fighting chance of managing sudden losses of income or increases in expenses without having to compromise necessities.</p>
<p>Studies have shown food insecurity decreases when low-income households receive more money via <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2023.01.027">child benefits</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2014-080">social assistance programs</a>. That’s also the case when households transition to a more adequate and stable source of income — namely, when low-income adults become <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2015-069">eligible for public pensions programs</a>, Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement. </p>
<p>However, the way these programs are currently designed means our social safety net is anything but.</p>
<h2>Public income supports</h2>
<p>Households with limited or no employment income and reliant on provincial social assistance or Employment Insurance are very likely to be food insecure. Relying on social assistance almost guarantees food insecurity; seven in 10 households on social assistance were food insecure in 2022.</p>
<p>In most jurisdictions, social assistance benefits aren’t indexed to inflation, so the poorest people in our communities become even poorer as prices rise. Provinces should look to raise and index benefit amounts, asset limits and earning exemptions so that recipients have enough for basic needs while in these programs of last resort.</p>
<p>Households reliant on employment income fare better, but simply having a job isn’t enough to prevent food insecurity. In fact, the main source of income for 60 per cent of food-insecure households in the 10 provinces is salaries and wages. The policies meant to support workers in need, like the Canada Worker Benefit and similar provincial benefits, are clearly insufficient.</p>
<p>There’s also a need to expand job opportunities and improve the quality and stability of employment through policies like higher employment standards, support for collective bargaining and increased minimum wage, which several provinces are embracing.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/levelling-the-playing-field-the-case-for-a-federal-anti-scab-law-217341">Levelling the playing field: The case for a federal ‘anti-scab’ law</a>
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<h2>Children in food-insecure households</h2>
<p>The Canada Child Benefit has been widely credited for reducing child poverty, but this benefit goes to <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/HUMA/meeting-149/evidence#Int-10639051">90 per cent of families in Canada</a>. In stretching itself so thin, the benefit isn’t providing enough support to the families that really need it. </p>
<p>Just having a child in the household means a higher risk of food insecurity in Canada. In 2022, 1.8 million children — or one in four — under the age of 18 lived in a food-insecure household. Households with children also made up the majority of the increase in food insecurity from 2021 to 2022. The Canada Child Benefit needs to be restructured to insulate lower-income families from food insecurity more effectively.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-welfare-system-is-failing-mothers-with-infants-204716">Canada's welfare system is failing mothers with infants</a>
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<p>Governments have failed to implement enduring changes to income policies informed by research on food insecurity. Instead, we’ve almost exclusively seen small, limited-time benefits, like the federal Grocery Rebate, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-national-food-policy-is-at-risk-of-enshrining-a-two-tiered-food-system-205741">continued funding for community food programs</a> as the response to the hardships Canadians are facing. </p>
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<strong>
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>The noteworthy exception is the <a href="https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2023/exec/1108n01/">newly announced Poverty Reduction Plan in Newfoundland and Labrador</a>. The existing research suggests that it will help reduce food insecurity in that province.</p>
<h2>Food insecurity festers</h2>
<p>The prevalence and severity of food insecurity in Canada has likely already worsened since 2022, given continued high inflation — particularly the <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadian-housing-costs-have-hit-30-year-high-statcan-data-shows-1.6568256">record-setting increases in the cost of food, rent and mortgage interest</a> — and a lack of major policy action to offset the added burden on households.</p>
<p>The persistence of food insecurity in Canada is a policy choice. By not doing more to improve the adequacy and stability of household resources, our federal and provincial governments are choosing to let food insecurity fester. </p>
<p>In doing so, they are allowing the health of millions of Canadians to be eroded as we unnecessarily tax our already over-burdened health-care system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216399/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Valerie Tarasuk receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She has previously received research funds from the Joannah and Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition and a consulting fee from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Li 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 persistence of food insecurity in Canada is a policy choice. By not doing more to improve the adequacy and stability of household income, governments are choosing to let food insecurity fester.Valerie Tarasuk, Professor of Nutritional Sciences, University of TorontoTim Li, Research Program Coordinator, Food Insecurity, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2164742023-11-05T13:01:53Z2023-11-05T13:01:53ZGrain as a weapon: Russia-Ukraine war reveals how capitalism fuels global hunger<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/grain-as-a-weapon-russia-ukraine-war-reveals-how-capitalism-fuels-global-hunger" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>International fears about the <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/how-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-has-further-aggravated-the-global-food-crisis/">impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on an existing global food crisis</a> appear to have faded in the seven months since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-grain-food-security-ba7f9146b745337a1948a964cb30331c">Russia pulled out of a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain to world markets.</a></p>
<p>Such complacency is misplaced and dangerous. The risk of worsening food insecurity through the weaponization of grain continues. It’s troubling that such a risk exists at all, given how blocking access to a basic food staple can devastate innocent people and those with no connection to the conflict.</p>
<p>The idea that access to food and other basic commodities can be cut off to serve the strategic aims of a country at war is among the most concerning contradictions of modern capitalist political economy. Yet it’s barely even questioned in most policy discussions.</p>
<p>Precarity in food supplies has not dissipated despite the relative stabilization of grain exports and prices. As respected Black Sea agriculture expert Andrey Sizov argues: <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/90566">“The calm on the grain exports market is deceptive</a>.” The risk is emanating from many sources. </p>
<h2>Targeting food vessels</h2>
<p>For one, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-hits-ukraines-grain-fourth-day-practises-seizing-ships-black-sea-2023-07-21/">Russia has placed food vessels to and from Ukraine on its list of potential targets</a>, and <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/ukraine-warns-ships-heading-to-russia-ports-risk-attack-1.1948329">Ukraine has retaliated by warning about similarly attacking the Crimea bridge</a> connecting Russian shipping straits to key ports. </p>
<p>There is also the continuing risk of Russia deliberately slowing inspections or restricting exports. </p>
<p>Lastly, <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=107264">global grain prices have decreased in recent months</a>, due in no small part to speculation and hedging in financial markets. </p>
<p>The short selling of grain <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/albanian-wheat-farmers-struggle-with-selling-price-bad-weather/">hurts farmers in Albania</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/25/ukraine-grain-poland-election/">Poland</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/world/europe/ukraine-grain-deal-romania.html">Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia</a>, in addition to contributing to price fluctuations that affect countries already struggling with food insecurity.</p>
<p>This illuminates a wider fundamental problem with commodified food systems and with neoliberal capitalism’s logic of financialization more broadly.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-neoliberalism-a-political-scientist-explains-the-use-and-evolution-of-the-term-184711">What is neoliberalism? A political scientist explains the use and evolution of the term</a>
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<p>Most commentators on food security have called for an end to threats of grain disruption, for the revival of the grain deal or for commitments to new agreements. </p>
<p>Others have pushed for a more controlled <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2022.100662">approach of judiciously managing wheat stocks</a>. Along similar lines, a team of food systems and security researchers has collaborated on establishing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.06.008">recommended research priorities for tackling food security during extreme events</a>.</p>
<p>These suggestions, however, are governance approaches that remain embedded in existing systems of political economy.</p>
<h2>Flawed logic</h2>
<p>More durable solutions may lie in addressing what gave rise to our shaky and unjust commodity systems in the first place.</p>
<p>At a basic level, the promise of our supply-and-demand capitalism is that those who want a good or service are willing to pay more for it. But that’s illogical, because those who want or need goods the most may not be able to pay top dollar for them.</p>
<p>The result of this flawed logic has been that even the threat of disruptions to grain supply have driven prices high and placed populations in countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia at risk of hunger. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.2753/IJP0891-1916420401">financialization</a> of everything, including basic needs, is just one mechanism of neoliberal capitalism, and it reveals the dangers of turning basic needs into commodities.</p>
<p>Since the war in Ukraine, <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/blog/assessing-tight-global-wheat-stocks-and-their-role-price-volatility">implied price volatility for wheat has peaked</a> beyond what we saw during the <a href="https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/high-food-price-crisis">2008 global food price crisis</a>.</p>
<p>Financialization leads to speculation and hedging that triggers price volatility in international grain markets. </p>
<p>Speculation multiplies the risk to food accessibility because the mere perception of risk in financial hubs like New York and London can cascade into very real food shortages for millions. That, in turn, can spawn other crises, from violent social conflict to mass displacement.</p>
<p>Throughout the Russia-Ukraine war, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4518088">wheat has provided hedging benefits</a> to investors. The <a href="https://unctad.org/podcast/prices-and-profits-commodity-speculation-making-global-food-crisis-worse">United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has recognized</a> that this has exacerbated the current global food crisis.</p>
<h2>Speculation underpins food insecurity</h2>
<p>Hopeful discussions and <a href="https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/666714">research by the G24 group of nations</a> occurred during the 2008 crisis and focused on the role of financial market speculation in creating food insecurity. </p>
<p>These conversations are urgently needed again to further examine the underlying influences of capitalism on food insecurity. </p>
<p>The newly released <a href="https://unctad.org/publication/trade-and-development-report-2023">UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2023</a> has again raised concerns over financial speculation and hedging. The report directly links food insecurity to corporate profiteering made possible by financial speculation in commodity markets.</p>
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<p>But it failed to call into question the underlying political-economic organization of neoliberal capitalism, which has encouraged the use of critical and <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/09/14/oil-food-crisis-price-spike-global-russia-putin-ukraine-war/">life-sustaining commodities as geopolitical pawns</a>. </p>
<p>A more forward-looking and sustainable solution would be to decommodify basic needs altogether.</p>
<p>Decommodification is an attainable aim, but to achieve it requires a critical examination of the wider political economy. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00933-5">Research is demonstrating</a> how basic needs, like food, can have both stable and sustainable supply. These discussions on alternatives to neoliberal capitalism are beginning to happen in <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_STU(2023)747108">prominent policy arenas</a>.</p>
<p>The war in Ukraine’s impact on food insecurity is critical, of course, but there is more to the picture. The main problem is that capitalism allows food and other basic needs to become precarious commodities.</p>
<p>The current <a href="https://www.wfp.org/publications/war-ukraine-drives-global-food-crisis">global food crisis may be triggered by war</a>, but neoliberal capitalism is the fuel.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216474/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alicja Paulina Krubnik receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p>The Ukraine war’s impact on food insecurity is critical, but there is more to the picture. The main problem is that capitalism allows food and other basic needs to become precarious commodities.Alicja Paulina Krubnik, PhD Candidate, Political Science, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2117882023-10-05T15:50:14Z2023-10-05T15:50:14ZMedicine or food? People with diabetes in Liberia sometimes have to choose between the two<p>Diabetes is on the rise globally. Since the 1980s the number of people living with the disease has quadrupled from 108 million to <a href="https://idf.org/about-diabetes/diabetes-facts-figures/">537 million</a>.</p>
<p>This dramatic increase is largely due to the rise in <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20351193">type 2 diabetes</a> and its associated risk factors such as being overweight or obese. </p>
<p>For many years, diabetes was considered a disease of affluence and thought to be rare in sub-Saharan Africa. This is no longer the case. Today <a href="https://diabetesatlas.org/idfawp/resource-files/2022/01/IDF-Atlas-Factsheet-2021_AFR.pdf">24 million people</a> – one in 22 adults in the region – have diabetes and rates are rapidly increasing.</p>
<p>In Liberia, one of the <a href="https://databankfiles.worldbank.org/public/ddpext_download/poverty/987B9C90-CB9F-4D93-AE8C-750588BF00QA/AM2020/Global_POVEQ_LBR.pdf">poorest nations</a> in sub-Saharan Africa, it is reported that an estimated <a href="https://diabetesatlas.org/data/en/region/2/afr.html">2.1%</a> of its population of 5.2 million are living with diabetes. More than half of them are <a href="https://diabetesatlas.org/data/en/country/112/lr.html">undiagnosed</a>, underscoring the grave burden of diabetes in the country. </p>
<p>Available research on diabetes in Liberia excludes people’s voices and stories. It is not rooted in people’s lived experiences. As a result, the research findings seldom lead to change. </p>
<p>The goal of our <a href="https://publi.ludomedia.org/index.php/ntqr/article/view/785">study</a> was to understand people’s lived experiences with diabetes in Liberia. We used a photovoice method, providing 10 Liberian adults with cameras to take photographs representing their lives. Through discussing the meaning of their photographs, we gained insights into local assets and needs.</p>
<p>Participants were recruited from Redemption Hospital in Monrovia. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we partnered with Adventist University of West Africa to help facilitate interviews.</p>
<p>Our study identified two major challenges: food insecurity and healthcare neglect. </p>
<h2>Worrying about the next meal</h2>
<p>Participants shared stories about worrying about obtaining food, compromising the quality of food they ate, skipping meals and <a href="https://publi.ludomedia.org/index.php/ntqr/article/view/785">experiencing hunger</a>. They were often forced to choose between food and medication. </p>
<p>Not taking medication regularly for diabetes can lead to dangerous consequences like severe <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279340/#:%7E:text=Hyperglycemia%20occurs%20when%20blood%20sugar,blood%2Dsugar%2Dlowering%20medication">hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia</a>, coma and sometimes death. </p>
<p>One of the participants who was diagnosed with diabetes four years ago had <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/diabetes/diabetic-retinopathy">diabetic retinopathy</a>, a common complication of diabetes that leads to vision loss. </p>
<p>He had been unable to work since his diagnosis and relied entirely on his sisters for financial help and the kindness of friends in his community. </p>
<p>During periods of extreme financial hardship, the 30-year-old experienced hunger. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I don’t have money, I don’t eat.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If people like him survive the short-term consequences of hunger, repeated experiences of hunger can also place people living with diabetes at risk for long-term consequences such as <a href="https://hms.harvard.edu/news-events/publications-archive/brain/sugar-brain">cognitive impairment</a>. </p>
<p>Participants also reported concerns about the limited food options that healthcare providers recommended for their diet. They were generally advised to avoid staple foods with <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/high-glycemic-index-foods">high glycemic indexes</a> such as white rice and <a href="https://liberiainfo.co/prd/liberian-cuisine/">cassava dumboy</a> that raise the blood sugar quickly and to replace them with foods like bulgur wheat and green plantain, as they provided better blood glucose control. </p>
<p>It was not always possible to adhere to these recommendations as foods like bulgur wheat and green plantain were far more expensive.</p>
<h2>Back of the queue</h2>
<p>Liberia’s <a href="https://cja.org/where-we-work/liberia/">14-year civil war</a> coupled with the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ebola-virus-disease">Ebola outbreak</a> left a devastating impact on the country’s healthcare system. </p>
<p>As a result the country faces unique challenges in combating diabetes because of the country’s <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55d4de6de4b011a1673a40a6/t/5be085804d7a9c6daef842ea/1541440897071/Liberia+NCDI+Poverty+Commission+Report+FINAL.pdf">limited health infrastructure</a>, which neglects people living with chronic illnesses.</p>
<p>In 2018, only about 22% of publicly funded healthcare facilities could provide <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55d4de6de4b011a1673a40a6/t/5be085804d7a9c6daef842ea/1541440897071/Liberia+NCDI+Poverty+Commission+Report+FINAL.pdf">diagnosis</a> and management of diabetes. This makes it very difficult, for example, to get basic diabetes care such as testing, medication and diabetes education. </p>
<p>Participants on the research attested to this. One voiced his frustration with the local hospital and the lack of supplies and resources allocated to people living with diabetes. He was particularly disappointed that his local hospital was routinely out of medications: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sometimes at the hospital, they don’t have all the medicine. Yeah, so the whole frustrating part is when you get there, and the medicine not there, you have to pay for your prescription. With the prescription, he can just write it for me, and I will try to get it, because I want to be treated. They give you prescription, then you go to the drug store. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Participants also shared how their religious faith helped them cope and sustain hope of living with diabetes. Their transcendent hope persisted despite hardship. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Our findings demonstrate the need to improve the health and quality of life of people living with diabetes in Liberia. </p>
<p>Based on our findings, we recommended the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Increased prioritisation and resourcing of diabetes management. This would involve allocation of adequate resources for screening, diagnostic testing, medications, diabetes supplies and diabetes education. </p></li>
<li><p>Integrated diabetes centres to facilitate ongoing care. To the best of our knowledge, there is currently no public or private diabetes centre in Liberia.</p></li>
