Food, Globalization, and Gender
Dietary Changes and Nutritional Impact due to Globalization
Gina Kennedy
12 June 2009
The lecture, delivered by Gina Kennedy at the FAO in Rome, intended to cover:
- The features of globalizing food systems.
- Dietary changes as seen globally.
- The drivers of these dietary changes.
- The impact of these changes on local food systems.
The lecture would discuss the nutritional consequences of changing diets with a FOCUS on gender. Many organizations capture solely data on women and children, because women have higher and more complex nutritional needs then men, when they are pregnant or lactating. Info on men, therefore, is often hard to find.
DIETARY CHANGES IN THE PAST 40 YEARS
There has been an:
Increase in energy intake.
A change in the proportion of calories derived from fat, protein, carbohydrates, and macronutrients.
A change in types of foods consumed.
A gradual increase in dietary energy intake in all regions, as tracked from the 60's to the year 2000.
This increase in dietary energy intake has affected all world regions. The data shown here was taken from FAOSTAT, our organization's comprehensive database on nutrition. You may look there for information on just about everything. FAOSTAT shows the chain from production to supply, as well as what should be available for per capita intake. The downside of this is that the figure you get are very gross. The data is still good for the purpose looking at trends. All data is produced as an average of three yeas. This smoothes out some of the year to year variation. You can see from this graph (as indicated) that Asia, North and Central America have had massive changes in the past 40 years.
Change in Macronutrients
Carbohydrate, protein, and fat are the macronutrients. From 1970 to 2000 in developing countries, diets changed from 78% carbohydrate to 69% carbohydrate. Protein stayed the same portion of the diet, rising from 9% to 10%. Fat intake produced the biggest change. Fat changed from 13% fat intake in 1970 to 21% fat intake in terms of the total diet in 2000. Overall caloric consumption also went up in the developing world.
Now, we will discuss new trends in the consumption of calories per capita per day. We will discuss how many calories are derived from sugar, vegetable oils, and animal food in developing countries.
From 1961 to 2000, starting in the 1970s and 1980's, the world saw a huge increase in availability of foods derived from animal sources. Oils and sugar also increased in availability. These increases are the main drivers of the changes seen due to globalization. Edible oil availability has tripled from 1961 to 2000 around the world.
A huge increase in availability means, in simplest terms, what is available in the county. This does not mean the new resources are spread equally among all people. This is because inequalities exist, such as between rural and urban, or poor and comparatively rich.
Throughout the planet, animal source food availability has tripled, with a tenfold increase seen in China. Much of this increase is due to a great rise in the consumption of poultry and pork.
There have been some increases in the availability and consumption of fruits and vegetables. The changes are less marked then those seen for animal products and edible oils. Fruit and vegetable consumption is increasing, especially in California. However, no poplation anywhere reaches the 400 grams of fruits and vegetables recommended per capita per day.
This figure (as seen here) juxtaposes the macronutrient pie chart with carbs, and also indicates the amount of the diet devoted to protein and fat. The largest percentage changes in these consumption levels are seen in Asia and South America. Asia is eating fewer calories from cereals, and has seen a 4% surplus change in meat consumption. For the developed and developing world, we see 6% less calories derived from cereals, and between 2 and 4% more from meat.
Dietary Changes Globally
What has changed in food consumption from population group to population group?
Changes include:
The consumption of fewer traditional foods and more global or homogenized foods, such as rice, wheat, and corn. Traditional cereals or staples are used less, especially in Africa.
A dramatic increase in edible oils, especially in Asia.
An increase in meat consumption, especially in China.
An increased amount of sugar intake, mostly derived from sweetened beverages and other manufactured foods. The manufacturing process does not just take the original ingredient (a mango) and turn it into something different (a different form of mango). Sugars and artifical ingredients are added during processing. Therefore, populations are getting additional things that were not in the diet before.
Factors in Dietary Shifts
Convenience and ease of use of novel foods.
