If food democracy is about who gets to determine the food that we eat and the character of the underlying food system, then we must examine not only who gets to make decisions that impact on food but also on what evidence, or knowledge, these decisions are made. This article argues that widening the democratic scope of knowledge on which our decisions on food are based is an essential component of food democracy. Food democracies do not just call for citizens to be knowledgeable about the food system but for all stakeholders to actively contribute to the holistic understanding of the food system. Four dimensions of knowledge democracy are set out: The co-production of knowledge with stakeholders; harnessing non-cognitive knowledge represented in arts and culture; knowledge as a tool for action; and the open access and sharing of knowledge. This framework is then used to explore how knowledge is currently already produced and used in a way that enhances food democracy, including through Participatory Action Research with peasant farmers, using the arts to create a ‘contemplative commons’ about food and the unique dialogue process through which the social movement La Vía Campesina operates. Based on these, and other, examples the article concludes that universities, and other recognized centres of knowledge production, need to focus not only on creating new knowledge partnerships but also on finding spaces to challenge and shift accepted ways of knowing in order to better promote food democracy.
In Africa, food systems intersect with dynamics such as demographic growth, urbanisation, and climate change, as African food systems are key drivers of livelihood provision, development, and human-environment interactions. The governance of African food systems shapes how food systems are changing as a response to these dynamics, which will have important social, economic, and ecological impacts for generations of Africans. This article positions large land investments in food system changes in central Kenya and northern Mozambique based on a large-scale household survey and interviews, and uses these findings to debate the concept of food democracy. Large land investments contributed to more modern food systems, which impacted land availability, household’s engagement in agriculture, and supply chains. These changes shifted power and control in local food systems. But even in the ‘extreme’ example of land investments, local perspectives challenge what could, and could not, be included in a democratic food system.
Nonylphenol (NP) and its detrimental effects on the environment, humans, wildlife, fish and birds is an increasingly important global research focus. The number of investigations on the toxicity and metabolic fate of NP in plants is however limited. This paper reviews the prevalence and source of NP in plants and the effect it has on its morphological, physiological and ultrastructural status. Fruit and vegetables have been found to contain levels of NP that is twenty-fold exceeding the no observable effect level (NOEL) of freshwater algae. Apart from the potential risk this poses to the health of consumers, it can overburden the plant’s natural defence system, leading to growth disorders. Plants exposed to NP show signs of overall growth reduction, changes in organelle structure and oxidative damage. These adverse effects may exacerbate the food security dilemma faced by many countries and impede their progress towards attaining the sustainable development goals.
obesity; food environments; urban; mapping; nutrition; South Africa; Ghana;
South Africa has increasing numbers of persons living with HIV on antiretroviral treatment (ART). There is evidence for a relationship between food, food security and HIV. Despite increasing rates of people older than 50 living with HIV coinciding with greater levels of co-morbidity, the existing research is largely limited to those aged 15–49 years. In this paper, we therefore explore how older people living with HIV (OPLWH) in two urban communities within South Africa negotiate and ensure they have sufficient access to food and how food insecurity may affect their retention in care and ART adherence. This study used exploratory qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews with 23 OPLWH to collect data in isiXhosa. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. Factors at the community, household and individual levels influence (a) access to sufficient and quality food, and (b) beliefs about ART and food based on (mis)understandings of messaging from health care providers. The results demonstrate the need to explore further and clarify the nutritional guidelines that OPLWH receive from providers to ensure this does not result in reduced adherence or retention in care. They also demonstrate the role that social welfare and family or kin obligations plays in ensuring the food security of OPLWH.
Background: Consumption of fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular
mortality and all-cause mortality. The study assessed the pattern of intake and the factors that influence daily intake
of commonly available fruits and vegetables in economically disadvantaged South African communities.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study nested on an ongoing longitudinal study in South Africa. Two communities (a
rural and urban) of low socio-economic status were purposely selected from two of the nine provinces. A sample of
535 participants aged 30–75 years was randomly selected from the longitudinal cohort of 1220; 411 (78%) women.
Data were collected using validated food frequency and structured interviewer-administered questionnaires.
Descriptive and multivariate regression analysis were undertaken.
Results: A higher proportion of participants in the urban township compared to their rural community
counterparts had purchased fruits (93% vs. 51%) and vegetables (62% vs. 56%) either daily or weekly. Only
37.8% of the participants consumed at least two portions of commonly available fruits and vegetables daily,
with no differences in the two communities. Daily/weekly purchase of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) was
associated with daily intake of fruits and vegetables (p = 0.014). Controlling for age and gender, analysis
showed that those who spent R1000 (USD71.4) and more on groceries monthly compared to those who
spent less, and those who travelled with a personal vehicle to purchase groceries (compared to those who
took public transport) were respectively 1.6 times (AOR, 95% CI: 1.05–2.44; p = 0.030) and 2.1 times (AOR, 95%
CI: 1.06–4.09; p = 0.003) more likely to consume at least two or more portions of fruits and vegetables daily.
Those who purchased SSBs daily or weekly were less likely (AOR, 95% CI: 0.54, 0.36–0.81, p = 0.007) to consume two or
more portions of fruits and vegetables daily. The average household monthly income was very low (only
2.6% of households earned R5000 (US$357.1); and education level, attitude towards fruits and vegetables and owning
a refrigerator had no significant association with fruits and vegetable daily intake.
Conclusion: These findings indicate that affordability and frequency of purchase of sugary drinks can influence daily
intake of fruits and vegetables in resource-limited communities.
Keywords: Fruit and vegetables, Daily, Intake, Affordability, South Africa, Community
waste pickers; landfill; landfill waste picker; recyclables; health risks; South Africa
Author: Willeke de Bruin
To many African people, the groundnut (Arachishypogaea L.) is the most important legume providing them with much needed dietary nutrients and income. Groundnuts, also known as peanuts, are consumed in a variety of snacks and are a major ingredient in ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), one of the most effective home-based nutritional therapies for children and HIV/AIDS patients, particularly in the developing world (Magamba et al., 2017).
Objectives: A study was undertaken to compare a range of dietary diversity indicators and their predictors among one-year-olds.
Design: Multivariate regression analysis was employed, where dietary diversity indicators are the outcome variables and the main predictor variables are access to resources and maternal education. Three different dietary diversity indicators are analysed: a count of food items, a count of food groups and a Healthy Food Diversity Index.
Subjects and setting: The study included participants of Birth to Twenty Plus, a longitudinal cohort study of children born in 1990 in Johannesburg, South Africa (n = 1 030).
Results: There is a low correlation between measures of dietary diversity based on simple counts of food items/groups and the Healthy Food Diversity Index. Further, the predictors differ depending on which type of indicator is used. Access to resources
(measured by an asset index) was found to be associated with an increase in counts of food items/groups but at a decreasing rate, while the opposite was found for the Healthy Food Diversity Index. There was no significant association between maternal education and the counts of food items/groups, while maternal education was positively associated with the Healthy Food Diversity Index.
Conclusions: More sophisticated measures of dietary diversity that also capture the healthiness of foods and their distribution in the diet, rather than just the number or variety, may be useful in understanding dietary patterns among children and what influences them. Maternal education appears to be particularly important for healthy food consumption among young children, while access to resources has a more complex association, with differential results at low and high levels.