<li><p>Community food programmes with healthy options. These should include community gardens and food banks.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211788/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nothing to disclose</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danielle Macdonald, Paulina Bleah, and Pilar Camargo-Plazas 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>People with diabetes in Liberia face a vicious cycle of hunger and neglect that can sometimes spiral out of control and put their lives in danger.Paulina Bleah, Nurse Practitioner, PhD Nursing Student, Queen's University, OntarioDanielle Macdonald, Assistant Professor, Queen's University, OntarioPilar Camargo-Plazas, Associate Professor, Queen's University, OntarioRosemary Wilson, Associate Director/Associate Professor of Nursing, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1822692023-10-04T12:34:15Z2023-10-04T12:34:15ZThe Green Revolution is a warning, not a blueprint for feeding a hungry planet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551417/original/file-20231002-15-em8fkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C5310%2C3540&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A farmer spreads fertilizer in a wheat field outside Amritsar, India.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/farmer-spreads-fertiliser-in-a-wheat-field-amid-foggy-news-photo/1231155968">Narinder Nanu/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Feeding a growing world population has been a serious concern for decades, but today there are new causes for alarm. Floods, heat waves and other weather extremes are making agriculture increasingly precarious, especially in the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-global-south-19fa68cf8c60061e88d69f6f2270d98b">Global South</a>. </p>
<p>The war in Ukraine is also a factor. Russia is <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-russia-pulled-out-of-its-grain-deal-with-ukraine-and-what-that-means-for-the-global-food-system-210046">blockading Ukrainian grain exports</a>, and <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/blog/russia-ukraine-war-after-year-impacts-fertilizer-production-prices-and-trade-flows">fertilizer prices have surged</a> because of trade sanctions on Russia, the world’s leading fertilizer exporter.</p>
<p>Amid these challenges, some organizations are renewing calls for a <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/green-revolution/">second Green Revolution</a>, echoing the introduction in the 1960s and 1970s of supposedly high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice into developing countries, along with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Those efforts centered on India and other Asian countries; today, advocates focus on <a href="https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/initiative/alliance-for-a-green-revolution-in-africa/">sub-Saharan Africa</a>, where the original Green Revolution regime never took hold.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">In this Oct. 25, 2000, episode of the television drama ‘The West Wing,’ president Josiah Bartlet invokes the standard account of Green Revolution seeds saving millions from starvation.</span></figcaption>
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<p>But anyone concerned with food production should be careful what they wish for. In recent years, a <a href="https://www.sbc.edu/live/files/2598-stone2019greenrevpdf">wave of new analysis</a> has spurred a critical rethinking of what Green Revolution-style farming really means for food supplies and self-sufficiency.</p>
<p>As I explain in my book, “<a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Agricultural-Dilemma-How-Not-to-Feed-the-World/Stone/p/book/9781032260457">The Agricultural Dilemma: How Not to Feed the World</a>,” the Green Revolution does hold lessons for food production today – but not the ones that are commonly heard. Events in India show why.</p>
<h2>A triumphal narrative</h2>
<p>There was a consensus in the 1960s among development officials and the public that an overpopulated Earth was heading toward catastrophe. Paul Ehrlich’s 1968 bestseller, “<a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/book-incited-worldwide-fear-overpopulation-180967499/">The Population Bomb</a>,” famously predicted that nothing could stop “hundreds of millions” from starving in the 1970s. </p>
<p>India was the global poster child for this looming Malthusian disaster: Its population was booming, drought was ravaging its countryside and its imports of American wheat were climbing to levels that <a href="https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FBSH">alarmed government officials in India and the U.S</a>. </p>
<p>Then, in 1967, India began distributing new wheat varieties bred by Rockefeller Foundation plant biologist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Norman-Borlaug">Norman Borlaug</a>, along with high doses of chemical fertilizer. After famine failed to materialize, observers credited the new farming strategy with <a href="https://thewire.in/agriculture/food-security-green-revolution">enabling India to feed itself</a>.</p>
<p>Borlaug received the <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1970/borlaug/biographical/">1970 Nobel Peace Prize</a> and is still widely credited with “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/globalcitizen/2023/07/23/oppenheimer-and-the-man-who-saved-1-billion-lives-tale-of-two-geniuses/?sh=397873936b26">saving a billion lives</a>.” Indian agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan, who worked with Borlaug to promote the Green Revolution, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/09/28/ms-swaminathan-india-famine-dead/">received the inaugural World Food Prize in 1987</a>. Tributes to Swaminathan, who died on Sept. 28, 2023, at age 98, have reiterated the claim that his efforts brought India “<a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/he-was-the-face-of-the-green-revolution-101695908903502.html">self-sufficiency in food production</a>” and independence from Western powers. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551481/original/file-20231002-15-vu3ucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a suit at a podium, speaking and gesturing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551481/original/file-20231002-15-vu3ucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551481/original/file-20231002-15-vu3ucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551481/original/file-20231002-15-vu3ucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551481/original/file-20231002-15-vu3ucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551481/original/file-20231002-15-vu3ucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551481/original/file-20231002-15-vu3ucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551481/original/file-20231002-15-vu3ucg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plant scientist M.S. Swaminathan, often called the father of India’s Green Revolution, speaks at a world summit on food security in Rome on Sept. 10, 2009.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-unesco-ecotechnology-director-known-as-the-father-of-news-photo/90539380">Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Debunking the legend</h2>
<p>The standard legend of India’s Green Revolution centers on two propositions. First, India faced a food crisis, with farms mired in tradition and unable to feed an exploding population; and second, Borlaug’s wheat seeds led to record harvests from 1968 on, replacing import dependence with food self-sufficiency. </p>
<p>Recent research shows that both claims are false. </p>
<p>India was importing wheat in the 1960s <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674725812">because of policy decisions</a>, not overpopulation. After the nation achieved independence in 1947, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru prioritized developing heavy industry. U.S. advisers encouraged this strategy and <a href="https://thewire.in/agriculture/green-revolution-borlaug-food-security">offered to provide India with surplus grain</a>, which India accepted as cheap food for urban workers.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the government urged Indian farmers to grow nonfood export crops to earn foreign currency. They switched millions of acres from rice to jute production, and by the mid-1960s India was <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674725812">exporting agricultural products</a>.</p>
<p>Borlaug’s miracle seeds were <a href="https://upittpress.org/books/9780822947349/">not inherently more productive</a> than many Indian wheat varieties. Rather, they just responded more effectively to high doses of chemical fertilizer. But while India had abundant manure from its cows, it produced almost no chemical fertilizer. It had to start spending heavily to import and subsidize fertilizer. </p>
<p>India did see a wheat boom after 1967, but there is evidence that this expensive new input-intensive approach was not the main cause. Rather, the Indian government established a new policy of paying higher prices for wheat. Unsurprisingly, Indian farmers <a href="https://rajpatel.org/2014/08/29/every-factoid-is-a-mystery-how-to-think-more-clearly-about-the-green-revolution-and-other-agricultural-claims/">planted more wheat</a> and less of other crops.</p>
<p>Once India’s 1965-67 drought ended and the Green Revolution began, wheat production sped up, while production trends in other crops like rice, maize and pulses <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Agricultural-Dilemma-How-Not-to-Feed-the-World/Stone/p/book/9781032260457">slowed down</a>. Net food grain production, which was much more crucial than wheat production alone, actually <a href="https://eands.dacnet.nic.in/Previous_AT_Glance.htm">resumed at the same growth rate as before</a>. </p>
<p>But grain production became more erratic, forcing India to resume importing food by the mid-1970s. India also became dramatically <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Agricultural-Dilemma-How-Not-to-Feed-the-World/Stone/p/book/9781032260457">more dependent on chemical fertilizer</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551478/original/file-20231002-29-mxfc9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graph showing grain production in India from 1952-1982 and intensifying fertilizer use." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551478/original/file-20231002-29-mxfc9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551478/original/file-20231002-29-mxfc9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551478/original/file-20231002-29-mxfc9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551478/original/file-20231002-29-mxfc9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551478/original/file-20231002-29-mxfc9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551478/original/file-20231002-29-mxfc9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551478/original/file-20231002-29-mxfc9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">India’s Green Revolution wheat boom came at the expense of other crops; the growth rate of overall food grain production did not increase at all. It is doubtful that the ‘revolution’ produced any more food than would have been produced anyway. What increased dramatically was dependence on imported fertilizer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glenn Davis Stone; data from India Directorate of Economics and Statistics and Fertiliser Association of India</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to data from Indian <a href="https://eands.dacnet.nic.in/Previous_AT_Glance.htm">economic</a> and <a href="https://www.faidelhi.org/statistics/statistical-database">agricultural</a> organizations, on the eve of the Green Revolution in 1965, Indian farmers needed 17 pounds (8 kilograms) of fertilizer to grow an average ton of food. By 1980, it took 96 pounds (44 kilograms). So, India replaced imports of wheat, which were virtually free food aid, with imports of fossil fuel-based fertilizer, paid for with precious international currency.</p>
<p>Today, India remains the world’s second-highest fertilizer importer, spending <a href="https://www.worldstopexports.com/top-fertilizers-imports-by-country/">US$17.3 billion in 2022</a>. Perversely, Green Revolution boosters call this extreme and expensive dependence “<a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/india-at-75/overcoming-food-emergencies-through-imports-from-us-via-pl480/article65753881.ece">self-sufficiency</a>.” </p>
<h2>The toll of ‘green’ pollution</h2>
<p>Recent research shows that the environmental costs of the Green Revolution are as severe as its economic impacts. One reason is that fertilizer use is astonishingly wasteful. Globally, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo325">only 17% of what is applied</a> is taken up by plants and ultimately consumed as food. Most of the rest washes into waterways, where it creates <a href="https://theconversation.com/dead-zones-are-a-global-water-pollution-challenge-but-with-sustained-effort-they-can-come-back-to-life-96077">algae blooms and dead zones</a> that smother aquatic life. Producing and using fertilizer also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18773-w">generates copious greenhouse gases</a> that contribute to climate change.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mZ7ErNcQbuo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Excess nutrients are creating dead zones in water bodies worldwide. Synthetic fertilizer is a major source.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Punjab, India’s top Green Revolution state, heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/01/the-indian-state-where-farmers-sow-the-seeds-of-death">contaminated water, soil and food</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/as.2019.1010101">endangered human health</a>. </p>
<p>In my view, African countries where the Green Revolution has not made inroads should consider themselves lucky. Ethiopia offers a cautionary case. In recent years, the Ethiopian government has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-16/wheat-farming-drive-in-ethiopia-gathers-pace-as-shortages-bite#xj4y7vzkg">forced farmers to plant</a> increasing amounts of fertilizer-intensive wheat, claiming this will achieve “<a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202306230565.html">self-sufficiency</a>” and even allow it to <a href="https://borkena.com/2023/02/27/wheat-selling-as-smuggled-commodity/">export wheat worth $105 million</a> this year. Some African officials hail this strategy as an <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202306230565.html">example for the continent</a>.</p>
<p>But Ethiopia has no fertilizer factories, so it has to import it – at a cost of <a href="https://newbusinessethiopia.com/agribusiness/ethiopia-spent-one-billion-usd-for-fertilizers-import/">$1 billion just in the past year</a>. Even so, many farmers face <a href="https://addisstandard.com/analysis-fertilizer-shortage-amidst-widespread-illicit-trade-cripples-farmers-threatens-productivity/">severe fertilizer shortages</a>.</p>
<p>The Green Revolution still has many boosters today, especially among biotech companies that are eager to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150903498754">draw parallels</a> between genetically engineered crops and Borlaug’s seeds. I agree that it offers important lessons about how to move forward with food production, but actual data tells a distinctly different story from the standard narrative. In my view, there are many ways to pursue <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2015.03.004">less input-intensive agriculture</a> that will be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2018.05.002">more sustainable</a> in a world with an increasingly erratic climate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182269/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Glenn Davis Stone receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.</span></em></p>Did the Green Revolution, which brought high-tech agriculture to developing nations in the 1960s, prevent famine? Recent research takes a much more skeptical view.Glenn Davis Stone, Research Professor of Environmental Science, Sweet Briar CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2133402023-10-04T12:33:07Z2023-10-04T12:33:07ZThe Nobel Peace Prize offers no guarantee its winners actually create peace, or make it last<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551816/original/file-20231003-21-46u90x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1091%2C0%2C71%2C233&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Norwegian Nobel Committee is set to announce its annual winner for the peace prize on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/plaque-depicting-alfred-nobel-at-the-nobel-peace-prize-news-photo/83979203?adppopup=true">Chris Jackson/Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Norwegian Nobel Committee is <a href="https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/presse/arrangementer/accreditation-announcement-nobel-peace-prize-2023?instance=0">set to announce</a> the recipient of the annual Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 6, 2023, drawing from a pool of 351 nominees. </p>
<p>Environmental activist Greta Thunberg and Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/how-is-nobel-peace-prize-decided-2023-09-29/">are reportedly two of the nominees</a>, among political dissidents, leaders and human rights activists who are up for the prize. The winner will receive a medal, US$994,000 and global recognition.</p>
<p>I have <a href="https://www.sandiego.edu/peace/about/biography.php?profile_id=2091">worked in the peace-building field</a> for over 20 years to support societies as they work to prevent violence and end wars. Each year, I think I should look forward to this moment, when a champion of peace is celebrated on the world stage. But given the track record of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, I always feel some dread before the peace prize announcement. Will the award celebrate a true peace builder, or a politician that just happened to sign a peace agreement? Will it celebrate a true and historic achievement, or what happens to be in the newspaper right now? </p>
<h2>A mixed history</h2>
<p>Admittedly, the <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/about/the-norwegian-nobel-committee/">Norwegian Nobel Committee</a> – made up of five Norwegians, mostly former politicians, whom the Norwegian parliament appoints for a six-year term – has made some great peace prize selections over the years. </p>
<p>South African politician Nelson Mandela, for example, <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1993/summary/#">won the prize</a> in 1993 for his work to help end apartheid.</p>
<p>And Leymah Gbowee, an activist who helped bring peace to Liberia, <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2011/gbowee/facts/">won the award</a> in 2011, alongside former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Yemeni women’s rights activist Tawakkul Karman.</p>
<p>Gbowee brought Christian and Muslim women together to end Liberia’s devastating 14-year civil war by using creative tactics – <a href="https://qz.com/958346/history-shows-that-sex-strikes-are-a-surprisingly-effective-strategy-for-political-change">including a sex strike</a>, in which Liberian women promised to withhold sex from their husbands until a peace agreement was signed. </p>
<p>Despite the prize’s mixed track record – and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/end-nobel-peace-prize/616300/">despite calls by some to stop giving the award</a> – I think the Nobel Peace Prize should continue. War remains one of humankind’s greatest problems, and peace is still a human achievement worth celebrating.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551809/original/file-20231003-25-gozy93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Leymah Gbowee wears a white shirt and marches with a long line of women, also wearing white." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551809/original/file-20231003-25-gozy93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551809/original/file-20231003-25-gozy93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551809/original/file-20231003-25-gozy93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551809/original/file-20231003-25-gozy93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551809/original/file-20231003-25-gozy93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551809/original/file-20231003-25-gozy93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551809/original/file-20231003-25-gozy93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Leymah Gbowee, who was a joint Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2011, marches with women’s rights activists to pray for peace in Monrovia, Liberia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/liberias-joint-nobel-peace-prize-2011-leymah-gbowee-and-news-photo/1250772202?adppopup=true">Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The prize can be off-mark</h2>
<p>The Nobel Committee, in my view, does not always give the peace prize to people who actually deserve the recognition. And the prize is not a precursor to peace actually happening, or lasting. </p>
<p>Some previous awardees are head-scratchers, for peace experts and casual observers and recipients alike. For example, former President Barack Obama said that <a href="https://www.npr.org/2009/10/09/113677764/obama-surprised-at-winning-nobel-peace-prize">he was even surprised by the award</a> when he won it in 2009.</p>
<p>The committee gave him the award “based on his extraordinary efforts to <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2009/press-release/">strengthen international diplomacy</a> and cooperation between peoples.” However, Obama had been in office for less than a year when he got the prize, which is likely not enough time to do either of these things.</p>
