Equitable Food Research Articles

Consumer experiences of food environments during the Covid-19 pandemic: Global insights from a rapid online survey of individuals from 119 countries

This study investigates consumer experiences of food environments and food acquisition practices during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our rapid assessment online survey featured a convenience sample of 2015 individuals from 119 countries, spanning Western Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa. Data collection took place in April 2020 during the second month of the pandemic. Participants were recruited via existing networks of the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition, through social media, and by snowballing. The majority of participants were female (71.9%), from low- and middle-income countries (51.0%), and working in nutrition or healthcare (39.3%). Qualitative thematic analysis and descriptive statistics reveal a series of common global experiences related to food availability and accessibility, food prices and affordability, food acquisition practices, and food preparation and consumption. The importance of community food participation, food sharing, and resource allocation are highlighted, along with increasing awareness of healthy diets and food waste. We identify ten synergistic policy entry points to: 1) build resilient and equitable food environments resistant to stresses and shocks; 2) harness positive dietary-related behaviors manifested during the pandemic; and, 3) mitigate the projected nutrition crisis and promote sustainable healthy diets for all.

Assessment of COVID-19 pandemic impact on guaranteeing food security in local school catering

Abstract Background The Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) highlights that in 2020 10% of the Italian population could not afford an adequate meal every 2 days. Families with several children were more affected, for these children school meals represented the only access to a healthy diet. The European Commission Farm to Fork Strategy, concerning the COVID-19 pandemic (CP), underlines the need to act to ensure access to a sufficient supply of affordable food for all. In the Province of Trieste (PT) over 90% of pupils eat in school canteens (12,000 meals per day). The aims of the project were to verify the impact of CP on the food security of public school canteens (PSC) and determine any Nutritional Critical Points (NCPs) - Corrective Actions (CAs) to guarantee healthy equity meals for all pupils. Methods The content of Public food procurement and service polices for a healthy diet (PFP) published by the WHO and the Nutrient Analysis Critical Control Points (NACCP) process as indicated by the Ministry of Health were applied. In the first quarter of 2021, all food procurement contracts (n = 6) and all of the school kitchens (n = 45) of PT PSC were verified, the University of Trieste analysed the composition of fresh desserts administered in 7 consecutive weeks. Results The NACCP process showed NCPs on the low quality of afternoon snacks and on the quantitative/qualitative fat profile of fresh desserts, with a content of 69 to 72% of saturated fat, of 5 to 7% of trans fat and of 8 to 12% oxidized fat as a “dual quality” food. CAs were activated to support all PT PSC in reformulating fresh desserts, as well as in aiding the assessment of the food procurement landscape, activating regular monitoring of compliance and designing procurements adherent to PFP. Conclusions Project outcomes highlight the importance of taking action to continuously support PSC in order to ensure healthy and equitable food environments for all and to contribute to building a resilient food system. Key messages Guarantee healthy equity school meals for all pupils by developing on going processes to address the pandemic challenge. Ensure technical assistance to school catering to overcome the impact of COVID–19.

South African Consumer Adoption of Plant-Based and Cultivated Meat: A Segmentation Study

The purpose of this study was to assess the likelihood of consumer adoption of plant-based and cultivated meat in South Africa as a pathway to a healthy, sustainable, and equitable food supply. We recruited a large sample of South Africans representative across age (18–61), gender, race, and income to participate in an online survey. Participants responded to a range of measures including adoption indicators, estimated yearly intake, motivators for purchasing, desired product characteristics, preferred species, and sociodemographics. We found a high degree of openness to both products. For plant-based meat, 67% were highly likely to try and 59% were highly likely to purchase. For cultivated meat, 60% were highly likely to try and 53% were highly likely to purchase. The highest acceptance was amongst the younger generations: 60% of born-frees, 62% of millennials, and 53% of Gen X were highly likely to purchase plant-based meat and 55% of born-frees, 55% of millennials, and 46% of Gen X were highly likely to purchase cultivated meat. For the general population, we observed that future meat intake was estimated to be split equally among the three meat categories (conventional, cultivated, and plant-based). We found early adopters (those highly likely to purchase) to be quite similar in attitudinal and sociodemographic characteristics in comparison to the general population. The study findings suggest that both plant-based and cultivated meat could be viable market-based options for improving the food system in South Africa, as consumers across all segments of society, and especially amongst the younger population, indicated broad acceptance.

