Socioeconomic inequities and ultra-processed food consumption and malnutrition

In this series focusing on ultra-processed food (UPF) on the African continent, the African Centre for Biodiversity explores the impacts of shifting dietary patterns, with increasing reliance on low-cost UPFs globally, and in Africa in particular, in the context of an urgent call for a just, agroecological food system transition.

Previous PAEPARD blogpost: Ultra-processed food (UPF) on the African continent

 

ACB (2024) Exploitation of socioeconomic inequities drives UPF consumption and malnutrition #13 p.

There are myriad intersecting and interacting structural inequities that perpetuate rural poverty, hunger, and malnutrition in a never-ending cycle on the African continent. 

In this fifth fact sheet of the series, ACB delves into the complexity of some of these socioeconomic inequities and argue that these are being perversely exploited by the ultra-processed food (UPF) giants to drive the purchase and consumption of UPF in Africa. This is overlayed by the changing socio- and politico-economic conditions, which provide further market opportunities for UPF as more accessible, affordable, and desirable food options in both urban and rural contexts.

ACB is concerned that, generally speaking, the current state of the UPF discussion fails to account for or address the systemic and structural factors that underpin the context for consumption of UPF. ACB is furthermore, concerned that the current discourse on agroecology has a rural bias, with limited relevance for urban populations, farm and industrial workers in the food sector, and other actors across the rural-urban food system continuum. There is a need to deepen the discourse on a just agroecological transition in Africa and situate it within the current food system realities, in both urban and rural areas.

Read fact sheet five here or click the image below.