<p>Geir Lundestad, a former secretary of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, wrote in his 2019 memoir that he had hoped the award “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34277960">would strengthen Mr. Obama</a>” to pursue nuclear disarmament, but in the end he said that he regretted giving Obama the award. </p>
<p>Others selections, such as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, have proved embarrassing in hindsight. </p>
<p>Just one year after winning the award in 2019, Abiy ordered a large-scale military offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, <a href="https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ethiopia">a controversial political party</a> that represents the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia. </p>
<p>The war between the Ethiopian military and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front resulted in tens of thousands of civilian deaths before it ended in November 2022. A <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-united-nations-africa-ethiopia-eritrea-dcb992b8389069490c8b44357500cabe">United Nations investigation</a> found in 2022 that all sides in the conflict have committed <a href="https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/war-crimes.shtml">war crimes</a> against civilians.</p>
<p>Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Nobel award committee, later said in 2022 that Ahmed “has a special responsibility to end the conflict and contribute to peace.” </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, such statements encouraging peace – alongside the Nobel Prize itself – have had little effect on how prize winners act. The factors that drive war or peace are complex and are unlikely to be significantly influenced by an annual award given in Norway.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551815/original/file-20231003-19-ful84d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A picture of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali is on display at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, alongside other framed photos of people in a dark room with blue lighting." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551815/original/file-20231003-19-ful84d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551815/original/file-20231003-19-ful84d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551815/original/file-20231003-19-ful84d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551815/original/file-20231003-19-ful84d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551815/original/file-20231003-19-ful84d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551815/original/file-20231003-19-ful84d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551815/original/file-20231003-19-ful84d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=599&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 photo of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is on display at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, recognizing winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/picture-of-the-2019-nobel-peace-prize-laureate-ethiopian-news-photo/1175337675?adppopup=true">Stan Lysberg Solum/NTB Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Peace is long term</h2>
<p>Other Nobel awarding committees seem to understand that it takes a significant amount of time to judge whether an achievement truly merits the prize.</p>
<p>Both physicists and economists wait an average of 23 years to <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature-index/news/chemistry-fastest-path-nobel-prize">receive an award</a> after they achieve their award-winning work. </p>
<p>In contrast, American diplomat Henry Kissinger won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for negotiating a <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cease-fire-goes-into-effect">cease-fire in Vietnam that same year</a>. The cease-fire began to falter almost immediately, and Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, fell to the North Vietnamese army in May 1975. Kissinger then unsuccessfully tried to return the prize, noting that <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/world/kissinger-nobel-peace-prize-vietnam-war-b2261492.html">“peace we sought through negotiations has been overturned by force</a>.”</p>
<p>Similarly, the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli political leaders Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin won the peace prize in 1994, one year after they signed the <a href="https://peacemaker.un.org/israelopt-osloaccord93">Oslo Accords,</a> a series of agreements that set up Palestinian self-governance for the West Bank and Gaza. But by 2000, Palestinians had launched the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Israel/The-second-intifada">second intifada</a>, and widespread violence returned to the region.</p>
<p>The Nobel committee tends to award prizes to those involved in current events and doesn’t award prizes long after those events have happened. But some awards have stood the test of time, in part because they were given to individuals following long struggles.</p>
<p>Mandela, for instance, won the prize 53 years after his expulsion from university for joining a protest. This sparked <a href="https://southafrica-info.com/history/nelson-mandela-timeline/">a 53-yearlong career in activism and politics</a> that included 27 years of incarceration as a political prisoner by the government he had fought against – and later led as president.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551831/original/file-20231003-21-fn9thz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Yaser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzak Rabin stand in a row and show an open book with a gold Nobel peace prize in it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551831/original/file-20231003-21-fn9thz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551831/original/file-20231003-21-fn9thz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551831/original/file-20231003-21-fn9thz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551831/original/file-20231003-21-fn9thz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551831/original/file-20231003-21-fn9thz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551831/original/file-20231003-21-fn9thz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551831/original/file-20231003-21-fn9thz.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">Palestinian leader Yaser Arafat, left, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, center, and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin display their joint Nobel Peace Prizes in 1994.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-this-handout-from-the-government-press-office-israeli-news-photo/51663003?adppopup=true">Government Press Office via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>It’s about peace</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-life-and-work/">Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel</a> – the founder of the Nobel awards – said the Nobel Peace Prize should go to the person “who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses.” </p>
<p>The language is somewhat archaic, but the message is clear – the peace prize was designed to be about stopping war and promoting peace. </p>
<p>However, in the last 20 years, the peace prize has been awarded to those working on a variety of issues, including <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2021/summary/">freedom of expression</a>, <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2014/summary/">children’s education</a> and <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2007/summary/">climate change</a>.</p>
<p>All of these are important issues that require more support and recognition – but it is not the case that freedom of expression or climate change adaptation directly leads to peace.</p>
<p>In my view, there are more than enough problems and deadly conflicts in the world whose solutions merit the award of the Nobel Peace Prize as a reflection of its original intent – to acknowledge attempts aimed at ending the scourge of war and building a sustainable peace.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213340/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Blum 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 Nobel Peace Prize has recognized some legendary leaders and peace activists, but it has a mixed track record of recognizing people who actually deserve the prize.Andrew Blum, Executive Director and Professor of Practice at Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace, University of San DiegoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2113112023-08-18T10:31:56Z2023-08-18T10:31:56ZWeight loss: drinking a gallon of water a day probably won’t help you lose weight<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543199/original/file-20230817-27-wts183.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C9%2C6067%2C4036&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Water is important for your health, but it can't boost weight loss.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/healthy-liquid-beautiful-brunette-woman-drinking-1891473649">Prostock-studio/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s often claimed that if you’re trying to lose weight, one of the things you should do each day is drink plenty of water – with some internet advice even suggesting this should be as much as a gallon (about 4.5 litres). The claim is that water helps burn calories and reduce appetite, which in turn leads to weight loss.</p>
<p>But while we all might wish it was this easy to lose weight, unfortunately there’s little evidence to back up these claims.</p>
<h2>Myth 1: water helps burn calories</h2>
<p>One <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14671205/">small study</a>, of 14 young adults, found drinking 500ml of water increased resting energy expenditure (the amount of calories our body burns before exercise) by about 24%.</p>
<p>While this may sound great, this effect only lasted an hour. And this wouldn’t translate to a big difference at all. For an average 70kg adult, they would only use an additional 20 calories – a quarter of a biscuit – for every 500ml of water they drank.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16822824/">Another study</a> of eight young adults only saw an increase in energy expenditure when the water was fridge cold – reporting a very modest 4% increase in calories burned. This may be because the body needs to use more energy in order to bring the water up to body temperature, or because it requires more energy for the body to filter the increased volume of fluid through the kidneys. And again, this effect was only seen for about an hour.</p>
<p>So although scientifically it might be possible, the actual net increase in calories burned is tiny. For example, even if you drank an extra 1.5l of water per day, it would save fewer calories than you’d get in a slice of bread.</p>
<p>It’s also worth noting that all this research was in young healthy adults. More research is needed to see whether this effect is also seen in other groups (such as middle-aged and older adults).</p>
<h2>Myth 2: water with meals reduces appetite</h2>
<p>This claim again seems sensible, in that if your stomach is at least partly full of water there’s less room for food – so you end up eating less. </p>
<p>A number of studies actually support this, particularly those conducted in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2859815/#:%7E:text=Thus%2C%20when%20combined%20with%20a,meal%20EI%20following%20water%20ingestion.">middle-aged and older adults</a>. It’s also a reason people who are unwell or have a poor appetite are advised <a href="https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bp-assets/globalassets/salford/forms/improve-your-food-and-drink-intake.pdf">not to drink before eating</a> as it may lead to under-eating.</p>
<p>But for people looking to lose weight, the science is a little less straightforward.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17228036/">One study</a> showed middle-aged and older adults lost 2kg over a 12-week period when they drank water before meals compared with people who didn’t drink any water with their meal. Younger participants (aged 21-35) on the other hand did not lose any weight, regardless of whether they drank water before their meal or not.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An older man pours himself a glass of water to drink with his meal." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543196/original/file-20230817-23-mkx2vd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543196/original/file-20230817-23-mkx2vd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543196/original/file-20230817-23-mkx2vd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543196/original/file-20230817-23-mkx2vd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543196/original/file-20230817-23-mkx2vd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543196/original/file-20230817-23-mkx2vd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543196/original/file-20230817-23-mkx2vd.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">Water before meals only leads to weight loss in some groups.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/old-man-hold-glass-bottle-water-1667533882">theshots.co/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But since the study didn’t use blinding (where information which may influence participants is withheld until after the experiment is finished), it means that participants may have become aware of why they were drinking water before their meal. This may have led some participants to purposefully change how much they ate in the hopes it might increase their changes of losing weight. However, this doesn’t explain why the effect wasn’t seen in young adults, so it will be important for future studies to investigate why this is.</p>
<p>The other challenge with a lot of this kind of research is that it only focuses on whether participants eat less during just one of their day’s meals after drinking water. Although this might suggest the potential to lose weight, there’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20736036/">very little good-quality evidence</a> showing that reducing appetite in general leads to weight loss over time. </p>
<p>Perhaps this is due to our body’s biological drive to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28193517/">maintain its size</a>. It’s for this reason that no claims can be legally made in Europe about foods which help make you <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/satietyenhancing-products-for-appetite-control-science-and-regulation-of-functional-foods-for-weight-management/E4CCAE4C90A220994FD29C27FAE7F666">feel fuller for longer</a> with <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nutrition-and-health-claims-guidance-to-compliance-with-regulation-ec-1924-2006-on-nutrition-and-health-claims-made-on-foods/nutrition-and-health-claims-guidance-to-compliance-with-regulation-ec-19242006#section-6">reference to weight loss</a>. </p>
<p>So, although there might be some appetite-dulling effects of water, it seems that it might not result in long-term weight change – and may possibly be due to making conscious changes to your diet.</p>
<h2>Just water isn’t enough</h2>
<p>There’s a pretty good reason why water on its own is not terribly effective at <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/eating-habits-and-appetite-control-a-psychobiological-perspective/0D0605739F5150D1A7C49420D75F3CDF">regulating appetite</a>. If it did, prehistoric humans might have starved. </p>
<p>But while appetite and satiation – feeling full and not wanting to eat again – aren’t perfectly aligned with being able to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20736036/">lose weight</a>, it might be a helpful starting point. </p>
<p>Part of what helps us to feel full is our stomach. When food enters the stomach, it triggers stretch receptors that in turn lead to the release of hormones which tell us we’re full.</p>
<p>But since water is a liquid, it’s rapidly emptied from our stomach – meaning it doesn’t actually fill us up. Even more interestingly, due to the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16934271/">stomach’s shape</a>, fluids can bypass any semi-solid food content that’s being digested in the lower part of the stomach. This means that water can still be quickly emptied from the stomach. So even if it’s consumed at the end of a meal it might not necessarily extend your feelings of fullness.</p>
<p>If you’re trying to eat less and lose weight, drinking excessive amounts of water may not be a great solution. But there is evidence showing when water is mixed with other substances (such as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30166637/">fibre</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0031938494903034">soups</a> or vegetable sauces) this can delay how fast the stomach empties its contents – meaning you feel fuller longer.</p>
<p>But while water may not help you lose weight directly, it may still aid in weight loss given it’s the healthiest drink we can choose. Swapping high-calorie drinks such as soda and alcohol for water may be an easy way of reducing the calories you consume daily, which may help with weight loss.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211311/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Duane Mellor is a member of the British Dietetic Association </span></em></p>But it may have an indirect effect on weight loss – especially if you swap it for the high-calorie drinks you normally have.Duane Mellor, Lead for Evidence-Based Medicine and Nutrition, Aston Medical School, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2047162023-08-14T19:37:44Z2023-08-14T19:37:44ZCanada’s welfare system is failing mothers with infants<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541320/original/file-20230805-15-xi8j4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C82%2C3670%2C2351&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Food insecurity can impact both a mother’s ability or decision to breastfeed, and also the ability to purchase baby formula.</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/canadas-welfare-system-is-failing-mothers-with-infants" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The Canadian government issued a <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-budget-2023-grocery-rebate-is-the-right-direction-on-food-insecurity-but-theres-a-long-road-ahead-201926">one-time grocery rebate</a> in July, targeted at low-income Canadians. While the rebate provided some relief to people struggling with soaring inflation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-budget-2023-grocery-rebate-is-the-right-direction-on-food-insecurity-but-theres-a-long-road-ahead-201926">it is far from enough</a> to address the depth of poverty and intensity of food insecurity faced by the lowest income Canadians. </p>
<p>During the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4981537/">most vulnerable time of life</a>, mothers and infants living on welfare are experiencing food insecurity, which can have <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0645">lifelong impacts</a>. Governments need to make policy changes to better serve mothers and their children. </p>
<h2>Infant food insecurity</h2>
<p>Food insecurity is defined as having “<a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/">inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints</a>.” Maternal food insecurity can result in many health-damaging effects, ranging from <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/1/e033296">adverse birth outcomes</a> to <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0645">mental health issues</a>. Infant food insecurity can result in long-term developmental impacts, including effects on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2019.12.004">cognition and brain development</a>. </p>
<p>Experts have outlined how <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-babies-going-hungry-in-a-food-rich-nation-like-canada-165789">food insecurity can impact a mother’s ability or decision to breastfeed</a>. Food-insecure mothers might cease breastfeeding much sooner because they feel they have inadequate breastmilk supply. In addition, they might struggle to afford infant formula.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524793/original/file-20230508-29-dhs4uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman feeding a baby from a bottle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524793/original/file-20230508-29-dhs4uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524793/original/file-20230508-29-dhs4uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524793/original/file-20230508-29-dhs4uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524793/original/file-20230508-29-dhs4uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524793/original/file-20230508-29-dhs4uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524793/original/file-20230508-29-dhs4uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524793/original/file-20230508-29-dhs4uw.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">Mothers and infants living on welfare are experiencing food insecurity, which can have lifelong impacts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While food-insecure mothers initiate breastfeeding at the same rate as food-secure mothers, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/study-finds-moms-living-in-poverty-struggle-to-breastfeed-their-babies-longer-1.3853616?cache=yes">rates drop steeply within the first two months</a>. Mothers who are undernourished themselves might perceive they have less than adequate milk supply and often stop breastfeeding for this reason, <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/out-of-milk">believing the baby will suffer because they have an inadequate diet</a>. </p>
<p>For low-income mothers, breastfeeding might seem to be the most cost-effective way of feeding their infants. However, other research shows that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32162282/">both formula and breastfeeding are unaffordable to mothers who receive welfare</a>. </p>
