Southern Africa Food Lab April 2014 Final Logos SOUTHERN AFRICA FOOD LAB SOUTHERN AFRICA FOOD LAB 1. SOUTHERN AFRICA FOOD LAB SOUTHERN AFRICA A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOOD LAB The Future2. of South Africa’s Food System: What is research telling us? by Laura M Pereira Title: The Future of South Africa’s Food System: Southern Africa FoodWhat Lab is research telling us? April 2014 Final Logos Author: Laura M Pereira Reviewers: Scott Drimie, Abigail Harper, Tatjana von Bormann, Colleen Magner, Rebecca Freeth, Ralph Hamman Copy editing: Marlene Rose Design: BrandFoundry.co.za PublishedS OUTHERNin October AFRICA 2014 by the Southern Africa Food Lab.FOOD LAB SOUTHERN AFRICA Please cite this review as follows: Pereira L.M. 2014.FO OD LAB The Future of South Africa’s Food System: What is 1. research telling us? SA Food Lab, South Africa. The full report is available at www.southernafricafoodlab.org SOUTHERN AFRICA FOOD LAB The Southern Africa Food Lab (SAFL) exists to SOUTHERN AFRICA promote creative responses to the problem of FOOD LAB 2. hunger. We facilitate collaboration and dialogue between stakeholder groups to raise awareness and foster innovations and experimental action towards a thriving, just and sustainable food system. Table of Contents Introduction 2 Food security in South Africa 4 Market dynamics and food affordability 5 Consumer choice and nutrition 6 Trade and sector concentration 7 Urbanisation 9 Threats and Gaps 10 Water stress and climate change 10 Fisheries 10 Land reform 10 Food waste 12 Conclusions 13 Reference list 14 Introduction Food security is when all people, The vitally important provision of cultural diversity and diversity of at all times, have physical, food through the food system production methods’.1 social and economic access to is not a simple linear process, sufficient, safe and nutritious but a contested outcome Within this contested space, food that meets their dietary of a complex system. This the food systems approach needs and food preferences for systematic literature review was has been developed as a way an active and healthy lifestyle. undertaken to better understand of understanding that food the inherent complexity of this security is the outcome of a Food sovereignty is the right system and inform a long-term complex interaction of multiple of each nation to maintain and scenario-planning process to factors on multiple levels, from develop its own capacity to ensure a food-secure future in the production of food to its produce foods that are crucial South Africa. consumption.2 Food security, to its own food security, while understood from the 1996 respecting cultural diversity and The past 40 years have seen definition, can be divided into diversity of production methods. an emphasis on the notion three elements: food availability of ‘food security’, which was (the production, processing, defined at the world food distribution, consumption – and summit in Rome in 1996 as wasting – of food), food access existing ‘when all people, at all (the affordability, allocation and times, have physical, social and preference of food) and food A sustainable economic access to sufficient, utilisation (the nutritional and food system takes safe, and nutritious food that social value of food and food meets their dietary needs and safety). These elements are the cognisance of food preferences for an active outcomes of a set of activities and healthy life’. However, and processes in the food environmental, in response to an increasing system that also include social dependence on global markets and environmental outcomes.3 social and to meet national food security, For the purposes of this review, economic impacts the term ‘food sovereignty’ the food system includes all started gaining credence. At the the components involved and provides same summit, the concept of in production, processing, food sovereignty was launched distribution, consumption and nutritious food by the international movement waste. A sustainable food system for all. La Via Campesina as the ‘right is regarded as one that takes into of each nation to maintain and consideration environmental, develop their own capacity to social and economic impacts produce foods that are crucial and that provides nutritious food to national and community for all. food security, respecting 1 Campesina 1996 in Hospes 2014:199. 2Ericksen et al. 2010. 3Ericksen et al. 2010. 