Relational Life: Lessons from Black Feminism on Whiteness and Engaging New Food Activism

AbstractCritical food scholarship and BIPOC‐led food activism are demanding government responsibility for developing equitable food systems, while contending with the failure of government to affirm Black and Brown lives. Heeding Black feminist calls for complex geographies, I trace the racial entanglements of food apartheid in daily life in Dubuque, Iowa, USA as they intersect with Growing Together, a community donation gardening program developed through federal nutrition education and state Cooperative Extension programs. Analysing interview data, I examine Growing Together’s lack of accountability for food apartheid in Dubuque, and I focus on radical strategies to disrupt racialised, taken for granted notions of city neighbourhoods as “with” and “without” food, knowledge, skills, or community character. Complex geographies reveal paths to reconfigure Growing Together around mutual interdependency and support of Black‐ and Brown‐led collective struggles against a racist state, paths that ultimately demand the deep governmental transformations called for within racial justice movements.

Achieving Food System Resilience Requires Challenging Dominant Land Property Regimes

Although evidence continues to indicate an urgent need to transition food systems away from industrialized monocultures and toward agroecological production, there is little sign of significant policy commitment toward food system transformation in global North geographies. The authors, a consortium of researchers studying the land-food nexus in global North geographies, argue that a key lock-in explaining the lack of reform arises from how most food system interventions work through dominant logics of property to achieve their goals of agroecological production. Doing so fails to recognize how land tenure systems, codified by law and performed by society, construct agricultural land use outcomes. In this perspective, the authors argue that achieving food system “resilience” requires urgent attention to the underlying property norms that drive land access regimes, especially where norms of property appear hegemonic. This paper first reviews research from political ecology, critical property law, and human geography to show how entrenched property relations in the global North frustrate the advancement of alternative models like food sovereignty and agroecology, and work to mediate acceptable forms of “sustainable agriculture.” Drawing on emerging cases of land tenure reform from the authors' collective experience working in Scotland, France, Australia, Canada, and Japan, we next observe how contesting dominant logics of property creates space to forge deep and equitable food system transformation. Equally, these cases demonstrate how powerful actors in the food system attempt to leverage legal and cultural norms of property to legitimize their control over the resources that drive agricultural production. Our formulation suggests that visions for food system “resilience” must embrace the reform of property relations as much as it does diversified farming practices. This work calls for a joint cultural and legal reimagination of our relation to land in places where property functions as an epistemic and apex entitlement.

Very simply, what do we mean by Food Systems?

The September 2021 Food Systems Summit to be convened by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres will be part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Summit will launch bold new actions to deliver progress on all 17 SDGs, each of which relies to some degree on healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems.To better understand what is meant here by Food Systems, and how different the actions from this summit are likely to be from past summits, visit a brief by Hanh Nguyen (Value Chain Development Consultant of the Sustainable Markets, Agribusiness and Rural Transformations Team, FAO), whose concept and “why the summit?” are both very well captured.

An optimal diet for planet and people

An optimal diet for planet and people

“Protein” Industry Convergence and Its Implications for Resilient and Equitable Food Systems

Recent years have seen the convergence of industries that focus on higher protein foods, such as meat processing firms expanding into plant-based substitutes and/or cellular meat production, and fisheries firms expanding into aquaculture. A driving force behind these changes is dominant firms seeking to increase their power relative to close competitors, including by extending beyond boundaries that pose constraints to growth. The broad banner of “protein” offers a promising space to achieve this goal, despite its nutritionally reductionist focus on a single macronutrient. Protein firm strategies to increase their dominance are likely to further diminish equity in food systems by exacerbating power asymmetries. In addition, the resilience of food systems has the potential to be weakened as these strategies tend to reduce organizational diversity, as well as the genetic diversity of livestock and crops. To better understand these changes, we visually characterize firms that are most dominant in higher protein food industries globally and their recent strategic moves. We discuss the likelihood for these trends to further jeopardize food system resilience and equity, and we make recommendations for avoiding these impacts.

Future of food: Innovating towards sustainable healthy diets

Future of food: Innovating towards sustainable healthy diets

Working for Justice in Food Systems on Stolen Land? Interrogating Food Movements Confronting Settler Colonialism