The cost of novel foods as opposed to traditional foods.
The time available for meal preparation. This time is diminishing as women increasingly join the workforce.
More out of home meal consumption, linked to growing urbanization.
Drivers of these Dietary Changes.
Economic changes. These can be due to urbanization, capital flow, an increase in incomes, and market liberalization.
Social changes. These can include rural to urban migration, the employment of women, an increased access to health services, a rise in sedentary lifestyles, and big supermarkets replacing traditional wet markets.
Food Supply changes. These include the rise of large scale intensive agriculture-based food production, longer product shelf life, and a reduced seasonality effect on food availability.
Dietary changes: These include the convergence of diets, an increase in food choice driven by affordability concerns, and an increase in the intake of fat, sugar, and salt.
Impact Vs. Outcome
The impact of dietary change is felt around the world.
Impacts include:
Changes in nutritional status, with a large percentage of the population either overweight or obese.
Rapidly increasing rates of non-communicable disease.
An increase in social inequity.
A loss of biodiversity.
Everyone loves a good deal. Around the world, people prefer to spend the least money for the most calories, a matter of simple economics. But these cheap, calorie dense foods may not be very good for you!
Trends in Urbanization
Urbanization is increasing everywhere. The World Bar in blue, as indicated on the graph, shows that we began with about 30% of people globally living in an urban area in 1950. The number of people living in urban areas grew o about 50% worldwide in urban areas by our era. This urbanization trend has been seen all over the world.
What are some environmental influences on behavior in urban regions?
Advertising, which is especially pervasive in urban regions.
The variety and appeal of imported foods is great in urban regions. People want to look modern, and do not want to be seen as traditional or old fashioned.
No significant physical effort is needed to obtain food in an urban area, as it can easily be bought.
The availability of refrigerators, cars, television, and other technology facilitating dietary changes. With the advent of the fridge, you may store your food and have it available 24 hours a day. Without a fridge, everything you cook must be fresh or non-perishable. This impacts how much you eat and what you eat. Cars have a huge impact on your daily level of activity. A television makes your leisure time more sedentary.
The appearance of supermarkets and shopping malls, complete with big inventories and lots of imported products.
Advertising on TV In Brazil
Many of the concepts we have discussed here are illustrated by the Brazilian example.
The Brazilian Food Pyramid for Infants and Children.
We are looking at a Brazilian government sponsored food pyramid. According to this pyramid, a person should get the most calories from bread or grains, preferably whole grains. These are low fat staple foods. The second largest percentage of the diet should be fruit, vegetables, and legumes. The third largest percentage is dairy, small amounts of red meat, and similar protein-based products. A person should derive the least calories from sugar, butter, lard, candy, and so on. This pyramid indicates the ideal diet from the Brazilian point of view.
Advertising Pyramid Makeup
We decided to find out how many advertisements existed on Brazilian TV for each of the food groups above. Here are the results:
Fruit and vegetables had zero ads
Meat, egg, and beans made up 8.3% of ads
Milk, cheese, and yogurt made up 12% of ads.
Bread, rice and pasta made up 21% of ads
58% of foods ads were for fats, oils, sugars and sweets. Therefore, the most advertising existed for foods that should be consumed the least. The huge quantity of advertising for unhealthy foods has had a negative effect on public health.
Out of Home Meal Consumption in Tanzania
Most schools in Tanzania have poor or non-existent school lunch programs. Therefore, children's parents send them to school with lunch money. Outside the schools, vendors sell treats such as sweet ice, doughnuts, french fries and other fried foods. Coca-Cola, as always, is available everywhere. A dietary study of school children showed that these "lunch" foods are largely starchy, deep fried, and sugary. A few of the female food vendors would sell healthy foods. However, children had to be cajoled to buy healthy foods instead of the unhealthy foods they preferred. If left to their own devices, children preferred to buy unhealthy foods.