2 THE FUTURE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FOOD SYSTEM: WHAT IS RESEARCH TELLING US? Finally, the food system approach also allows for a more holistic appreciation that food security is not just about calorific intake. The concept of the ‘nutrition transition’ has become a concern in the food system, especially in developing countries. This concept refers to the increased consumption of fats, refined sugars and animal products in the diet as these become more readily available and more affordable to low-income consumers in developing countries.4 Coupled with lifestyle changes from processes like urbanisation, this has resulted in an increase in Key question: what chronic non-communicable diseases like type 2 diabetes and can we learn about cardiovascular conditions related the South African to obesity.5 food system from The aim of this document is to systematically review the the literature on literature on food systems in South Africa so as to answer the food security over following key question: what the past 15 years? can be learned about the South African food system from the literature on food security over the past 15 years? Following a systematic review Food security forces of the literature on food systems in South Africa, a total of 258 papers were compiled in a database. Since this was too large a dataset for a full systematic review, an analysis was done to identify categories where there was a substantial number of new publications that had not yet been sufficiently reviewed. Three main themes were thus chosen to reflect Food availability the new knowledge about the Production Food utilisation South African food system and Distribution Food Nutritional value Exchange security Social value to identify where there were still Consumption Food safety gaps in the knowledge, namely Waste the nutrition transition in South Africa, the role of the private sector and market forces in the food system, and identified threats to the food system. 4Drewnowski & Popkin 1997. 5Drewnowski & Popkin 1997. THE FUTURE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S FOOD SYSTEM: WHAT IS RESEARCH TELLING US? 3 urban informal (32.4%) and in transition’ where stunting, Food security in rural formal (37.0%) localities; wasting and undernutrition in South Africa demographically, the black young children are occurring African race group had the alongside increasing levels Over the past 15 years there has highest prevalence of food of obesity and overweight in been a marked increase in the insecurity (30.3%), while 13.1% older children and adults.9 number of peer-reviewed studies of the Coloured population The increase in obesity is relating to food security and are food insecure. A large raising health concerns about the food system in South Africa. percentage (28.5%) of the Indian a concurrent increase in non- This can possibly be attributed population was also at risk of communicable diseases, with to the increase in interest in hunger, whereas the majority the problem being most acute food security following the (89.3%) of the white race group among black women.10 This 2008 food price crisis that was food secure, a figure increase in overweight/obesity saw skyrocketing food prices needs to be seen in view of the followed by food-related riots steady increase in the per capita in countries around the world. food supply of fat, protein and While South Africa is food secure The ‘nutrition total calories in South Africa, at national level, at household transition’ in South while salt intake is also in excess level there is worrying evidence of recommended levels.11 of a high prevalence of hunger, Africa is causing related to socio-economic This public health concern factors, in both urban and rural undernutrition in is largely related to the areas, and examples of stunting, young children and consumption patterns of South wasting and micronutrient Africans who often do not have deficiencies among children.6 overweight and access to a healthy diet. These The SANHANES-1 survey (South obesity in older patterns can be attributed to African National Health and several drivers: urbanisation; an Nutrition Examination Survey) children and adults. increased reliance on buying provides South Africa’s first food, making nutritional food comprehensive snapshot of food less accessible to poorer security.7 A few key statistics households; market dynamics from the survey show that significantly higher than those of driving volatility in prices, and an overall 45.6% of the population the other race groups.8 expanding role of ‘Big Food’.12 is food secure; the largest percentage of participants who Further data indicate that South experienced hunger were in Africa is undergoing a ‘nutrition Food security statistics (Shisana et al. 2014) Of overall food security Those experience hunger by province % who experience hunger 40 35 Experience hunger: 26% 30 25 At risk of hunger: 28.3% 20 15 Food secure: 45.6% 10 5 0 Western EasternCape NorthernCape FreeCape StateKwaZulu-NatalNorth WestGautengMpumalangaLimpopo 6Drimie & McLachlan 2013. 7The first round of the SANHANES study was a cross-regional survey to provide baseline data for future longitudinal studies conducted from 2007. It was based on household questionnaires where all occupied households were eligible to participate. The survey applied a multi-stage disproportionate, stratified cluster sampling technique where a total of 1 000 census enumeration areas (EAs – 40spatial areas used to collect census data) were selected from a database of 86 000. A further 500 EAs were chosen based on South Africa’s socio-demographic profile.