The evolving practice and scholarship surrounding food movements aim to address social, political, economic and ecological crises in food systems. However, limited interrogation of settler colonialism remains a crucial gap. Settler colonialism is the ongoing process of invasion that works to systematically erase and replace Indigenous Peoples with settler populations and identities. While many progressive and well-intentioned food movements engage directly with issues of land, water, identity, and power, critics argue they have also reified capitalism, white supremacy, agro-centrism and private property that are central to the ongoing dispossession of Indigenous Peoples. Scholars and advocates have called for greater accountability to the contradictions inherent in working towards social and ecological justice on stolen land. We write this paper as three settler activist-scholars to interrogate ways that social movements are responding to this call. A community-engaged methodology was used to conduct semi-structured interviews with individuals working in settler-led food movement organizations in Northwestern Ontario, Canada and in Southern Australia. We present our findings through three intersecting categories: 1) Expressions of settler inaction; 2) Mere inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and ideas; and, 3) Productive engagements and visions to confront settler colonialism. To explore the possibility of deeper engagements that confront settler colonialism, we suggest a continuum that moves from situating our(settler)selves within the framework of settler colonialism to (re)negotiating relationships with Indigenous Peoples to actualizing productive positions of solidarity with Indigenous struggles. We argue that this work is essential for food movements that aim to transform relationships with the land, each other, and ultimately forge more sustainable and equitable food futures.

Using Qualitative System Dynamics Analysis to Promote Inclusive Livestock Value Chains: A Case Study of the South African Broiler Value Chain.

Livestock value chains globally are increasingly dualistic, with integrated market-leaders co-existing with comparatively disadvantaged small producers who, nevertheless, support rural livelihoods and food access, and can also contribute to more resilient supply chains. The South African broiler value chain provides a highly illustrative case study. The purpose of this study is to identify potential leverage points for policy intervention to support small and emerging producers in the South African broiler value chain, and to discuss the strengths and limitations of system dynamics approaches to promote inclusive food value chains. This study develops a causal loop diagram (CLD) based on semi-structured stakeholder interviews and policy documents. The main challenges, key variables and causal relationships between them are systematically identified. Variables are coded, generalised and graphically represented, and entry points for intervention and their links to existing policies are mapped. The challenges faced by smallholders in the context of our study can be characterised, using a CLD, as a set of interlinked and reinforcing dynamics which perpetuate existing disadvantages and reinforce duality in the value chain. Key policy entry points have been identified that could be targeted by a coordinated policy package, including: Direct support for infrastructure investment and input access through grants, subsidies or other policies; credit and liquidity provision for day-to-day expenses; creation of aggregation mechanisms for both inputs and outputs; regulations or initiatives that directly target the relationship of farmers with the commercial segment to improve access to day-old-chicks and, finally, training in business and technical skills. Although most of these interventions have been addressed at some point, implementation has been fragmented, failing to fully consider their complementary nature, thus undermining effectiveness. Existing approaches to consensus building and stakeholder participation in system dynamics research can present challenges when it comes to engaging with complex policy processes and issues of conflict of interest that are relevant in the context of smallholder promotion and equitable food systems, but there are promising avenues for addressing. Despite some methodological challenges, we find that there is considerable scope for system dynamics approaches to inform policy for smallholder promotion, even in contexts characterised by complex policy processes.

Acquisition, mobility and food insecurity: integrated food systems opportunities across urbanicity levels highlighted by COVID-19.

To investigate acquisition and mobility experiences of food-insecure individuals across urbanicity levels (i.e., urban, suburban, rural) in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional study using a nationally representative online panel to measure where food-insecure individuals acquired food, food acquisition barriers and mobility to food sources, which were evaluated across urbanicity levels using chi-squared tests and 95 % CI. USA. 2011 adults (18 years or older). Food insecurity impacted 62·3 % of adults in urban areas, 40·5 % in rural areas and 36·7 % in suburban areas (P < 0·001). Food acquisition barriers that were significantly more prevalent among food-insecure adults in urban areas were a change in employment status (34·2 %; 95 % CI 27·2 %, 41·1 %; P < 0·0001) and limited availability of food in retailers (38·8 %; 95 % CI 31·7 %, 45·9 %; P < 0·001). In rural areas, food-insecure adults primarily acquired food for the household from supercentres (61·5 %; 95 % CI 50·4 %, 72·5 %; P < 0·05), while locally sourced foods were less common among food-insecure adults in rural areas (6·9 %; 95 % CI 0·01 %, 13·0 %) compared to urban areas (19·8 %; 95 % CI 14·3 %, 25·4 %; P < 0·01). Transportation as a barrier did not vary significantly by urbanicity, but food-insecure adults across urbanicity levels reported utilising a range of transportation modes to acquire food. A planning approach that links urban and rural areas could address food insecurity by enhancing the integration of food production, transportation and food distribution, building towards a more resilient and equitable food system for all Americans.