Street Food and the Gender Dimension
Street foods in urban areas are tied to the livelihoods of many women. These women derive their income from direct sales and the sale of prepared products. They are often both producers and sellers. Women made up the majority of vendors to Tanzanian schoolchildren. Some women sold healthy food. Some sold fried or contaminated foods. Some women would function as indirect sellers. These women would get their product from a friend or family member, transport it to school, then sell it. All aspects of the street-food trade in Tanzania indicate women's heavy involvement in the system. A community effort, therefore, has to occur in order to change the standard diet.
Fast Food Companies Emerge
Fast food companies are gaining popularity and prestige all over the world. In India, KFC and Pizza Hut are extremely popular. The same goes for China. Other developing countries are following suit. Fast food provides both convenience and a "cool" factor to citizens of developing nations.
Corn, Wheat, and Rice
Despite a rise in international recognition of the importance of dietary diversity, there has been a global decrease in the varieties of food crops cultivated and consumed. Over 7000 plant species have been traditionally used for food in human history. Today, rice, wheat, and corn account for an estimated 60% of total energy intake in the human diet.
The Italians, bucking the trend, seem to have preserved much of their dietary biodiversity. This is probably because they are highly seasonally selective. The local market rarely features out of season produce . In Italy, people eat winter foods in winter and summer foods in summer. Getting food out of season is hard.
The Top 10 World Food Sources
CORN
WHEAT
RICE SOYBEANS
BARLEY
SUGARCANE
COW MILK
PORK
POTATOES
PALM OIL
A Case Study From The Pacific Islands:
The island in question is Kiribas. The trends spotted here apply to elsewhere in the Pacific Islands. The same ideas are also applicable in Africa and Asia.
The original Pacific diet was composed of fresh fish and seafood, and things such as taro and breadfruit. To survive on an isolated island, people have to eat their own food. In many of these climates, people have access to beautiful tropical fruits and vegetables. These include lime, papaya, coconut, and other varieties. Bananas function as both a sweet and a staple. Imports have risen in recent years in the Pacific islands. Imports bring food stuffs such as canned meats, white rice, cookies, biscuits, chocolates, and beer. These foods produced negative effects on the native people, as well as tremendous dietary change. Alcoholism is on the rise in Pacific Islands due to a huge increase in the availability of liquor.
You can spy this trend in many countries in urban areas. Isolated people are given access to Western "junk" food, change their dietary habits, and suffer negative health results.
These dietary changes in the Pacific have grave implications for nutrition. Deleterious effects include:
Huge rates of obesity.
A heavier reliance on rice, sugar, and other imported foods.
Far less consumption of fresh fish and local fruits and vegetables.
A jump in rates of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Some Pacific nations have implemented "Go Local" campaigns, in an effort to reintroduce local and native foods. For example, researchers found a native banana variety rich in vitamin A, a nutrient lacking in many "junk" foods. Local groups are trying to get people to eat native, macronutrient rich foods again.
Obesity Rates in Fiji
With a rise in obesity rates, rates of non- communicable disease go up as well. These diseases include diabetes and high blood pressure.
Many people in Fiji have diabetes, high blood pressure, and suffer from common micronutrient deficiencies. When I worked in the Pacific, we focused primarily on a deficiency in Vitamin A in local diets.
Some statistics on obesity rates as divided by gender and age:
By 30-34 years old, obesity in men reaches 12-14% of the population. In women, 30% are obese by this age.
By the age of 40-44, obesity rates continue to increase. This continues until a given person's 50's and 60's.
Nutritional Benefits of Traditional Food
Today a mix of market and traditional foods is common for most people in most regions. Traditional food remains an important nutrient source in most developing countries.
In Arctic communities, diets were better in the days when both traditional and market foods were consumed, as opposed to a diet almost exclusively of market foods. When traditional foods were included in Arctic diets, many benefits were seen.
Benefits:
Less calories, which is good for weight control.
Less saturated fat, which is better for the heart.
