Though invisible to decision makers, Argentina faces a major challenge. an overwhelming majority eating badly, with foods of low nutritional quality and with consequences on health. It mostly happens in children. A lot has to do with a battered economy and an outrageous level of inflation in so-called free prices like fruit and vegetables.
but also with the lack of creativity and promotion of public policies so necessary in difficult times. Judging by what is happening, there is no future vision of what this type of diet means for health. Specialists talk about the rise of chronic non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart attacks and cerebrovascular accidents.
The Study Center for Food Policy and Economics (CEPEA) directed by Sergio Britos took stock of what has happened in the last five years with a food basket in transition towards healthy and sustainable standards: in its cheaper version it costs at least a third more than the consumption reflected in the basic food basket“which also reflects an unhealthy pattern and overeating of medium or low quality,” she says.
Thus, between January 2018 and March 2023, the prices of vegetables, fruit, legumes, milk, yoghurt and fish grown up to 60% higher than red meat, bread, potatoes, and refined flours and grains. It is reflected in 40 of the 63 months analyzed by CEPEA. And between January 2018 and March 2023, while healthy foods increased by 1,145%, the others did so by 985%, 160 points less”limiting accessibility to the most nutrients.
A highly inflationary economy
According to Britos, “this differential behaviour, in the context of a highly inflated economy and with growing rates of poverty, implies that the healthiest foods, with the best nutritional quality, become almost systematically less accessible. The possibility of improving the food model unhealthy and obesogenic that characterizes the population in general and the poorest in particular is limited”.
According to a report by the national Ministry of Health, 41% of children and adolescents in Argentina are overweight and obese. And for every five malnourished childrenfour suffer from obesity and one from malnutrition.
The part most affected by this tragedy is the poor part of the country. Britos urges to change the economic incentives (prices, taxes) that “encourage a healthy and sustainable food change and at the same time reflect the real costs of a basket that guarantees adequate levels of food security”.
CEPEA’s healthy and sustainable basket at its lowest value reached $106,500 per month per household (4 people) in February, compared to $80,483 for the basic food basket.
33% more expensive
In March, the monthly cost of a basket consisting exclusively of non-starchy vegetables, fruit, legumes and whole grains, milk, yoghurt and fish was reduced $17,600 per adult, 33% more expensive which will consist of bread, refined flours and cereals, potatoes and red meat.
Mariana Albornoz, head of the Diploma on Healthy Eating in Sustainable Food Systems at UCA and co-author of the CEPEA survey, underlined: ‘Eating well has become very expensive, the more accessible foods tend to be of lower nutritional quality and this is a x-ray of the table of the Argentines who repeat constantly.”
Britos concludes: “Recognizing it and taking action to remedy it is what will make the difference. What is happening does nothing but perpetuate and deepen the signs of malnutrition in the 6 million poor children”.
Source: Clarin
