{"id":103989,"date":"2021-07-13T07:00:55","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T11:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=103989"},"modified":"2021-07-13T07:09:50","modified_gmt":"2021-07-13T11:09:50","slug":"tufts-univ-at-present-3-billion-people-in-the-world-cannot-afford-a-healthy-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=103989","title":{"rendered":"(Tufts Univ.) At Present, 3 Billion People in the World Cannot Afford a Healthy Diet"},"content":{"rendered":"

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused price spikes<\/a> for corn, milk, beans and other commodities, but even before the pandemic about 3 billion people could not afford even the cheapest options for a healthy diet.<\/p>\n

Recent analysis of global food price data<\/a> reveals that as of 2017, the latest available year<\/a>, around 40% of the world\u2019s population was already forced to consume poor-quality diets by a combination of high food prices and low incomes. When healthy items are unaffordable, it is impossible for people to avoid malnutrition and diet-related diseases like anemia or diabetes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The remaining 60% of the world\u2019s 7.9 billion people could afford the ingredients for healthy meals. That, of course, does not mean they always eat a healthy diet. Cooking time and difficulty<\/a>, as well as the advertising and marketing<\/a> of other foods, can lead many people to choose items that are surprisingly unhealthy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Distinguishing between affordability and other causes of unhealthy diets is a key step toward better outcomes, made possible by a research project we are leading at Tufts University<\/a> called Food Prices for Nutrition<\/a>. The project provides a new view of how agriculture and food distribution relate to human health needs, connecting economics to nutrition in collaboration with the World Bank development data group<\/a> and the International Food Policy Research Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Creating higher wage jobs, increasing social protections, and public investment in agriculture technology and infrastructure are all steps to help make a healthy diet more affordable, says @wamasters<\/a> and @AnnaWHerforth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

📰: @ConversationUS<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/CCC8MWpuhD<\/a><\/p>\n

— Tufts University (@TuftsUniversity) July 12, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n