This heritage month HEALA is shining the spotlight on food sovereignty

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Food is a fundamental part of our cultural identities. By allowing big food to homogenise our plates we run the risk of finding ourselves losing  the rich tapestry of our collective identities. This heritage month, HEALA is highlighting the importance of reclaiming our food sovereignty.

This however, this is near impossible given the proliferation of cheap, addictive ultra-processed food. HEALA is calling on government to use funds from unhealthy food taxes to subsidise healthier alternatives.  Since its inception in 2018 the Health Promotion Levy has raised billions  for the fiscus. The money can be used to implement health promotion measures such as subsidising healthy food and making it accessible to ordinary South Africans. It is widely excepted that our diets have changed significantly in the last few years.

These changes have led to a an alarming trend of increased deaths due to non-communicable diseases. More than six out of 10 women in South Africa are overweight or obese, a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Overall, the World Health Organisation estimates that almost one in three South Africans were obese in 2016. About 13% of children in South Africa are also overweight – more than twice the global average.

According to researchers “economic development has displaced traditional dietary patterns and driven a shift in food preferences, resulting in the nutrition transition”. This change in the food environment is synonymous with a proliferation of packaged foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fat, otherwise known as ultra-processed foods and undermines dietary patterns based on minimally and unprocessed food and processed culinary ingredients. 

READ MORE: An increase in the Health Promotion Levy will not only reduce the consumption of unhealthy sugary drinks, but it can also be used to improve the health of the country’s children.

Since the dawn of democracy, experts note that our diets have shifted towards an increase in sugar-sweetened beverages, processed and packaged foods, sweet and savoury snacks, and increased meat consumption. We have moved away from consuming vegetables. These shifts in food consumption are concerning as it leads to more fat, sugar and salt intake and negative impacts on public health.

“We know that half of South Africans are dying from non-communicable disease at the moment, and that Statistics South Africa has already said this is our next looming health crisis,” says Dr Petronell Kruger, Programmes’ Manager at Healthy Living Alliance. This begs the question, why can we take diseases like Covid-19 seriously to the extent of lockdowns, but we don’t see serious government intervention to protect our lives and our cultural heritage.”

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