Re-Imagining Localism and Food Justice: Co-Op Cincy and the Union Cooperative Movement

Co-op Cincy is an incubator of worker- and community-owned cooperatives, including the farm and food hub Our Harvest. The incubator is part of the innovative1worker1vote.orgnetwork of unionized worker cooperatives stemming from a partnership between the Spanish Mondragon Cooperatives and the United States Steelworkers. This Community Case Study examines Co-Op Cincy’s food sector organizing as an example of resistance to the industrial, corporate food system. Their hybrid and experimental approach creatively re-imagines both cooperative ownership and localist food systems. Whereas some local efforts fail to address questions of social justice or drift from social justice missions, this essay describes how Co-Op Cincy and Our Harvest 1) define their social justice goals in pursuit of locally rooted ownership, 2) raise consciousness about the connections among food systems and racial and class disparities as well as the need for sustainability, solidarity, and democratic ownership, and 3) embody these commitments in everyday organizing. Their experimentation lends insights into potential paths to create a more equitable food system and a more just economy.

Abstract 065: Ultra-processed Food And Hypertension Incidence In The Regards Cohort

Background: A growing body of evidence demonstrates that diets high in ultra-processed food products (UPF)—ready-to-eat formulations of processed substances that have been extracted or refined from whole foods and that typically contain added flavors, colors, and other cosmetic additives -- lack nutrient quality and contribute to energy imbalance. However, few studies have examined the impact on hypertension, a diet-sensitive condition characterized by racial disparities across the disease spectrum. We sought to determine black-white differences in UPF consumption and associations with incident hypertension. Methods: Data from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Disparities in Stroke (REGARDS) Cohort Study was used. Participants free of hypertension at baseline (2003-2007) who had complete food intake data and completed visit 2 (2013-2017) were included. The NOVA classification system was used to categorize participants food and drink into categories according to their level of processing, from 1 (minimally processed) to 4 (ultra-processed). The percent gram contribution of UPF to total grams consumed was calculated and used to create quartiles of UPF intake. The outcome, incident hypertension, was defined as systolic blood pressure of =&gt;140 mm Hg or diastolic pressure =&gt;90 mm Hg or taking antihypertensive medication at visit 2. Summary statistics were used to examine participant demographics by UPF consumption. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the hypothesis that UPF consumption is associated with incident hypertension and that the association varies by race. Results: A total of 5,957 participants were included in analyses, 23 percent were Black and 77 White. Black participants had higher UPF intake compared to White participants. Thirty-eight percent of Black participants were in the top quartile of UPF consumption compared to 21 percent among White participants. Women, those with lower educational attainment, lower physical activity, and income below 35K were more likely to be in the top quartile of UPF consumption. Regression model results showed individuals in the top quartile of UPF consumption had 38 percent greater odds of incident hypertension (CI=1.11-1.53) after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics. Race-stratified model results showed that Blacks in the top quartile had 47 percent greater odds (CI=1.06-2.03) of incident hypertension. UPF consumption was not significantly associated with incident hypertension among Whites (OR=1.19, CI=0.99-1.43). Conclusions: Findings demonstrate racial disparities in consumption of UPF and that disparities contribute to higher incident hypertension among Black persons. Results contribute to the growing evidence base needed to inform equitable food system policies, support healthier dietary consumption, and address hypertension disparities.

“Free” food with a side of shame? Combating stigma in emergency food assistance programs in the quest for food justice

Anti-hunger advocates and food geographers have often overlooked the role of emergency food assistance in struggles for food justice, dismissing food assistance as addressing symptoms rather than root causes of food insecurity. Yet, the vast network of food pantries and other free food programs are more than a stop-gap measure for millions of Americans — and thus warrant a closer look at how their practices, policies and spaces feel in practice and with what implications towards food justice goals. In this paper, we argue that barriers to emotionally-accessible food, in the form of neoliberal stigma around “free” food, play a prominent role in shaping peoples’ experiences with food assistance. Based on participatory research with a food redistribution non-profit in Boulder, Colorado, we discuss how the emotional burdens of food insecurity manifest in individual experiences with emergency food assistance programs and staff, leading to isolation and disconnection which actively inhibit more inclusive food systems. This research responds to scholarship in geographies of food and emotion, contributing analysis into how discomforts of (lacking/receiving) food are experienced viscerally. Furthermore, we discuss implications of the emotional (dis)comforts of food assistance when examining the role of emergency food assistance in broader struggles for food justice. To this end, we point to alternative practices in food assistance programs which might actively counteract narratives of neoliberal subjectivities, while simultaneously broadening the food justice community in terms of who feels comfortable participating in, and shaping, more equitable food systems.

Rangeland Ecosystem Service Markets: Panacea or Wicked Problem?