<h2>Problems with the welfare system</h2>
<p>Approximately <a href="https://maytree.com/wp-content/uploads/Social_Assistance_Summaries_All_Canada.pdf">four to six per cent of people</a> in most provinces and territories receive welfare benefits. The number is slightly lower in the Yukon and Alberta and significantly higher in Nunavut where it is just under 28 per cent. </p>
<p>While some provinces and territories provide more financial resources to pregnant women and mothers than others, incomes remain low and inadequate to achieve food security. </p>
<p>For example, Nova Scotia welfare recipients receive a total of <a href="https://novascotia.ca/coms/employment/documents/ESIA_Program_Policy_Manual.pdf">$51 per month in maternal nutrition allowance</a> during pregnancy and up to 12 months after birth. However, this is often not enough support for low-income mothers to adequately feed their infants.</p>
<p><a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/2023/new-data-on-household-food-insecurity-in-2022/">COVID-19 increased household food insecurity rates for households with children in both Canada</a> and the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2022/february/food-insecurity-for-households-with-children-rose-in-2020-disrupting-decade-long-decline/">United States</a></p>
<p>Allowances for pregnant women and mothers of infants receiving welfare are similarly low across Canada. These low rates create food insecurity for these vulnerable families and must be rectified via provincial, territorial and federal government policies. </p>
<h2>Charity alone is not enough</h2>
<p>Some might assume that charities and food banks will provide vital support for low-income families. A recent study found that during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many community organizations <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2022.2054460">answered the increased call for food</a>. </p>
<p>While community organizations were critical in filling pandemic gaps, they alone cannot address the root cause of food insecurity: inadequate incomes. That problem continues, and the number of people relying on food banks has <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/60-rise-use-of-food-banks-programs-canada-2023-1.6711094">increased exponentially in the past couple of years</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-governments-shirk-their-responsibilities-non-profits-are-more-important-than-ever-205169">As governments shirk their responsibilities, non-profits are more important than ever</a>
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<p>Additionally, many food banks are <a href="https://ca.style.yahoo.com/at-breaking-point-canadian-food-banks-struggling-insecurity-inflation-214221464.html">struggling to provide enough food</a>. The demand for food now far outstrips the donations most food banks receive. A sustainable solution to food insecurity is needed, particularly for pregnant women and mothers of infants. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541322/original/file-20230805-21-3ju57z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person in a grey t-shirt placing food items on a shelf" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541322/original/file-20230805-21-3ju57z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541322/original/file-20230805-21-3ju57z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541322/original/file-20230805-21-3ju57z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541322/original/file-20230805-21-3ju57z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541322/original/file-20230805-21-3ju57z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541322/original/file-20230805-21-3ju57z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541322/original/file-20230805-21-3ju57z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&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 volunteer places products on shelves at a food bank in Ottawa. Food banks alone cannot address the root cause of food insecurity: inadequate incomes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Child welfare laws</h2>
<p>In addition, child welfare laws need to be changed to stop them from unfairly penalizing poorer parents. In Nova Scotia, the <a href="https://policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/Nova%20Scotia%20Office/2023/03/CCPAChildPovertyReportCardFINAL.pdf"><em>Children and Family Services Act</em> stipulates</a> that parents’ failure to provide adequate nutrition is grounds for child apprehension.</p>
<p><a href="https://policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/Nova%20Scotia%20Office/2023/03/CCPAChildPovertyReportCardFINAL.pdf">The 2022 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Nova Scotia</a> recommended removing this stipulation. <a href="https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/ineligible">Experts have highlighted</a> the punitive nature of such requirements. These kinds of regulations punish mothers for their poverty and food insecurity, rather than increasing the financial support they receive.</p>
<h2>Impact of inflation</h2>
<p>There are also reforms that need to take place around welfare rates that would create a more liveable income source for mothers and infants in particular. </p>
<p>As the 2022 report card on poverty in Nova Scotia shows, welfare rates are not indexed to inflation in the province. This has resulted in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/ns-income-assistance-rates-unchanged-1.6788662">benefits stagnating</a> despite a few modest increases in the past several years. Only three provinces and territories <a href="https://maytree.com/wp-content/uploads/Welfare_in_Canada_2021.pdf">index welfare rates to inflation:</a> New Brunswick, Québec and the Yukon. In Québec, <a href="https://inroadsjournal.ca/quebecs-distinct-welfare-state-on-poverty-among-families-with-children-quebec-%E2%80%A8and-the-rest-of-canada-have-taken-different-paths/">this has resulted in lower income inequality</a>. </p>
<p>The province has also recently launched a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-basic-income-program-begins-advocates-say-many-low-income-people-excluded-1.6730003">basic income program</a> and although the eligibility requirements exclude many, it does increase income recipients would otherwise receive from welfare benefits.</p>
<p>With inflation affecting the price of food, the depth of food insecurity for mothers receiving welfare payments will only grow. Welfare rates must reflect the income necessary to feed pregnant and new mothers and provide them the support they need to care for their children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204716/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Fisher receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p>Low-income mothers with infants are struggling with food insecurity, which can lead to long-term health impacts for both mothers and children.Laura Fisher, PhD student, Sociology, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2100462023-07-19T21:00:43Z2023-07-19T21:00:43ZWhy Russia pulled out of its grain deal with Ukraine – and what that means for the global food system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538379/original/file-20230719-17-8xsgid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=400%2C142%2C8226%2C5600&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The grain deal allowed Ukrainian corn and other products to reach ports in Lebanon and elsewhere. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/LebanonUkraine/5b16bfc620ab4ba69daf4ff40e7d24e5/photo?Query=ukraine%20grain%20black%20sea%20odesa&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=12&currentItemNo=2&vs=true">AP Photo/Hassan Ammar</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Russia-Ukraine grain deal that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-19/wheat-rises-9-as-russia-warns-on-safety-of-ships-to-ukraine?srnd=markets-vp&sref=Hjm5biAW">has been critical to keeping global food prices stable</a> and preventing famine is currently in tatters. On July 17, 2023, Russia <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/17/europe/russia-ukraine-grain-deal-intl/index.html">said it was pulling out</a> of the year-old deal, which allowed shipments of grains and other foodstuffs to travel past the Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea. And to make matters worse, over the next two days Russia <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-odesa-crimea-1676e6e746c888c8c8c1f0e4493be6fa">bombed the Ukrainian grain port of Odesa</a>, destroying over 60,000 tons of grain.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/17/russia-ukraine-grain-deal-what-does-it-mean-for-global-food-prices.html">As a result, food prices have surged</a>, with the cost of wheat, corn and soybeans in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere all skyrocketing.</em> </p>
<p><em>So, what is the grain deal, and why is it so important to the global food supply chain?</em> </p>
<p><em><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=ecFsBp0AAAAJ">Anna Nagurney</a> is an expert on supply chains, including those involving perishable products like food, and is co-chair of the board of directors overseeing the Kyiv School of Economics in Ukraine. She explains how important Ukrainian grain is to feeding the world – and why the Black Sea is a vital route to getting it to people who need it.</em></p>
<h2>What makes Ukraine such an important part of the global food supply chain?</h2>
<p>Ukraine <a href="https://www.farminglife.com/country-and-farming/why-is-ukraine-known-as-the-breadbasket-of-europe-heres-what-it-produces-and-exports-3584361#">has been called the breadbasket</a> of Europe and is a major supplier of wheat, barley, sunflower products and corn to Europe as well as to developing countries such as in the Middle East, <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-egypt-where-a-meal-isnt-complete-without-bread-war-in-ukraine-is-threatening-the-wheat-supply-and-access-to-this-staple-food-179361">Northern Africa</a> and China. </p>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/black-sea-grain-initiative-vladimir-putin-russia-ukraine-volodymyr-zelensky-f17649e0">400 million people relied on foodstuffs from Ukraine</a> before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.</p>
<p>One key reason for that is Ukraine has approximately <a href="https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/econpol-forum-2023-2-cramon-taubadel-nivievskyi-agricultural-perspective.pdf#:%7E:text=Agriculture%20is%20a%20key%20sector%20of%20the%20Ukrainian,Ukrainian%20GDP%20amounts%20to%20roughly%2020%20per-%20cent.">one-third of the world’s most fertile soil</a>, which is known as chernozem, or black soil. And before the war, Ukraine was able to rely on its year-round access to ice-free harbors in the Black Sea to ship grains to nearby markets in the Middle East and Africa.</p>
<h2>What happened when war broke out?</h2>
<p>Even before the war, <a href="https://theconversation.com/war-in-ukraine-is-pushing-global-acute-hunger-to-the-highest-level-in-this-century-181414">famine was increasing</a> across the globe. Russia’s invasion made it a lot worse. </p>
<p>From 2019 to 2022, <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/12-07-2023-122-million-more-people-pushed-into-hunger-since-2019-due-to-multiple-crises--reveals-un-report">more than 122 million people were driven into hunger</a> by a combination of the impacts of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the United Nations said in a recent report. <a href="https://theconversation.com/war-in-ukraine-is-pushing-global-acute-hunger-to-the-highest-level-in-this-century-181414">Other researchers have suggested</a> global hunger is the highest it’s been since at least the early 2000s.</p>
<p>From February to June 2022, at least <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/01/world/europe/ukraine-grain-shortages.html#:%7E:text=The%20war%20has%20halted%20those%20shipments%2C%20leaving%20around,is%20expected%20to%20be%20harvested%20in%20coming%20months.">25 million tons of Ukrainian grain</a> intended for global markets got trapped in Ukraine because of Russia’s naval blockade, causing food prices to jump.</p>
<h2>How did the grain deal come about?</h2>
<p>The U.N. and Turkey <a href="https://unctad.org/news/black-sea-grain-initiative-extended">brokered what is officially known as the Black Sea Grain Deal</a> with Ukraine and Russia on July 22, 2022.</p>
<p>The agreement allowed for the secure passage of agricultural products from Ukraine from three ports on the Black Sea, including its largest port, Odesa. While the original agreement <a href="https://unctad.org/news/black-sea-grain-initiative-what-it-and-why-its-important-world">was to last 120 days</a>, <a href="https://www.un.org/en/black-sea-grain-initiative/updates">it has been extended several times</a> since. </p>
<p>Ukraine <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2023/07/17/russia-ends-agreement-on-ukraine-exports/70419389007/">has exported more than 32 million tons of food products</a> through the Black Sea since August 2022. The <a href="https://www.wfp.org/">World Food Program</a>, the world’s largest humanitarian agency,
<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-says-it-is-pulling-out-of-ukraine-grain-deal-68190d1">purchased 80% of its wheat from Ukraine</a>. Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Turkey have been <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-says-it-is-pulling-out-of-ukraine-grain-deal-68190d1">the biggest recipients</a> of humanitarian shipments.</p>
<p>The U.N. has estimated that <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/black-sea-grain-initiative-vladimir-putin-russia-ukraine-volodymyr-zelensky-f17649e0">the grain deal has reduced food prices</a> by more than 23% since March 2022.</p>
<p>The amount of grain shipped per month had already been falling before the deal fell apart in July 2023, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-grain-food-security-ba7f9146b745337a1948a964cb30331c">from a peak of 4.2 million metric tons in October</a> to about 2 million tons in June. This is primarily because of <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-says-it-is-pulling-out-of-ukraine-grain-deal-68190d1">slowdowns in the number of inspections</a> Russians had been conducting before ships could exit the Black Sea. </p>
<p>Another problem generally is falling production. Ukraine <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/blog/regional-war-global-consequences-mounting-damages-ukraines-agriculture-and-growing-challenges">is expected to produce</a> 31% less wheat, barley, corn and other crops during the current season that it did before the war. And this estimate came before <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-06-09/supply-chain-latest-food-production-to-suffer-after-ukraine-dam-disaster">the destruction of a key Ukrainian dam</a> flooded fields.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="a man in military gear stands near the water and a big black ship docked" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538374/original/file-20230719-19-zxwe2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C80%2C5946%2C3907&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538374/original/file-20230719-19-zxwe2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538374/original/file-20230719-19-zxwe2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538374/original/file-20230719-19-zxwe2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538374/original/file-20230719-19-zxwe2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538374/original/file-20230719-19-zxwe2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538374/original/file-20230719-19-zxwe2l.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">Odesa, which the Russians have attacked in recent days, is Ukraine’s largest port.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RussiaUkraine/6e6b9c8ae7514f5185192ac3be91bff6/photo?Query=ukraine%20grain%20black%20sea%20odesa&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=16&currentItemNo=2">AP Photo/David Goldman</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why is the Black Sea so important for Ukrainian exports?</h2>
<p>Colleagues at UMass Amherst and the Kyiv School of Economics and I published a study in May 2023 that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10898-023-01292-x">showed just how vital</a> the Black Sea ports are to ensuring Ukrainian grain gets out to the world. Before the war, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-grain-deal-farmer-idAFKBN2YZ0N3">90% of Ukraine’s agricultural exports</a> were transported on the Black Sea.</p>
<p>While Ukraine also ships its grain and other food over land through Europe, doing so costs a lot more and takes more time than sea exports. And transportation costs over land were rising because of the war as a result of mines, the destruction of agricultural infrastructure and other challenges. </p>
<h2>Why did Russia say it’s pulling out of the deal?</h2>
<p>Russia has threatened to exit the deal before, but each time it has chosen to stay in. </p>
<p>But on July 17, 2023, it said it’s <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/russia-suspends-deal-allowing-ukraine-to-export-grain-destabilizing-global-food-markets">unwilling to stay in the deal</a> unless its demands are met to ship more of its own food and fertilizer. Over the following two days, it attacked Odesa with drones and missiles in one of the largest sustained assaults on the port. Russia also said it would deem any ship in the Black Sea bound for a Ukrainian port to be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/07/19/world/russia-ukraine-news">a legitimate military target</a>. </p>
<p>This caused the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-19/wheat-rises-9-as-russia-warns-on-safety-of-ships-to-ukraine?srnd=markets-vp&sref=Hjm5biAW">price of critical commodities</a> such as wheat and corn to soar and created vast uncertainty and global concern around hunger. Chicago wheat futures, a global benchmark, <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ZW=F/">are up about 17%</a> since Russia left the deal.</p>
<p>While Russia has extended the deal after previous threats, this time may be different. Russian strikes caused extensive damage to Odesa, which may severely limit Ukraine’s ability to export through the port in the future – deal or no deal. </p>
<p>I believe Russian leader Vladimir Putin <a href="https://theconversation.com/starving-civilians-is-an-ancient-military-tactic-but-today-its-a-war-crime-in-ukraine-yemen-tigray-and-elsewhere-184297">is weaponizing food</a> at a time of growing hunger. I only hope goodwill prevails and somehow Ukraine’s vital exports are allowed to continue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210046/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Nagurney 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>Russia’s move, which it followed by bombing the key port city of Odesa and threatening to attack any ship sailing for Ukraine, sent global food prices skyrocketing.Anna Nagurney, Professor and Eugene M. Isenberg Chair in Integrative Studies, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2087122023-07-05T13:27:06Z2023-07-05T13:27:06ZBusinesses that address social or environmental problems often struggle to survive: 3 things that can help them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535287/original/file-20230703-255984-ejs0dn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Social entrepreneurs play an important role in alleviating poverty. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Social enterprises are organisations that promote social or environmental issues as their core business. They are useful to societies in lots of ways. They can help solve social and economic problems such as poverty and joblessness, among others. They can also help support the work of local, provincial and national government. </p>
<p>Over the last decade a <a href="https://www.socialchangecentral.com/social-enterprise-statistics-from-around-the-world/">growing number of these enterprises</a> have been started in many countries. South Africa has also seen an increase in social enterprises.</p>
<p>But running a social enterprise <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/06/the-challenges-of-being-a-social-enterprise/">isn’t easy</a>. They need to pursue a social motive while also trying to remain sustainable with little funding.</p>
<p>This often means that they need structures, processes and leadership acumen for both their operational success and sustainability.</p>
<h2>Challenges faced by social enterprises</h2>
<p>The performance and operation of social enterprises can be affected by <a href="https://www.bbrief.co.za/content/uploads/2019/03/Gibbs-Social-Enterprises-in-South-Africa-Report.pdf">a lack of resources</a>. Their failure rate is therefore <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/06/3-reasons-why-social-enterprises-fail-and-what-we-can-learn-from-them/#:%7E:text=Most%20of%20them%20%2878.3%25%29%20were%20never%20supported%20by,lasted%20more%20than%2010%20years%20as%20a%20company">quite high</a>.</p>
<p>So what could help them?</p>
<p>We conducted <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19420676.2023.2212672">a study</a> to try to answer this question. Our focus was on what capabilities needed to be in place for social enterprises to operate effectively. </p>
<p>Our research shows that for social enterprises to enhance their performance, network capability and strategic planning are key. Addressing these challenges can help their owners and managers respond to the challenges such enterprises face. At the core of this is addressing the challenge of funding and sustainability. Social enterprises rely mostly on donor funding. </p>
<h2>Experiences on the ground</h2>
