Page 36 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 17

Food Health

BIG FOOD IN AFRICA:

Endangering people’s health

by AFSA & GRAIN | 21 Sep 2021

Link to original publication:
https://grain.org/en/arti- powder and broken rice – and by foods.
cle/6724-big-food-in-africa-endangering-peo- the promotion of highly-processed
ple-s-health (or ultra-processed) foods that are A closer look into toxic food chains
causing the rise of diabetes and oth-
er diet-related health ailments.2 Proponents of industrial farming
early 33 million house- and production argue that this
holds on the African These corporations are ironically of- model is the ‘magic bullet’ that will
continent are involved ten marketing these foods as being address food insecurity and poverty
Nin smallholder farm- safer than local foods – which are on the African continent. How-
ing. Smallholder farmers have long portrayed as being unhygienic. The ever, industrial food production
supplied Africans with safe and reality, however, is that the industri- ignores health and nutrition values,
healthy foods, making Africa’s diets alisation of foods in Africa increases including known and appreciated
among the healthiest on the planet.1 the risks of dangerous- and some- standards. There are many stories of
The situation, however, is chang- times deadly- food safety incidents. expired or contaminated products
ing. Multinational corporations on the market causing sickness. And
are aggressively trying to take over In contrast, Africa’s traditional even death.
food systems in Africa (and across agroecological farming practices
the world) through the dumping of and local food systems have and can The map below highlights some
cheap, low-quality agricultural com- continue to provide people with an recent examples of food safety
modities – such as skimmed milk abundance of healthy and nutritious scandals across Africa, showing the

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