Food subsidies are bad for health

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Overproduction of food in rich countries has an adverse effect on health worldwide.
There are two global aspects to food-related health problems. People in many countries, especially in Africa, suffer from malnutrition because of a lack of food. Meanwhile, many in the West are increasingly prone to diseases associated with obesity that comes from over-consumption.

Liselotte Schafer Elinder, an expert from the Swedish National Institute of Public Health, says that over-production of food is a major factor in these nutritional inequalities. Subsidising over-production in the West leads to excessive consumption and obesity. It also undermines agriculture in developing countries, and works against the eradication of hunger and poverty.

The dairy sector of the European Union is a good example of what is happening. The surplus milk is converted into storable products, like butter, and export subsidies help dispose of it. This undermines the milk sector in developing countries, where dairy products have an important nutritional role. Meanwhile, surplus butter sold to the food industry is converted into energy-dense products like cakes and ice-cream which promote obesity. The World Health Organization is aware of these issues and has advised member states to take healthy nutrition into account in their agricultural policies. It is time we saw more action - phase out subsidies that promote the over-production of food and work for international agreements to promote healthier agricultural practises.

Source
British Medical Journal 3rd December 2005 Volume 331 pages 1333-1336

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