<p>We conducted our study in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It’s one of the poorest regions in the country, with a high unemployment rate and continued social dependence. Industries on which the area’s economy depends are <a href="https://ecsecc.org/newsitem/eastern-cape-economy-declined-by-13-in-2022q4">in decline</a>.</p>
<p>Our research focused on 147 social enterprises in the area. One set of enterprises focused on poverty alleviation efforts. They ran empowerment projects for local communities, especially those in the black residential areas.</p>
<p>The social enterprises in the second group in our sample were dedicated to improving livelihoods of communities through agricultural support mechanisms.</p>
<p>Finally, a third group focused on assisting communities to respond to health challenges such as HIV/AIDS, the COVID-19 pandemic and tuberculosis.</p>
<p>Some of the questions we asked in our survey were about how each social enterprise made strategic decisions; the relationship between the social enterprise and its networks; and the enterprise’s continued value creation amid challenges. We then ran a model to see how these three issues related to performance.</p>
<p>The results showed that three important capabilities were needed to enhance social enterprise performance. </p>
<p>The first was strategic planning. This involves defining the enterprise’s direction in the short and long term, what it seeks to achieve in terms of goals and tactics, and how the enterprise will achieve all this. </p>
<p>Social enterprises need to be deliberate and intentional in setting up strategic planning regimes. They need a clear horizon, targets and mandates. These should then drive their day to day operation.</p>
<p>The second need was for strong networks. Building networks involves continued interaction between the social enterprise and its stakeholders. Networking capabilities allow the social enterprise to remain relevant to other important role players in the community.</p>
<p>Finally, our research points to the need for the social enterprise to keep a focus on its main business, the social aspect <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SEJ-08-2021-0062/full/html">mandate of value co-creation</a>. This continued quest for the social aspect necessitates continued involvement and relevance of the social enterprise to the community. Our finding on value co-creation – the social enterprise partnering with other stakeholders and community members to achieve its social goal – becomes important here. </p>
<h2>Recommendations</h2>
<p>We recommend that social enterprises be proactive in improving their internal processes and structures. This can be achieved through ongoing efforts to make improvements from the bottom up – meaning that the employees also drive the changes, not just the management. By being deliberate and intentional in their efforts, social enterprises can improve their operations and achieve better results.</p>
<p>We also recommend that financial and non-financial resources such as tangible assets (land, buildings, motor vehicles and equipment) and intangible assets (patents, goodwill and intellectual property) should be channelled to support strategic planning, networking capabilities and value co-creation. This means they should continue to be deliberate in searching for funding to be able to support their core activities. </p>
<p>Concerning non-financial resources, this includes investing in the training of the people running the social enterprise. Such non-financial investment strengthens the social enterprise through internal development of the three capabilities found in our research: emphasis on strategic planning, the building of strong networks and continued quest to create value together by all stakeholders. </p>
<p>The enterprise also needs clear channels for sharing essential information with stakeholders, including communities, towards achieving the social goal of the enterprise. </p>
<p>Formal networking structures should be established to enable the social enterprise to build, maintain and renew strong relationships with stakeholders.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208712/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi receives funding from the National Heritage Council and the National Research Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Progress Hove-Sibanda receives funding from the NMB Business Chamber</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Motshedisi Mathibe 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>Social enterprises need to be proactive in improving their internal processes and structures. They also need to share essential information.Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi, Professor, University of Fort HareMotshedisi Mathibe, Senior Lecturer Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of PretoriaProgress Hove-Sibanda, Associate professor of logistics, Nelson Mandela UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2057412023-06-05T12:44:19Z2023-06-05T12:44:19ZCanada’s national food policy is at risk of enshrining a two-tiered food system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529659/original/file-20230601-19-fdm2pu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C538%2C4000%2C2119&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Prime Minster Justin Trudeau helps prepare a food box at a food bank in Mississauga, Ont., in November 2022. Food charity is not the solution to ending food insecurity in Canada. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Just two days after the <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/2023/new-data-on-household-food-insecurity-in-2022/">release of the latest statistics on household food insecurity in Canada</a>, Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/minister-bibeau-launches-a-new-phase-of-the-local-food-infrastructure-fund-879707293.html">announced the start of a new phase of the Local Food Infrastructure Fund</a>. </p>
<p>Launched in 2019 as part of <a href="https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/department/initiatives/food-policy/investing">Canada’s Food Policy</a>, this program funds infrastructure and equipment for local food charity programs and is the only federal program naming <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/-everyone-at-the-table-minister-bibeau-highlights-investments-to-improve-access-to-local-food-as-part-of-the-food-policy-for-canada-801950971.html">food insecurity reduction</a> as part of its goal. However, this approach to addressing food insecurity is deeply misguided.</p>
<p>At a time when <a href="https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/05/03/canadians-food-insecurity-statistics-canada/">food insecurity affects almost one in five Canadians</a>, the latest funding presumes that food-insecure households are accessing food charity and that doing so resolves their food insecurity. </p>
<p><a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/resource/relationship-between-food-banks-and-food-insecurity-in-canada/">Both assumptions are simply untrue</a>. The problem is far too big and despite their best efforts, food charity can only ever provide limited, emergency support.</p>
<h2>Food charity is no solution</h2>
<p>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the program as part of fulfilling the government’s top priority of “<a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/house/sitting-54/hansard#Int-11618104">making life more affordable for Canadians</a>.” Bibeau described it as “<a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/house/sitting-176/hansard#Int-12126755">designed to strengthen our local food systems and support the creation of more food banks, community gardens and collective kitchens</a>.”</p>
<p>The latest funding announcement is even more explicit in asserting that food charity is the solution to food insecurity. In the news release, Bibeau said: “<a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/agriculture-agri-food/news/2023/05/minister-bibeau-launches-a-new-phase-of-the-local-food-infrastructure-fund.html">Now more than ever, we must support the work of organizations and food banks that help those who need it most</a>.”</p>
<p>In a recent House of Commons Question Period, Bibeau’s parliamentary secretary, Francis Drouin, described the funding as an investment for food banks, “<a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/house/sitting-193/hansard#Int-12199099">to help families put food on the table</a>.”</p>
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<h2>Millions of Canadians are food insecure</h2>
<p>These remarks suggest that the federal government sees volunteer-driven, community-based food charity programs as the solution for Canadians who are unable to afford food for themselves and their families. </p>
<p>Yet Canada’s <a href="https://secondharvest.ca/resources/research/canada%E2%80%99s-invisible-food-network">massive and ever-expanding network</a> of charitable food assistance programs can’t even keep the problem in check, let alone reduce or prevent it. Food charity operations are burgeoning, but more Canadians are affected by food insecurity than ever before.</p>
<p>The 2022 statistics show that 6.9 million people in the 10 provinces, including almost 1.8 million children, lived in households struggling to afford the food they need. That’s more than four times more than <a href="https://hungercount.foodbankscanada.ca/overall_findings.php">the number of visits food banks receive</a>.</p>
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<p>Seeking food charity is a strategy of desperation for food-insecure Canadians, mostly by those who are severely food insecure. But there’s no evidence to indicate that food charity prevents severe food insecurity or resolves it.</p>
<p>Will buying more refrigerators for community programs, presumably to facilitate their handling of the <a href="https://foodbankscanada.ca/food-recovery-environment/">ever-expanding donations of “food waste”</a> <a href="https://www.walmartcanada.ca/news/2018/04/19/walmart-canada-commits-to-zero-food-waste-by-2025-and-walmart-foundation-grants-19m-to-local-organizations">from major</a> <a href="https://ourpart.ca/articles/sobeys-and-second-harvest-save-surplus-food-from-going-to-waste/">grocery</a> <a href="https://www.loblaw.ca/en/loblaw-commits-to-feed-more-families-by-providing-1-billion-pounds-of-food-to-those-in-need-by-2028/">chains</a> and <a href="https://www.mccain.com/information-centre/news/mccain-foods-and-second-harvest/">food processors</a>, truly change this?</p>
<h2>Enshrining a two-tiered food system</h2>
<p>The latest call for applications to the <a href="https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/programs/local-food-infrastructure-fund">Local Food Infrastructure Fund</a> is even more disturbing when we consider its place as a centrepiece of Canada’s Food Policy. </p>
<p>The Food Policy’s ambitious vision that “<a href="https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/department/initiatives/food-policy/food-policy-canada">all people in Canada are able to access a sufficient amount of safe, nutritious and culturally diverse food</a>” seemed commendable when first announced. </p>
<p>But the vision being implemented through the Local Food Infrastructure Fund now is a two-tiered food system — affluent Canadians purchase premium products at supermarkets, farmers’ markets and designer food outlets, while millions of others line up to receive rations from volunteers working feverishly to distribute the food rejected from that retail system.</p>
<p>The direction of our national Food Policy is a sharp departure from the understanding of food insecurity reflected in <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.857663/publication.html#:%7E:text=%22Opportunity%20for%20All%20%E2%80%93%20Canada's%20First,against%20poverty%20on%20multiple%20fronts.">Opportunity for All</a>, a document produced by the federal government under its poverty reduction strategy.</p>
<p>The first pillar of the vision articulated in that landmark document is <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/poverty-reduction/reports/strategy.html#h2.5:%7E:text=Living%20with%20dignity%20means%20that%20Canadians%20would%20be%20living%20without%20hunger%20and%20would%20have%20enough%20income%20to%20meet%20their%20basic%20needs">“dignity” — and living with dignity means having enough income to meet basic needs</a>.</p>
<p>Food insecurity is identified as a key indicator of poverty, now tracked to measure our progress in <a href="https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/topics-start/poverty">poverty reduction</a>. Unfortunately, food insecurity reduction has never been adopted as an explicit objective of policies led by Employment and Social Development Canada, and so the problem has festered.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Wooden shelves lined with canned goods." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529669/original/file-20230601-29-d0j9n6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529669/original/file-20230601-29-d0j9n6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529669/original/file-20230601-29-d0j9n6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529669/original/file-20230601-29-d0j9n6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529669/original/file-20230601-29-d0j9n6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529669/original/file-20230601-29-d0j9n6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529669/original/file-20230601-29-d0j9n6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canned products sit on shelves at a food bank in Ottawa in October 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Income-based policy interventions needed</h2>
<p>Federal income supports are critical policy levers to reduce food insecurity in Canada, but this objective needs to be incorporated into how those income supports are designed. </p>
<p>Despite the <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/house/sitting-186/hansard#Int-12167950">federal government’s repeated</a> <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/12345355#Int-12143923">celebration</a> of the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2022/07/families-across-canada-will-see-increase-in-canada-child-benefit.html">success of the Canada Child Benefit</a> in reducing the rate of child poverty from its introduction in 2016 to 2019, almost one in four children in the 10 provinces were living in food-insecure families in 2022 – more than ever before.</p>
<p><a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/2023/a-more-generous-canada-child-benefit-for-low-income-families-would-reduce-their-probability-of-food-insecurity/">Redesigning the Canada Child Benefit</a> to provide more money than it currently does to the lowest-income households would help reduce food insecurity among families with children.</p>
<p>The Canada Workers Benefit and Employment Insurance are the two federal programs that support the incomes of workers in Canada and also have the potential to impact food insecurity rates. </p>
<p><a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/resource/household-food-insecurity-in-canada-2021/">Most food-insecure households rely on employment income</a>. This means that having a job is not enough for many Canadians to meet basic needs. It also tells us that our existing supports for low-wage workers and those experiencing job loss are insufficient to bridge the gap.</p>
<p>The recently announced federal Grocery Rebate, while too small and short-lived to impact the alarming rates of food insecurity in Canada now, is a step in the right direction. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
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>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>By giving much needed-cash directly to low-income Canadians, the rebate reflects the principles of dignity and inclusion so clearly articulated in the Poverty Reduction Strategy. By comparison, the latest call for funding applications for the Local Food Infrastructure Fund is a big step backward.</p>
<h2>Missed opportunities</h2>
<p>Although the policy levers needed to address food insecurity lie outside of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Ministry, the Food Policy <a href="https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v5i3.278">was an opportunity</a> to establish interdepartmental collaboration with Employment and Social Development Canada to chart an action plan aimed at reducing food insecurity in Canada and to begin making progress towards this goal. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, none of this came to fruition.</p>
<p>The Food Policy is slated for renewal later this year, which could be a chance for a course correction. The starting point must be a shift towards working in partnership with Employment and Social Development Canada to design, implement and evaluate income supports that reduce food insecurity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205741/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Valerie Tarasuk receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Li 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>Canada’s National Food Policy is slated for renewal later this year. Employment and Social Development Canada must be involved to develop income supports that reduce food insecurity.Valerie Tarasuk, Professor of Nutritional Sciences, University of TorontoTim Li, Research Program Coordinator, Food Insecurity, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2025552023-05-08T12:19:43Z2023-05-08T12:19:43ZThese four challenges will shape the next farm bill – and how the US eats<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524429/original/file-20230504-15-4xz4fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C15%2C5161%2C3425&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Small-scale farmers, organic producers and local markets receive a tiny fraction of farm bill funding.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/fresh-produce-at-the-waverly-market-baltimore-maryland-news-photo/1296520990">Edwin Remsberg/VWPics/Universal Images Group/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the 20th time since 1933, Congress is writing a multiyear farm bill that will shape what kind of food U.S. farmers grow, how they raise it and how it gets to consumers. These measures are large, complex and expensive: The next farm bill is projected to cost taxpayers <a href="https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2023/02/a-view-of-the-2023-farm-bill-from-the-cbo-baseline.html">US$1.5 trillion</a> over 10 years. </p>
<p>Modern farm bills address many things besides food, from rural broadband access to biofuels and even help for small towns to buy police cars. These measures bring out a dizzying range of interest groups with diverse agendas.</p>
<p>Umbrella organizations like the <a href="https://www.fb.org/files/2023-Farm-Bill-Priorities-FINAL-23.0119.pdf">American Farm Bureau Federation</a> and the <a href="https://nfu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-NFU-Special-Order-of-Business-Farm-Bill.pdf">National Farmers Union</a> typically focus on farm subsidies and crop insurance. The <a href="https://sustainableagriculture.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2023-Farm-Bill-Platform.pdf">National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition</a> advocates for small farmers and ranchers. Industry-specific groups, such as <a href="https://www.ncba.org/Media/NCBAorg/Docs/jan-2023-farm-bill-one-pager.pdf">cattlemen</a>, <a href="https://www.wga.com/wp-content/uploads/d7files/Farm%20Bill%20Cover%20Letter-Formatted%20v2.pdf">fruit and vegetable growers</a> and <a href="https://ota.com/sites/default/files/indexed_files/2023%20Farm%20Bill%20Platform%20Priorities.pdf">organic producers</a>, all have their own interests. </p>
<p><a href="https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/4ts36tbe1v_Farm_Bill_Recommendations_Final.pdf?_ga=2.63891951.1986224278.1680824658-413312318.1680545091">Environmental</a> and <a href="https://farmland.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/AFT_2023_Farm_Bill_Recommendations_Summary.pdf">conservation groups</a> seek to influence policies that affect land use and sustainable farming practices. <a href="https://www.cspinet.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/NANA%20Combined%20Farm%20Bill%20Priorities.pdf">Hunger and nutrition groups</a> target the bill’s sections on food aid. <a href="https://www.naco.org/resources/2023-farm-bill-primer">Rural counties</a>, <a href="https://www.trcp.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/TRCP-AWWG-2023-FB-Platform_1-31-23.pdf">hunters and anglers</a>, <a href="https://www.aba.com/-/media/documents/testimonies-and-speeches/aba-statement-for-the-record-farm-bill-2023.pdf?rev=c490c77291fb4781b4e999b4d127e1de">bankers</a> and dozens of other organizations have their own wish lists.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://sustainability-innovation.asu.edu/person/kathleen-merrigan/">former Senate aide and senior official</a> at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, I’ve seen this intricate process from all sides. In my view, with the challenges in this round so complex and with critical 2024 elections looming, it could take Congress until 2025 to craft and enact a bill. Here are four key issues shaping the next farm bill, and through it, the future of the U.S. food system. </p>
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<h2>The price tag</h2>
<p>Farm bills always are controversial because of their high cost, but this year the timing is especially tricky. In the past two years, Congress has enacted major bills to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/american-rescue-plan/">provide economic relief from the COVID-19 pandemic</a>, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/15/by-the-numbers-the-inflation-reduction-act/">counter inflation</a>, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/11/06/fact-sheet-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-deal/">invest in infrastructure</a> and <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/09/fact-sheet-chips-and-science-act-will-lower-costs-create-jobs-strengthen-supply-chains-and-counter-china/">boost domestic manufacturing</a>. </p>
