SCOTT DRIMIE: Food crisis needs a full-course fix
A sustainable system that prioritises nutritional needs and minimises waste is vital for SA, where half of households are food insecure, writes Scott Drimie
If there is any truth to the adage "you are what you eat", it does not bear well for SA. If we are what we eat, half of us are "not very much" and the other half, give or take, are "not very healthy". Rapid urbanisation and the shift towards buying food rather than growing it; declining agricultural investment due to land policy uncertainty; the depletion of fish stocks; and the increased variability in rainfall due to climate change, all contribute to a significant change in the South African diet. Add to this the fact that low-income households spend as much as two-thirds of their income on food, and the result is a population that favours cheaper, high-energy, low-nutrient convenience foods. In a nation in which half the households are deemed food insecure, the goal has to be a food system that is sustainable; one in which nutritional needs are met, waste is minimised and jobs are created. Certainly, the government and businesses have the most significant role to play through pol...
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