Healthy food at high costs in the region
According to the FAO, wholesome and nutritious foods in Latin America and the Caribbean are more expensive than in other parts of the world.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the high cost of living and income disparity in Latin America and the Caribbean are among the key issues adversely limiting the accessibility and affordability of healthy food in the region.
During a virtual Press Conference on Wednesday to launch the 2022 Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean, the organization revealed that the region had the highest cost of healthy and nutritious food when compared to other parts of the world, and that there was a great need to improve affordability and access to these foods as hunger and malnutrition were on the rise.
During his presentation, the FAO’s regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mario Lubetkin, stated that the region was facing a “serious and unprecedented” food and security crisis.
“The situation is not at all hopeful, the region has suffered from the impact of a series of crises that have had an influence on malnutrition and hunger across the board.
“The income inequality in the region affected by COVID-19, climate change and a significant economic crisis have further added to this negative condition into something that is of considerable worry.
“In addition to all of this we have witnessed the steady rise of food costs further compounded by the situation in Ukraine and we have also seen rising fertiliser prices. We cannot afford to overlook the region’s hunger crisis.
“We also know there is tremendous income inequality in the region, and we know that 56.5 million people live in poverty,” he added.
Lubetkin noted that the region’s food insecurity rate had increased dramatically since 2015, which he described as a paradox given that the region produces enough food for a big number of people.
“It’s a difficult situation. We have limited resources but a responsibility to find real, long-term solutions to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our public and private investments,” he said.
Lubetkin noted that obesity was also addressed in the document, with the assessment providing “a multitude of recommendations” to move toward more inexpensive healthy diets in order to achieve food and nutrition security in the region.
According to the FAO official, low-income individuals spend more than half of their income on food, and food price hikes will continue to have a greater influence on the quality and quantity of their meals.
“When compared to other parts of the world, our region has the highest expense of nutritious diets. Individuals bear a great burden as a result of this. One in every five people lacks access to a healthy diet. We recognize that an individual’s nutrition and diet are highly dependent on a number of elements that are evaluated in this study.”
According to the regional FAO official, each state in Latin America and the Caribbean is unique, which means that policies and efforts aiming at improving access to and affordability of healthy food must be tailored to each state.
