Government investment needed to support fresh food production
The New Face of Hunger, a National Geographic magazine article written by Tracie McMillan, paints a data driven story of the cruel irony that exists when people in rural growing areas are malnourished amid fields of fresh food.
Amid the stories of deprived eating patterns of seemingly everyday Americans is this statement from global food expert Raj Patel: “We’ve created a system that’s geared toward keeping overall food prices low but does little to support healthy, high-quality food…”
So, what lessons can we learn from America? It seems, we can learn a few. The first is a lesson in government investment. In 2012, the US government spent roughly $11 billion to subsidise crops like corn and soy. Think corn syrup as a sweetener, and soybean oil for deep frying. Yet in the year before it spent only $1.6 billion to subsidise fruits and vegetables.
“Since the early 1980s the real cost of fruits and vegetables has increased by 24 per cent. Meanwhile the cost of non-alcoholic beverages – primarily sodas, most sweetened with corn syrup – has dropped by 27pc,” McMillan said.
The second is a lesson in education. If a cup of coffee and a punnet of strawberries are the same price, why do consumers think the coffee is a daily necessity, yet strawberries are a treat?
And the third is a lesson in the direct relationship between healthy eating and the financial burden of diet-related disease in Australia. A study in 1992 estimated the direct costs of health care services (i.e. hospital, medical, pharmaceutical, allied professional and nursing home costs) of diet-related disease was $1.5bn in 1989-90. I wonder what it is now?
It doesn’t take a genius to see a solution here. However, let’s spell it out to be sure.
Dear Government, please invest in locally grown fresh food production in order to make it sustainable and affordable for consumers, help educate consumers as to its health benefits and it’s guaranteed you’ll save money in the budget for years to come.