Rangelands support nearly one-third of Earth's population and provide a multitude of ecosystem services. Land managers and society face increasing pressures to sustainably intensify rangeland food systems; therefore, the time is ripe for thoughtful approaches to simultaneously produce more food, provide economic opportunities for livestock-dependent communities, and enhance environmental benefits from rangeland ecosystems. Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs have been put forth as potential mechanisms to maintain the quality and quantity of ecosystem services while enhancing economic viability of livestock operations. Free markets have long been proposed as solutions for mitigating trade-offs from ecosystem services that are not co-produced with livestock production; such markets have failed to emerge at the scale required to address global threats to sustainability. We highlight fundamental obstacles on demand and supply sides that challenge the concept of a market as a panacea; we do so through an interdisciplinary lens of fundamental economic underpinnings overlaid with a social survey of cattle producers' perspectives. Relevant to the demand side, we discuss the most significant impediments to development and function of non-bundled ecosystem service markets; on the supply side, we provide unique perspectives, using novel interview data from California rangeland cattle producers. Producer interviews highlighted substantial financial challenges threatening the economic sustainability of their operations. Among interviewed producers, 85% identified government regulations as the central threat to their livelihoods. Producers identified opportunities for enhancing enterprise sustainability via improved value and marketing of livestock goods co-produced with ecosystem services, participation in conservation easements, and improved connections with society. Only 11% of producers identified PES programs as future opportunities. When asked about willingness to participate in PES markets, 13% of interviewees indicated they would not, 45% were neutral, and 42% indicated they would consider participating. Interviewees stated trust in the market broker is key and they would be less willing to participate if there was government involvement. Ecosystem service markets—whether voluntary or non-voluntary—are likely not sustainable solutions to the complex social-economic-ecological dilemma ranchers and society face. Sustainability on working rangelands will require partnerships to co-develop strategies to build more equitable food systems and sustain these ecosystems.

Food Systems After Covid-19

Measures to slow down the spread of Covid-19 have had profound effects on the food and nutrition security of poor and marginalised households and communities. This article provides an overview of the effects of Covid-19 on food systems across low- and middle-income countries using resilience and political economy lenses, before proposing approaches to build back resilient and equitable food systems. First, future interventions need to target structural issues that limit people’s agency in accessing nutritious and diverse food and production capital. Second, local innovation systems and institutions require investment to create a market environment that benefits domestic (small and medium) enterprises and agri‑food supply chain workers without jeopardising the environment. Third, interventions need to be informed by a diverse set of opinions that include the voices of the most marginalised.

Visualizing the food landscape of Durham, North Carolina

AbstractIn partnership with community leaders of Durham, North Carolina, the Duke World Food Policy Center is creating a Durham Food Justice Plan (DFJP) for envisioning an equitable food system. The Food Justice plan serves to incorporate Durham's local food history in terms of combating historical and present injustices in the food system. We propose creating an integrative, interactive visual for DFJP to view the food landscape of Durham, which will be utilized to study its relationships with the people living in the area where these establishments reside. We created a food landscape platform in Tableau using multisource data including Durham's food vendor data from North Carolina's Department of Commerce and census data for demographic data, neighborhood labels, and street and highways. We incorporated the Google Geocoding API and the aggregated information based on census blocks and tracts in visualization. We produced a variety of maps and graphs to highlight diverse relationships. The food landscape visualization allows us to see interactive patterns among food vendors and demographic data in Durham. We expect to utilize the developed landscape visual for insightful statistical analysis on food inequity issues.

Uneven decline in food system inequality.

An assessment of global inequality in agriculture, food and health indicators between 1970–2010 reveals that significant progress has been made in some countries, but more is needed to achieve a truly equitable food system that delivers for the diets, nutrition and health of all people.

Participatory policy design: igniting systems change through prototyping

The complexity of 21st-century socio-ecological-technical challenges increasingly strains the capacity of 20th-century policy design approaches. This new context opens an opportunity to evolve norms and perspectives on what is the intent of policy, but perhaps more importantly, on how policy is constructed – and for whom. In this article, we share an alternative to conventional policy design, expanding the notion of “policy-as-content” to embrace a more participatory approach to frame, make, and implement policy. We briefly present how we combined systems and behavioral design frameworks to scaffold prototyping activities during a design research project that explored food waste as a critical path for co-designing sustainable and equitable food systems in the City of Chicago. We highlight relevant activities of this project to show how our approach can challenge embedded norms and privileges in existing urban food systems and interrogate traditional ownership of problem definition and solution finding in policy design processes. Finally, we conclude with the implications of employing this approach to policy design when promoting large-scale change.