<p>These measures follow <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/14/donald-trump-coronavirus-farmer-bailouts-359932">unprecedented spending</a> for farm support during the Trump administration. Now legislators are jockeying over <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-america-has-a-debt-ceiling-5-questions-answered-164977">raising the debt ceiling</a>, which limits how much the federal government can borrow to pay its bills.</p>
<p><a href="https://fj-corp-pub.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/inline-files/FY24%20Views%20and%20Estimates%20Letter%20-%20final.pdf">Agriculture Committee leaders</a> and <a href="https://soygrowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Farm-Bill-Budget-Letter-3-14-2023-FINAL.pdf">farm groups</a> argue that more money is necessary to strengthen the food and farm sector. If they have their way, the price tag for the next farm bill would increase significantly from current projections. </p>
<p>On the other side, <a href="https://www.rstreet.org/research/the-shaky-foundations-of-modern-farm-policy/">reformers argue</a> for <a href="https://www.ewg.org/research/updated-ewg-farm-subsidy-database-shows-largest-producers-reap-billions-despite-climate">capping payments to farmers</a>, which The Washington Post recently described as an “expensive <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/05/congress-farm-bill-subsidies-debt/">agricultural safety net</a>,” and restricting payment eligibility. In their view, too much money goes to very large farms that produce <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/w3240e/w3240e06.htm">commodity crops</a> like wheat, corn, soybeans and rice, while small and medium-size producers receive far less support.</p>
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<h2>Food aid is the key fight</h2>
<p>Many people are surprised to learn that nutrition assistance – mainly through the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program">Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program</a>, formerly known as food stamps – is where most farm bill money is spent. Back in the 1970s, Congress began including nutrition assistance in the farm bill to secure votes from an increasingly urban nation. </p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/the-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap">over 42 million Americans depend on SNAP</a>, including nearly 1 in every 4 children. Along with a few smaller programs, SNAP will likely consume 80% of the money in the new farm bill, up from <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/agriculture-improvement-act-of-2018-highlights-and-implications/">76% in 2018</a>. </p>
<p>Why have SNAP costs grown? During the pandemic, SNAP benefits were increased on an emergency basis, but that temporary arrangement <a href="https://theconversation.com/extra-snap-benefits-are-ending-as-us-lawmakers-resume-battle-over-program-that-helps-low-income-americans-buy-food-199929">expired in March 2023</a>. Also, in response to a directive included in the 2018 farm bill, the Department of Agriculture recalculated what it takes to afford a healthy diet, known as the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/thriftyfoodplan">Thrifty Food Plan</a>, and determined that it required an additional $12-$16 per month per recipient, or 40 cents per meal. </p>
<p>Because it’s such a large target, SNAP is where much of the budget battle will play out. Most Republicans typically seek to rein in SNAP; most Democrats usually support expanding it.</p>
<p>Anti-hunger advocates are lobbying to make the increased pandemic benefits permanent and defend the revised Thrifty Food Plan. In contrast, Republicans are calling for SNAP reductions, and are particularly focused on expanding <a href="https://georgiarecorder.com/2023/03/28/usda-secretary-battles-with-u-s-house-republicans-over-costs-of-federal-nutrition-programs/">work requirements</a> for recipients. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524514/original/file-20230504-19-qqkzt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Groceries on a kitchen counter." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524514/original/file-20230504-19-qqkzt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524514/original/file-20230504-19-qqkzt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524514/original/file-20230504-19-qqkzt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524514/original/file-20230504-19-qqkzt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524514/original/file-20230504-19-qqkzt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524514/original/file-20230504-19-qqkzt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524514/original/file-20230504-19-qqkzt9.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">Jaqueline Benitez puts away groceries at her home in Bellflower, Calif., Feb. 13, 2023. Benitez, 21, works as a preschool teacher and depends on SNAP benefits to help pay for food.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/FoodStamps/95413d28987347f09dfc93598e7dbb45/photo">AP Photo/Allison Dinner</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Debating climate solutions</h2>
<p>The 2022 <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/biden-signs-historic-climate-bill-as-scientists-applaud/">Inflation Reduction Act</a> provided $19.5 billion to the Department of Agriculture for programs that address climate change. Environmentalists and farmers alike <a href="https://www.farmanddairy.com/news/farm-conservation-groups-applaud-climate-ag-funding/730970.html">applauded this investment</a>, which is intended to help the agriculture sector embrace climate-smart farming practices and move toward markets that reward carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services. </p>
<p>This big pot of money has become a prime target for members of Congress who are <a href="https://www.agriculture.com/news/business/gop-senators-eye-climate-bill-funding-as-way-to-fatten-farm-bill-accounts">looking for more farm bill funding</a>. On the other side, conservation advocates, sustainable farmers and progressive businesses oppose diverting climate funds for other purposes. </p>
<p>There also is growing demand for Congress to require USDA to develop better standards for measuring, reporting and verifying actions designed to <a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/news-room/news-releases/2021/usda-announces-new-initiative-to-quantify-climate-benefits-of-conservation-reserve-program">protect or increase soil carbon</a>. Interest is rising in “<a href="https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/topics/carbon-farming-opportunities-for-agriculture-and-farmers-to-gain-from-decarbonization">carbon farming</a>” – paying farmers for practices such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/restoring-soil-can-help-address-climate-change-121733">no-till agriculture and planting cover crops</a>, which some studies indicate can <a href="https://rodaleinstitute.org/why-organic/issues-and-priorities/carbon-sequestration/">increase carbon storage in soil</a>. </p>
<p>But without more research and standards, observers worry that investments in climate-smart agriculture will support <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90796487/is-regenerative-agriculture-the-future-of-farming-or-the-next-greenwashing-fad">greenwashing</a> – misleading claims about environmental benefits – rather than a fundamentally different system of production. <a href="https://thefern.org/2022/12/a-pillar-of-the-climate-smart-agriculture-movement-is-on-shaky-ground/">Mixed research results</a> have raised questions as to whether establishing carbon markets based on such practices is premature. </p>
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<h2>A complex bill and inexperienced legislators</h2>
<p>Understanding farm bills requires highly specialized knowledge about issues ranging from crop insurance to nutrition to forestry. Nearly one-third of current members of Congress were first elected after the 2018 farm bill was enacted, so this is their first farm bill cycle. </p>
<p>I expect that, as often occurs in Congress, new members will follow more senior legislators’ cues and go along with traditional decision making. This will make it easier for entrenched interests, like the American Farm Bureau Federation and major commodity groups, to maintain support for <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-commodity-policy/title-i-crop-commodity-program-provisions/">Title I programs</a>, which provide revenue support for major commodity crops like corn, wheat and soybeans. These programs are complex, cost billions of dollars and go mainly to large-scale operations.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6Sz9PJ5BUc4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How the U.S. became a corn superpower.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s current stump speech spotlights the fact that 89% of U.S. farmers <a href="https://civileats.com/2022/06/02/field-report-tom-vilsack-usda-food-system-transformation-climate-equity-justice/">failed to make a livable profit</a> in 2022, even though total farm income <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-sector-income-finances/highlights-from-the-farm-income-forecast">set a record at $162 billion</a>. Vilsack asserts that less-profitable operations should be the focus of this farm bill – but when pressed, he appears <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/3903829-support-for-small-farms-wont-hurt-big-ones-vilsack-tells-lawmakers/">unwilling to concede</a> that support for large-scale operations should be changed in any way. </p>
<p>When I served as deputy secretary of agriculture from 2009 to 2011, I oversaw the department’s budget process and learned that investing in one thing often requires defunding another. My dream farm bill would invest in three priorities: <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/resources/grow-organic-climate-health-and-economic-case-expanding-organic-agriculture">organic agriculture as a climate solution</a>; infrastructure to support vibrant local and regional markets and shift away from an agricultural economy dependent on exporting low-value crops; and agricultural science and technology research aimed at reducing labor and <a href="https://theconversation.com/fertilizer-prices-are-soaring-and-thats-an-opportunity-to-promote-more-sustainable-ways-of-growing-crops-183418">chemical inputs</a> and providing new solutions for sustainable livestock production. </p>
<p>In my view, it is time for tough policy choices, and it won’t be possible to fund everything. Congress’ response will show whether it supports business as usual in agriculture, or a more diverse and sustainable U.S. farm system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202555/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathleen Merrigan is a former Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture</span></em></p>Even if you don’t live near farm country, you’ve got a stake in the upcoming farm bill – including what kind of farms your tax dollars support.Kathleen Merrigan, Executive Director, Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2023642023-04-12T13:41:03Z2023-04-12T13:41:03ZSouth Africans have starkly unequal access to a healthy diet - the solution requires tackling deep-seated historical injustice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518726/original/file-20230331-26-f4s645.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa has a food crisis. The <a href="https://www.futureoffood.ox.ac.uk/what-food-system">food system</a> - made up of all of the activities and actors involved in the production, processing, transportation, selling, consumption and disposal of food - produces starkly unequal access to nutritious foods.</p>
<p>As a result, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/15528014.2023.2175483?needAccess=true&role=button#page=5">many households in the country cannot afford</a> a healthy diet, <a href="https://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-fr337-dhs-final-reports.cfm">27% of children under five are stunted</a>, and the <a href="https://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-fr337-dhs-final-reports.cfm">prevalence of diet-related diseases is rising</a> rapidly. </p>
<p>The food system contributes to <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0071en">pollution and climate change</a> through the use of agro-chemicals, fossil fuels for transport, processing and refrigeration, as well as unsustainable packaging. On top of this, over one-third of the <a href="https://www.csir.co.za/food-supply-south-africa-wasted-shows-new-csir-study">food is wasted</a>. These harms <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=1854&PPN=03-00-14">disproportionately affect</a> poor people and women. Black-headed households are seven times more likely than white-headed households to have <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=1854&PPN=03-00-14">inadequate access to food</a>.</p>
<p>This inequitable distribution of the benefits and harms of the food system is called <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262518666/food-justice/">food injustice</a>. It is also a violation of the <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-2-bill-rights">constitutional right to food</a>.</p>
<p>To date, attempts to address the food crisis have had limited success. Measures such as emergency food parcels, soup kitchens and food garden projects do help to meet immediate needs, but they <a href="https://jacana.co.za/product/an-empty-plate-why-we-are-losing-the-battle-for-our-food-system-why-it-matters-and-how-we-can-win-it-back/">do not address the underlying causes</a> of food injustice. The same is true of social grants, which are <a href="https://foodsecurity.ac.za/news/why-south-africas-social-grants-arent-eradicating-malnutrition/">insufficient</a> to tackle food insecurity.</p>
<p>I argue in my <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15528014.2023.2175483">ongoing research</a> that these structural challenges are rooted in colonialism and capitalism. I use the term <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09502380601162548?casa_token=TJ1LY3kEDFIAAAAA%3A2VIBhIVSTJU5oG9_eYCOrhuy05gmGVS3y7Qi54NBparBm4Jinqf10Wq26pwYw0fDtw9OQm1QvWTE2g">“coloniality”</a> to refer to the persistence of patterns of capitalist, racial and patriarchal power that continue to inform who controls the food system, and who has access to good food.</p>
<p>My research seeks to expand our knowledge of those colonial origins. Historical texts and archival materials, despite their Eurocentric bias, give clues about precolonial, indigenous food systems and how these were violently disrupted by colonialism. By speaking to elders who still know about traditional foodways, we can learn more about indigenous ingredients as well as traditional ways of gathering, producing, preparing and eating food. Most importantly, elders can help us reconnect with the worldview and values that underpinned indigenous food systems.</p>
<h2>Colonialism, violence and dispossession</h2>
<p>Food has been central to the colonial project in South Africa since the 1500s, when <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=mkkKAQAAIAAJ&dq=Before%20van%20Riebeeck%3A%20Callers%20at%20South%20Africa&source=gbs_book_other_versions">European ships</a> carrying spices from Asia to Europe stopped at the Cape to replenish food and water. Once <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/jan-van-riebeeck">Jan van Riebeeck</a> established the first European settlement on behalf of the Dutch East India Company at the Cape in 1652 and <a href="https://www.google.co.za/books/edition/The_Old_Company_s_Garden_at_the_Cape_and/Di8MygEACAAJ?hl=en">started a garden</a> to provision the ships, the process of colonial conquest, forcible removal of indigenous people from their land and exploitation of their labour began.</p>
<p>Both the Dutch and the British seized vast swathes of land, often <a href="https://www.google.co.za/books/edition/The_Record_Or_A_Series_of_Official_Paper/vpRRAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0">granting it to European farmers</a> and then charging them with defending it against the erstwhile owners.</p>
<p>Seizure of land from the indigenous Khoi and San people was justified on the basis that they failed to “properly use” the land <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=mkkKAQAAIAAJ&dq=Before%20van%20Riebeeck%3A%20Callers%20at%20South%20Africa&source=gbs_book_other_versions">by cultivating it</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A display of seeds saved by small-scale farmers in Limpopo, South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brittany Kesselman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Colonialism brought with it large-scale, labour-intensive <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02533958308458332?journalCode=rsdy20">agriculture for domestic markets and export</a> to Europe and its other colonies. Colonists coerced locals into working on European farms. In the Eastern Cape, the British waged <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/The_Struggle_for_the_Eastern_Cape_1800_1.html?id=KImhZwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">outright war</a> against the Xhosa people, destroying their crops in a scorched earth policy designed to convert them into landless labourers. </p>
<p>Later, authorities imposed <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02590123.1986.11964243?casa_token=TsTmT_jtCnAAAAAA:a1y4xY-9bqT4lXndTTllxRubQ7_uJ5UNl0GJ0Zm_itqRhqYAuZTb1-LsL6mFpmBqbX4_kXn1zAhcvg">the hut or poll tax</a> to force self-sufficient African farmers into the wage economy. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02533958308458332?journalCode=rsdy20">Forced labour</a> in the form of enslaved Africans and Asians, indentured labourers or captured indigenous people, <a href="https://www.google.co.za/books/edition/Travels_in_the_Interior_of_South_Africa/7l42MwAACAAJ?hl=en">including children</a>, became common.</p>
<p>The spread of white-owned farms <a href="https://www.academia.edu/14430020/THE_COMPANY_S_GARDEN_AND_THE_EX_CHANGE_OF_NATURE_AND_KNOWLEDGE_AT_CAPE_OF_GOOD_HOPE_1652_1700_">transformed the landscape</a>, replacing indigenous plants to cultivate wheat, barley, maize, fruits, wine grapes, sugar and other commodities. Indigenous people lost access to areas where they had previously gathered wild foods, hunted, farmed and herded cattle. They also lost access to water.</p>
<p>There was a strong cultural component to colonialism’s disruption of traditional foodways. Europeans expressed contempt for indigenous foods and eating habits. The missionaries perpetuated this in their churches and schools, imposing European crops, farming styles and ways of eating as part of their <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/za/academic/subjects/religion/church-history/missionary-labours-and-scenes-southern-africa?format=PB&isbn=9781108007948">“civilizing”</a> work. This disdain for indigenous foods has carried on into the present, with traditional foods seen as backwards or <a href="https://repository.uwc.ac.za/xmlui/handle/10566/4302">poverty foods</a>.</p>
<h2>Decolonising food systems</h2>
<p>More than 25 years into democracy, South Africa’s food system continues to reflect the highly unequal patterns of power and exploitation from the colonial era, in terms of both domestic inequalities and the country’s place in the global food system. </p>
<p>The skewed <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/book/land-matters-south-africa%E2%80%99s-failed-land-reforms-and-road-ahead/9781776095964">distribution of agricultural land</a> reflects colonial and apartheid patterns of white ownership. Much of the best produce, including <a href="https://www.namc.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NAMC-DAFF-TradeProbe-69-May-Issue.pdf">most of the fruit</a>, is exported to Europe, while most South Africans <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7254-7">cannot afford</a> to meet their nutritional requirements. The food system is highly <a href="https://repository.uwc.ac.za/xmlui/handle/10566/4597">concentrated</a>, with a few large national and international corporations dominating food processing and retail. </p>
<p>The call to decolonise food systems is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21683565.2018.1468380">growing globally</a>. Indigenous peoples around the world want to shift the fundamental worldview that informs what foods are eaten, and how they are obtained and distributed. </p>
<p>This requires moving from a capitalist, profit-driven food system in which food is simply a commodity, to one <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/pgdt/17/1-2/article-p173_173.xml">based on values</a> such as collectivity, reciprocity, kinship with the natural world, spirituality, and respect for the land. </p>
<p>In indigenous food systems, people often worked collectively – for example, in collective work parties known as <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44126995">ilima</a> in isiZulu and isiXhosa or <a href="https://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/14451">letsema</a> in Setswana. They held rituals such as the first fruits ceremony to express their gratitude for the harvest. When collecting wild greens or fruits, they understood the importance of taking only what was needed and leaving enough behind for other people, animals, and for the survival of the plants.</p>
<p>When they hunted, they used every part of the animal and were shocked to see European colonists waste so much of it. People had ways of preserving and storing foods to ensure they would have enough during leaner times. </p>