More lean meats and fish.
More iron.
More zinc.
More Vitamin A.
More calcium.
A strengthened cultural capacity and sense of well being.
Local Food System: Gender Dimension
There has been a great loss of local knowledge about traditional foods, and how to harvest and prepare them. I saw in Bangladesh that women had more knowledge then men about the use and preparation of wild foods. Women suffer from the loss of biodiversity in foods and medicines, as many of these traditional resources particularly benefited women's health problems.
An earlier age of onset has been documented for these non-communicable disease. The the younger a disease begins the harder it will be for both the country and the individual to deal with. These are important changes, as indicated in documentaries like Morgan Spurlock's "Super Size Me". Portion size increases are also a big factor, especially in places like the USA, Mexico, and Latin America. Portion sizes appeal to basic human nature. People want value for money, and cheap food in large quantities appeals to a population's sense of value. The combination of low prices and big portions encourages people to overeat.
What health implications derive from dietary change?
Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, CVD (cardiovascular disease), and cancer, among others.
Dietary Factors And Their Effects.
A high intake of energy dense foods ties into the risk of obesity.
Consumption of saturated fats increase the risks of Type 2 Diabetes and CVD.
Dietary cholesterol is linked to CVD.
A high intake of dietary fiber is linked to a decrease in obesity, diabetes and CVD.
Fruits and vegetables are linked to decreases in obesity, diabetes, CVD, and cancer.
Sugar sweetened drinks, such as soft drinks and beverages, are deleterious to health.
What are the Consequences of Dietary Change?
Consequences include:
Increasing rates of obesity.
A rise in diet related chronic disease.
Some improvements in under-nutrition. It is always important to look at inequalities within a country. If you increase your calories but not your micronutrients, you will still have deficiencies.
Where are we now?
We see an accelerating rise in overweight, obesity, and non-communcitable disease.
We see the simultaneous presence of under nutrition and obesity, the double burden of disease.
We see micronutrient deficiencies high due to lack of dietary variety in poor.
Nutrition Transition
We are seeing large shifts in dietary structure, accompanied by changes in physical activity levels. These shifts often lead to dramatic and rapid changes in body composition. This leads to the "double burden" of co-existence of over and under nutrition. This also leads to higher incidences of infectious and chronic diseases.
Prevalence of an Overweight (BMI above 25) in urban and rural areas, in women 20-49 years old, in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In Haiti, one of the poorest countries, 20 percent of those overweight are urban, and 8 percent are rural. In Peru, 60 percent of urban dwellers are obese, and 34 percent in rural areas. Lifestyle shifts and patterns of sedentary behavior are now becoming common in rural areas. These areas now have more cars and motor transportation, as well as piped water.
Urban and rural percentage of obesity in women in other regions
Egypt has some of the highest rates of obesity in woman. 70% of women in urban Egypt are obese, and 47% of women are obese in rural areas. That is a large percentage of the population for a rural area. In Central Asia, 30%, are obese, in about even numbers for rural and urban areas. There are some more dramatic incidences, depending on the region, but shifts are occurring in both places. These areas are still struggling with poor child growth, poor feeding practices and underweight children with poor growth, and micronutrient issues.
Non-diet Health Affects of Globalization
More alcohol
More cigarettes
More stress
More crime and violence
More sedentary work and leisure
What can be done?
Improve the nutritional status of women of child bearing age and children.
Engage in growth monitoring for all forms of malnutrition.
Create public health screening campaigns for early problem detection.
Pay attention not only to medical aspects of these problems, but to the whole environment. The environment includes food systems, city planning, school and work environment.
The Way Forward...
In the future, to positively address these dietary changes, we can implement these actions.
Pay attention to dietary quality in food assistance and education.
Begin building functional relationships with rural areas to provide traditional foods.
Implement the protection of schools and children from influences of advertising, especially for food.
Aid go-local initiatives, like the Island Food Community of Pohnpei.
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