<p>These kinds of values, and the practices based on them, would serve as a good basis from which to imagine and create a more just and sustainable food system, with all of the transformative changes that will entail.</p>
<p><em><strong>(*)</strong>: Different groups in different parts of what is now South Africa had very different diets, for cultural as well as ecological reasons. The foodways of the San or Khoi in the Western Cape, for instance, were very different from those of the Batswana to the north. It is not my intention to suggest that all indigenous food systems were the same, but rather to suggest that they shared certain similarities, and that they were violently disrupted by colonialism</em>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202364/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research received funding from the South African National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>The inequitable distribution of the benefits and harms of the food system is a violation of the constitutional right to food.Brittany Kesselman, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1991332023-02-15T13:54:58Z2023-02-15T13:54:58ZHunger in South Africa: study shows one in five are at risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509190/original/file-20230209-142-um4fjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A charity in Westbury, Johannesburg, hands out food parcels during the COVID pandemic in 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Everyone is vulnerable in some way, whether it’s to natural disasters, chronic diseases or hunger. But some are more at risk than others because of what they are exposed to socially, economically and environmentally. This phenomenon is known as <a href="https://svi.cdc.gov/A%20Social%20Vulnerability%20Index%20for%20Disaster%20Management.pdf">social vulnerability</a>. It refers to the attributes of society that make people and places susceptible to natural disasters, adverse health outcomes and social inequalities.</p>
<p>In terms of income distribution, South Africa is one of the <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=ZA">most unequal countries in the world</a>. The impact of COVID-19 on the economy has worsened this inequality and <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35987">increased social vulnerability among poor people</a>. Poverty is inherently associated with <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1917">food insecurity</a> – a state in which socially vulnerable people can’t get enough nutritious and safe food.</p>
<p>Although these social inequalities are well documented in South Africa, not enough is known about the link between social vulnerability and food insecurity for the country as a whole.</p>
<p>Previous studies that investigated the relationship between social vulnerability and food insecurity have been limited to certain places, such as the poor and rural <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1917">Eastern Cape</a> province or the crowded urban area of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-021-00289-8">Soweto</a>. A better understanding of social inequalities at a national level might help the government provide social relief where it’s needed most.</p>
<p>With this in mind, we conducted a nationally representative survey of the prevalence of social vulnerability in the country. We looked at a range of socio-economic, demographic and geographical variables to see who is socially vulnerable. We also investigated the associations between social vulnerability and household food insecurity.</p>
<h2>Questions about food</h2>
<p>We conducted our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41271-022-00370-w">study</a> in October 2021 with 3,402 individuals we recruited across the nine provinces of the country. We used a statistical technique to transform the sample of 3,402 into a nationally representative sample of 39.6 million people, aged 18 years and older. </p>
<p>We measured social vulnerability using a <a href="https://svi.cdc.gov/A%20Social%20Vulnerability%20Index%20for%20Disaster%20Management.pdf">social vulnerability index</a> tool developed by the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>, which we adapted for South Africa. </p>
<p>We also used a modified version of the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002231821280135X">Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project questionnaire</a> to quantify food insecurity. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-hunger-problem-is-turning-into-a-major-health-crisis-183736">South Africa's hunger problem is turning into a major health crisis</a>
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<p>All the respondents were asked:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Does your household ever run out of money to buy food?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you ever cut the size of meals or skip meals because there is not enough money for food? </p></li>
<li><p>Do you or any of your children ever go to bed hungry because there is not enough money to buy food? </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Vulnerable and food insecure</h2>
<p>The study showed high levels of social vulnerability in the country linked to food insecurity. Over 20.6% of the South Africans in our sample were socially vulnerable, and 20.4% food insecure. This amounts to about 7.8 million people out of our sample of 39.6 million people.</p>
<p>We also <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41271-022-00370-w">found</a> that the most vulnerable groups in the country were Africans – as opposed to white people or people of Asian or <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Coloured">mixed</a> descent.</p>
<p>Also most vulnerable were</p>
<ul>
<li><p>females </p></li>
<li><p>people living in rural areas</p></li>
<li><p>those with low socio-economic status </p></li>
<li><p>people without high school certificates</p></li>
<li><p>adults older than 45. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pandemic-underscores-gross-inequalities-in-south-africa-and-the-need-to-fix-them-135070">Pandemic underscores gross inequalities in South Africa, and the need to fix them</a>
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<p>These findings are not surprising, given that these groups are known to have <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1917">higher levels of poverty</a>. But the findings are still important because they paint a troubling picture in which social inequality remains a major and persisting national challenge. It needs urgent and efficient solutions.</p>
<h2>Addressing social inequalities</h2>
<p>The government uses <a href="https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/21172/">various initiatives</a> to address social inequalities in the country to good effect. These include public education and health services, school feeding schemes and the tax exemption of staple foods such as brown bread and rice. </p>
<p>Social grants are the largest source of support for many vulnerable groups. They are the government’s primary response to poverty, food insecurity and <a href="https://www.dsd.gov.za/index.php/documents?task=download.send&id=326&catid=28&m=0">inequality</a>. </p>
<p>The well-established grants system reaches 18.4 million beneficiaries <a href="https://www.dsd.gov.za/index.php/documents?task=download.send&id=326&catid=28&m=0">(about 31% of the population)</a>. </p>
<p>Despite such efforts, social inequalities have consistently remained high. They are also unlikely to be eradicated with the current social initiatives because of several complex factors. These include the fact that social grants are unable to keep up with inflation in food prices. </p>
<p>Another problem is that recipients use the funds for many non-food necessities – such as clothing and transport <a href="https://foodsecurity.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Final_Devereux-Waidler-2017-Social-grants-and-food-security-in-SA-25-Jan-17.pdf">costs</a>. Other contributing factors are the gaps in the formulation and implementation of policies to address food insecurity. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-has-taken-steps-to-help-young-jobless-people-heres-whats-working-140666">South Africa has taken steps to help young jobless people. Here's what's working</a>
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<p>There’s also a lack of collaboration from different stakeholders in the food <a href="https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/21172/">system</a>. For example, policymakers often view food insecurity as a rural issue. So, a majority of initiatives to address the problem focus on solutions related to food <a href="https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/21172/">production</a>. Yet, urban areas are also vulnerable to food insecurity as they depend more on the cash economy <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0376835X.2011.605572">than rural areas</a>. </p>
<p>In view of our findings, government and other stakeholders need to implement creative and targeted social strategies to reduce and eliminate food insecurity in highly vulnerable groups. Improving the economy and education system should be the main areas of focus in addressing social inequalities in the country.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199133/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Asanda Mtintsilana 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>Social grants are the largest source of support for many vulnerable groups. They are the government’s primary response to poverty, food insecurity and inequality.Asanda Mtintsilana, Postdoctoral researcher, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1961012023-01-29T14:22:06Z2023-01-29T14:22:06ZHow science and innovation can strengthen global food systems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506496/original/file-20230125-24-s7cnmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C191%2C6699%2C4265&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Innovations in food systems, like food processing technologies, have enhanced the sensory quality, safety and shelf life of food products.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Scott Warman/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Food systems, from production to consumption, are complex in nature and require co-ordinated efforts at different levels. <a href="https://www.unicef.org/stories/food-systems">Food systems</a> are the public policy decisions, the national and global supply chains and the public or private individuals and groups that influence what we eat.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, current <a href="https://www.wfp.org/food-systems">global food systems are not sustainable</a>. <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/06-07-2022-un-report--global-hunger-numbers-rose-to-as-many-as-828-million-in-2021">One in nine people</a> are affected by hunger globally. This situation was <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/12-07-2021-un-report-pandemic-year-marked-by-spike-in-world-hunger">worsened by the pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>Global food systems currently do not prevent malnutrition. In fact, they can worsen nutrition and health outcomes with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0176-8">high rates of obesity</a> and related health issues caused by unhealthy diets. Food today also lacks <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment-and-conservation/2022/05/fruits-and-vegetables-are-less-nutritious-than-they-used-to-be">sufficient nutrients</a>.</p>
<p>Food systems affect the environment negatively, contributing about <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/03/1086822">one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions from 1990–2015</a>. They are <a href="https://www.wfp.org/food-systems">susceptible to disruptions</a> like the pandemic, the <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115852">Russia-Ukraine war</a> or any natural disasters. But science and innovation can offer a way out.</p>
<h2>First steps toward scientific innovations</h2>
<p>UN Secretary-General António Guterres convened <a href="https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit">the Food Systems Summit in 2021</a> with the goal of encouraging stakeholders to collaborate in making tangible, positive changes to global food systems.</p>
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<p>With five action tracks, the summit focused on efforts towards achieving the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">UN Sustainable Development Goals</a> related to food systems, especially <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal2">Goal 2 (Zero Hunger)</a>.</p>
<p>Before the Summit, an <a href="https://sc-fss2021.org/">independent Scientific Group</a> was set up to provide input from the global scientific community. Information generated was used to recommend <a href="https://sc-fss2021.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ScGroup_Reader_UNFSS2021.pdf">seven innovation priorities</a> for transforming food systems. Three are directly related to food science and technology.</p>
<h2>Innovations in food science and technology</h2>
<p>Innovations in food science and technology are well-positioned to address many food systems challenges. <a href="https://iufost.org/sites/default/files/IUFoST%20SIB%20-%20Food%20Processing-%20Opportunities%20and%20Challenges.pdf">Food processing</a> has enabled nutrient preservation and the enhancement of sensory quality, safety and shelf life of food products. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00667">Food fortification</a> — the process of adding micronutrients to food — helps meet specific nutritional needs to mitigate malnutrition.</p>
<p><strong>1) Best out of waste:</strong> </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/global-food-waste-solutions/">world wastes millions of tonnes of food</a> every year. Reducing food waste and encouraging people to consume diets with lower carbon footprint would therefore be ideal. But since that seems too idealistic, processing technologies (like <a href="https://innovationorigins.com/en/3d-printer-aims-to-cut-down-on-food-waste-in-restaurants-by-reusing-leftovers/">3D printing</a>) can be used to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1378-7_18">convert this waste into new food products,</a> promoting efficient use of resources.</p>
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<img alt="A wheat farm with a tractor in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=537&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">Diversification can help reduce the overuse of the five big staple foods, including wheat, and widen the type of nutrients consumed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Scott Butner/flickr)</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><strong>2) Food diversification:</strong></p>
<p>Ongoing food diversification efforts include untapped resources (like <a href="https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1h/k1h0tqi7qq">millets</a> and baobabs) that have high amounts of nutrients. These neglected, underutilized, minor or orphan crops should be consumed more. Using sustainable alternatives like marine-based foods and <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i3253e/i3253e.pdf">edible insects</a> is also gaining popularity in some cultures.</p>
<p>Diversification can help reduce the overuse of the five big staples (maize, rice, wheat, potatoes and cassava) and <a href="https://www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/detail/diversifying-food-and-diets/">widen the type of nutrients consumed</a>. It can also encourage local food production, building resilience.</p>
<p><strong>3) Sustainable food processing:</strong></p>
<p>Food processing such as <a href="https://fermentationassociation.org/evidence-of-fermented-health-benefits/#:%7E:text=">fermentation has proven to unlock the health benefits</a> of food. There is strong scientific evidence that the active components of functional foods — foods that offer health benefits beyond their nutritional value — can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-015-0593-9">prevent diseases</a> like hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.</p>
<p>This preventative approach to health is largely underutilized.</p>
<h2>Effective implementation equals success</h2>
<p>The main task now is to efficiently implement these recommendations, especially in regions most affected by food insecurity.</p>
<p>Food systems policy initiatives mostly occur at the national and <a href="https://www.fao.org/cfs/cfs-hlpe/en">global levels</a>, and community-level engagements can help increase the chances of sustaining their impact locally. Local engagement can also help gather and implement traditional knowledge and cultural beliefs that influence innovation.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Food system solutions need to be locally driven and culturally informed.</span></figcaption>
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<p>This calls for inclusive approaches in gathering scientific data, including through <a href="https://www.cgiar.org/innovations/seeds-for-needs-citizen-science-and-crowdsourcing/">citizen science</a>. Data sharing in scientific journals should also expand to include unconventional methods and results, especially those of regional importance, that can expedite the solutions.</p>
<p>Interventions also need to be consumer-focused. Emerging innovations should be driven by public participation and input, instead of industry and funding priorities. Food is an emotive topic and involving the public in discussions on food systems can help reduce misinformation and encourage acceptance of innovations.</p>
<p>At the same time, the political will to drive innovation-focussed food systems locally and globally is also crucial. Industry should be required to prioritize innovations that sustainably produce food with direct public benefit. </p>
<p>Increased financial investment is also needed. The UN Food Systems Summit Scientific Group proposed that governments around the world should spend at least <a href="https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/publication/science-transformation-food-systems-opportunities-un-food-systems-summit_en#:%7E:text=The%20Brief%20proposes%2C%20as%20a%20key%20food%20systems,in%20reaching%20quickly%20the%20equivalent%20of%20this%20target.">one per cent of their agricultural GDP on food systems science and innovation</a>. This support should also be extended for the creation of small businesses and niche markets for unconventional food products, especially in rural communities and low- and middle-income countries.</p>
<p>Lastly, the complexity of food systems today requires the collaboration across different scientific disciplines and sectors when it comes to developing and implementing solutions. Academic and research institutions should therefore update their policies to adequately reward such collaborative approaches that stand a better chance of providing solutions than the status quo.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196101/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chibuike Udenigwe receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). </span></em></p>Innovations in food science and technology are well-positioned to address many existing food systems challenges.Chibuike Udenigwe, Professor and University Research Chair in Food Properties and Nutrient Bioavailability, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1951432023-01-19T13:36:34Z2023-01-19T13:36:34ZInstalling solar-powered refrigerators in developing countries is an effective way to reduce hunger and slow climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504538/original/file-20230114-18-l7fpil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C3642%2C2413&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People buy produce at a wholesale market in Nakuru, Kenya, on Dec. 24, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-buy-vegetables-at-a-wholesale-market-on-christmas-news-photo/1245820936">James Wakibia/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Food loss and waste are major problems around the world. When food is tossed aside or allowed to spoil, it makes economies less productive and leaves people hungry. </p>
<p>It also harms Earth’s climate by generating methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Food loss and waste accounts for <a href="https://coolcoalition.org/sustainable-food-cold-chains-report/">4% of global greenhouse gas emissions</a>. If food waste were a country, it would be the <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-waste-index-report-2021">third-largest emitter in the world</a>, ahead of India and behind only China and the U.S.</p>
<p>Worldwide, 1.3 billion tons of food are <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i2697e/i2697e.pdf">lost or wasted every year</a>. Earth’s population is projected to increase from <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/11/1130417">8 billion today</a> to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02522-6">roughly 10 billion by 2050</a>. Feeding that many people will require nations to increase agricultural production by <a href="https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/expert_paper/How_to_Feed_the_World_in_2050.pdf">more than 70%</a> and reduce food loss and waste.</p>
<p>Expanding <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0923en">food cold chains</a> to the world’s least-developed countries <a href="https://www.nutritioninsight.com/news/cop27-un-environment-programme-and-fao-flag-food-cold-chain-as-imperative-to-global-food-security.html">can have enormous impacts</a>. But it also raises concerns if it’s not done in a way that avoids contributing to climate change. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Investing in efficient, climate-friendly cold chain systems can simultaneously reduce food loss and climate change.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Existing refrigeration systems release hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs, and hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, which are <a href="https://drawdown.org/solutions/refrigerant-management">extremely potent greenhouse gases</a>. Producing electricity with fossil fuels to power these systems also worsens climate change. For these reasons, exporting traditional cold chains to developing countries is not environmentally and socially sustainable. </p>
<p>Instead, developing countries need cold chains that run on renewable energy and use <a href="https://www.unep.org/ozonaction/refrigerant-management-0">alternative refrigerants</a> with lower climate impacts. As a scholar focusing on <a href="https://www.climatepolicylab.org/abay-yimere-1">sustainable development, green growth and climate change</a>, I believe that expanding cold chains in the developing world – particularly sub-Saharan Africa – will not only benefit the environment but also provide important social benefits, such as empowering women.</p>
<h2>Spoilage and contamination</h2>
<p>To understand why cold chains are so important, think about <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-mapped-how-food-gets-from-farms-to-your-home-125475">how food travels from the farm to your table</a>. First it is harvested and shipped to a wholesaler. Then it might go straight to retail stores, or to a food processing company to be cooked, frozen or canned. At each stage it may sit for periods lasting hours to days. If it is not held at a safe temperature, the food may spoil or become contaminated with bacteria that cause <a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/foodborne-illness-and-disease">foodborne illnesses</a>.</p>
<p>In 2021, <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cc0639en/online/sofi-2022/food-security-nutrition-indicators.html">over 700 million people</a> were hungry around the world – 425 million in Asia, 278 million in Africa and 57 million in the Caribbean and Latin America. Many countries in these regions have minimal cold storage capacity to keep food from spoiling before it can be eaten. </p>
<p>Seafood, meat, milk and vegetables are highly reliant on cold food chains. Countries mainly in the developing world <a href="https://iifiir.org/en/fridoc/the-role-of-refrigeration-in-worldwide-nutrition-2009-131376">lose 23% of their perishable products</a> before they reach markets. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504540/original/file-20230114-25-upqija.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A boy holds rotten apples." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504540/original/file-20230114-25-upqija.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504540/original/file-20230114-25-upqija.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504540/original/file-20230114-25-upqija.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504540/original/file-20230114-25-upqija.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504540/original/file-20230114-25-upqija.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504540/original/file-20230114-25-upqija.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504540/original/file-20230114-25-upqija.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">Road work in Kashmir in the fall of 2022 halted thousands of trucks carrying apples on the main highway connecting the disputed region with the rest of India, causing extensive losses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kashmiri-boy-holds-rotten-apples-in-his-hands-outside-an-news-photo/1243650085">Faisal Bashir/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Loss of cereal crops, which also <a href="https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/blog/charles-r-hurburgh/cooling-grain-impacts-grain-quality-and-shelf-life">benefit from cold storage</a>, are equally staggering. For instance, Ethiopia loses about one-third of its stored corn after five weeks due to lack of proper storage. In 2019, India’s Ministry of Food Processing Industries estimated that the country had lost or wasted 56 million tons of food, worth <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/documents/college-eps/energy/publications/india-third-agricultural-revolution-birmingham-energy-institute.pdf">about US$10 billion</a>, mainly due to lack of cold storage. </p>
<p>Inadequate postharvest management can lead to crop contamination and pest infestation. In Uganda, where most corn is grown by small farmers who lack proper facilities to dry and store it, contamination with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2019.108376">fungi that produce dangerous substances called aflatoxin</a> has been a significant human and animal health concern. </p>
<h2>Social benefits from cold storage</h2>
<p>Nearly 150 countries have adopted the <a href="https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=XXVII-2-f&chapter=27&clang=_en">Kigali Amendment</a> to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. This measure, negotiated in 2016, is driving changes in the cooling energy sector by requiring nations to phase down use of HFCs. </p>
<p>The global cold chain market is worth $160 billion today and is projected to reach <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2022.105958">$585 billion by 2026</a>. Solar-powered cold storage is a niche market today, but is poised for growth. </p>
<p>In addition to minimizing food loss and waste, increasing incomes, curbing land degradation and reducing greenhouse emissions, sustainable cold storage offers great benefits for women, who <a href="https://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/women-in-agriculture.html">produce 60% to 80% of crops</a> and are responsible for postharvest activities in most developing countries. </p>
<p>Research in climate finance shows that women may be disproportionately burdened by poverty because they have less access than men to assets and financial resources in many countries. However, since women play key roles in farming and managing food supplies, they are positioned to participate in the food cold chain business in remote and rural areas if the international community provides financial and technical support, thus <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.03.010">improving their economic status and livelihoods</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">ColdHubs is a company working to improve food cold chains in Nigeria.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Pilot projects show promise</h2>
<p>I see sub-Saharan Africa as an ideal candidate for the introduction of food cold chains, for several reasons. First, most of its food loss and waste occurs during harvest and postharvest stages. Installing sustainable cold chain systems at these stages can greatly reduce losses at an early point. </p>
<p>Second, much of the region lacks food cold chains. Investing here offers the opportunity to bypass conventional systems and leapfrog straight to sustainable designs.</p>
<p>In my view, a bottom-up approach starting at the farm level is the most viable strategy. Notably, dairy farmers in Uganda are organized into cooperatives, which have invested in cold chain storage. This made them much more resilient to commercial disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic than other sectors, such as fish and vegetables, which suffered heavy losses when producers <a href="https://www.thecattlesite.com/news/55898/cold-chains-help-mitigate-the-covid-19-food-crisis-lessons-from-uganda">could not get their products to markets</a>.</p>
<p>Nigeria has the highest yearly food loss and waste rate in Africa – 415 pounds (190 kilograms) per capita. In northern Nigeria, a <a href="https://ebrary.ifpri.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/134668/filename/134872.pdf">six-month pilot project</a> that installed solar-powered cold storage for seven small fruit and vegetable markets preserved the quality of the goods and enabled the markets to charge higher prices. </p>
<p>These systems generated estimated net profits of roughly $8,000 per year per market. Even at a 7% annual interest rate, such a system could recoup its $40,000 capital cost within a decade.</p>
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<p>Access to electricity is as low as <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/02/05/nigeria-to-improve-electricity-access-and-services-to-citizens">55% in some parts of Nigeria</a>, and most of its electricity comes from <a href="https://www.iea.org/articles/nigeria-energy-outlook">gas and oil</a>. Renewable-powered cold storage offers a cleaner alternative.</p>
<p>Other experiments have produced <a href="https://www.fao.org/flw-in-fish-value-chains/flw-in-fish-value-chainsresources/articles/renewable-energy-and-reducing-food-loss-and-waste-in-fish-value-chains/zh/">similar results</a> in northwest Kenya and in Indonesia’s Wakatobi islands, where 78% of the population relies on fish as a staple food. Solar-powered cold storage facilities helped these communities save money and reduce waste. </p>
<p>To promote efficient and climate-friendly cooling, including air conditioning and refrigeration, the United Nations Environmental Program has organized a <a href="https://coolcoalition.org/about/overview-and-history/">Global Cool Coalition</a> that includes cities, countries, businesses and international organizations. I see this partnership as a way to make progress on both <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">sustainable development</a> and <a href="https://unfccc.int/cop27">climate change</a>. In my view, investing in renewable-powered cold chains in the world’s least-developed countries will help spur green growth, protect nature and feed the world’s hungry people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195143/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abay Yimere 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>Many developing nations have little cold storage and lose much of their perishable food before it gets to markets. Climate-friendly refrigeration can provide huge environmental and social benefits.Abay Yimere, Postdoctoral Scholar in International Environment and Resource Policy, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1949562022-12-12T13:36:55Z2022-12-12T13:36:55ZAbout one-third of the food Americans buy is wasted, hurting the climate and consumers’ wallets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500074/original/file-20221209-33858-f0cxdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6503%2C3232&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wasted food – and land, labor, chemicals, water and energy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/garbage-royalty-free-image/849384944">ATU Images via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You saw it at Thanksgiving, and you’ll likely see it at your next holiday feast: piles of unwanted food – unfinished second helpings, underwhelming kitchen experiments and the like – all dressed up with no place to go, except <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104440">the back of the refrigerator</a>. With luck, hungry relatives will discover some of it before the inevitable green mold renders it inedible. </p>
<p>U.S. consumers waste a lot of food year-round – about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajae.12036">one-third of all purchased food</a>. That’s <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/43833/43680_eib121.pdf">equivalent to</a> 1,250 calories per person per day, or US$1,500 worth of groceries for a four-person household each year, an estimate that doesn’t include recent <a href="https://refed.org/events/inflation-how-its-affecting-food-waste/">food price inflation</a>. And when food goes bad, the land, labor, water, chemicals and energy that went into producing, processing, transporting, storing and preparing it are wasted too. </p>
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<p>Where does all that unwanted food go? Mainly underground. Food waste occupies <a href="https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials#NationalPicture">almost 25% of landfill space nationwide</a>. Once buried, it breaks down, generating methane, a potent greenhouse gas that <a href="https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-11/from-farm-to-kitchen-the-environmental-impacts-of-u.s.-food-waste_508-tagged.pdf">contributes to climate change</a>. Recognizing those impacts, the U.S. government has set a goal of <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/food-loss-and-waste">cutting food waste in half by 2030</a>.</p>
<p>Reducing wasted food could protect natural resources, save consumers money, reduce hunger and slow climate change. But as an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ST4VBDwAAAAJ&hl=en">agricultural economist</a> and director of the <a href="https://u.osu.edu/foodwaste/">Ohio State Food Waste Collaborative</a>, I know all too well that there’s no ready elegant solution. Developing meaningful interventions requires burrowing into the systems that make reducing food waste such a <a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/a-systems-approach-to-reducing-consumer-food-waste">challenge for consumers</a>, and understanding how both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101151">physical and human factors drive this problem</a>.</p>
<h2>Consumers and the squander sequence</h2>
<p>To avoid being wasted, food must avert a gauntlet of possible missteps as it moves from soil to stomach. Baruch College marketing expert Lauren Block and her colleagues call this pathway the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1509/jppm.15.132">squander sequence</a>. </p>
<p>It’s an example of what economists call <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.hesagr.2022.03.001">an O-ring technology</a>, harking back to the rubber seals whose catastrophic failure caused the <a href="https://www.space.com/18084-space-shuttle-challenger.html">Space Shuttle Challenger disaster</a> in 1986. As in that event, failure of even a small component in the multistage sequence of transforming raw materials into human nutrition leads to failure of the entire task. </p>
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<p>MIT economist <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article-abstract/108/3/551/1881767">Michael Kremer</a> has shown that when corporations of many types are confronted with such sequential tasks, they put their highest-skilled staff at the final stages of production. Otherwise the companies risk losing all the value they have added to their raw materials through the production sequence.</p>
<p>Who performs the final stages of production in today’s modern food system? That would be us: frenzied, multitasking, money- and time-constrained consumers. At the end of a typical day, we’re often juggling myriad demands as we try to produce a nutritious, delicious meal for our households. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, sprawling modern food systems are not managed like a single integrated firm that’s focused on maximizing profits. And consumers are not the highly skilled heavy hitters that Kremer envisioned to manage the final stage of the complex food system. It’s not surprising that failure – here, wasting food – often is the result. </p>
<p>Indeed, out of everyone employed across the fragmented U.S. food system, consumers may have the least professional training in handling and preparing food. Adding to the mayhem, firms may not always want to help consumers get the most out of food purchases. That could reduce their sales – and if food that’s been stored longer degrades and becomes less appetizing or safe, producers’ reputations could suffer. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Reducing household food waste is a step that everyone can take to help slow climate change – but consumers may not know where to start.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Three paths to squash the squandering</h2>
<p>What options exist for reducing food waste in the kitchen? Here are several approaches.</p>
<ul>
<li>Build consumer skills. </li>
</ul>
<p>This could start with students, perhaps through reinvesting in <a href="https://www.aafcs.org/resources/advocacy">family and consumer science courses</a> – the modern, expanded realm of old-school home economics classes. Or schools could insert food-related modules into existing classes. Biology students could learn why mold forms, and math students could calculate how to expand or reduce recipes. </p>
<p>Outside of school, there are expanding <a href="https://www.thegreencookingshow.com/">self-education opportunities available online</a> or via clever gamified experiences like <a href="https://www.hellmanns.com/us/en/fridgenight.html">Hellman’s Fridge Night Mission</a>, an app that challenges and coaches users to get one more meal a week out of their fridges, freezers and pantries. Yes, it may involve adding some mayo. </p>
<p>Recent studies have found that when people had the opportunity to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2021.101107">brush up on their kitchen management skills</a> early in the COVID-19 pandemic, food waste declined. However, as consumers returned to <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/resources/report/uk-household-food-waste-tracking-survey-winter-2021">busy pre-COVID schedules and routines</a> such as eating out, wastage <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMrmP4KsmSs&t=17s">rebounded</a>.</p>
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<ul>
<li>Make home meal preparation easier. </li>
</ul>
<p>Enter the meal kit, which provides the exact quantity of ingredients needed. One recent study showed that compared to traditional home-cooked meals, wasted food <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134001">declined by 38% for meals prepared from kits</a>. </p>
<p>Meal kits generate increased packaging waste, but this additional impact may be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.04.008">offset by reduced food waste</a>. Net environmental benefits <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.07.062">may be case specific</a>, and warrant more study.</p>
<ul>
<li>Heighten the consequences for wasting food. </li>
</ul>
<p>South Korea has begun implementing <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112046">taxes on food wasted in homes</a> by requiring people to dispose of it in special costly bags or, for apartment dwellers, through pay-as-you-go kiosks. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500061/original/file-20221209-25423-3fgs0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two bins marked with cartoons and colorful graphics showing what they collect" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500061/original/file-20221209-25423-3fgs0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500061/original/file-20221209-25423-3fgs0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500061/original/file-20221209-25423-3fgs0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500061/original/file-20221209-25423-3fgs0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500061/original/file-20221209-25423-3fgs0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500061/original/file-20221209-25423-3fgs0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500061/original/file-20221209-25423-3fgs0n.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">Kiosks for collecting food waste in Seoul, South Korea.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_management_in_South_Korea#/media/File:Q18919_food_waste_box_A01.jpg">Revi/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>A <a href="https://shoonlee.github.io/website/Foodwaste_SL.pdf">recent analysis</a> suggests that a small tax of 6 cents per kilogram – which, translated for a typical U.S. household, would total about $12 yearly – yielded a nearly 20% reduction in waste among the affected households. The tax also spurred households to spend 5% more time, or about an hour more per week, preparing meals, but the changes that people made reduced their yearly grocery bills by about $170.</p>
<h2>No silver bullets</h2>
<p>Each of these paths is promising, but there is no single solution to this problem. Not all consumers will seek out or encounter opportunities to improve their food-handling skills. Meal kits introduce logistical issues of their own and could be too expensive for some households. And few U.S. cities may be willing or able to develop systems for tracking and taxing wasted food. </p>
<p>As the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine concluded in a <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25876/a-national-strategy-to-reduce-food-waste-at-the-consumer-level">2020 report</a>, there’s a need for many solutions to address food waste’s large contribution to global climate change and worldwide nutritional shortfalls. Both the <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/03/1086402">United Nations</a> and the <a href="https://wastedfood.american.edu/">U.S. National Science Foundation</a> are funding efforts to track and measure food waste. I expect that this work will help us understand waste patterns more clearly and find effective ways to squelch the squander sequence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Roe receives or has received funding for research related to food waste from the US Department of Agriculture, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation and Apeel Sciences. He serves as a voluntary member of one of ReFED's advisory boards, and is co-principal investigator of the National Science Foundation initiative on food waste mentioned in this article.</span></em></p>Reducing food waste at home is an action that anyone can take to help slow climate change, often saving money in the process. More consumer education could help show people what to do.Brian E. Roe, Professor of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.