Title: Sharon Friel
1Trade, food and health inequity
- Sharon Friel
- National Centre for Epidemiology and Population
Health - The Australian National University
- 3rd Peoples Health Assembly, Cape Town 8th July
2012
2What do we want?
3People-centred food systems
Fairness in
Amended, Lang and Heasman (2004) Food Wars the
global battle for mouths, minds and markets
4What have we got
51 billion undernourished people in the
developing world
IFPRI, Global Hunger Index 2010
6two billion people are overweight
7(No Transcript)
83 drivers of dietary change
- Liberalisation of international food trade
- Increased foreign direct investment
- Globalised advertising and marketing
9Bilateral Investment Treaties explode
Slide Richard Baldwin
10Proliferation of new generation RTAs broader
scope and deeper integration
UNESCAP 2010, Asia Pacific Trade Investment
Report 2011
11Four trade-related pathways of concern for
nutrition and health equity
- Nutritional quality and quantity of imports
- Foreign direct investment convenience creep
- Limitations on domestic policy instruments
- Reduce tax-revenue base of governments to fund
nutrition health and social programs
12Quantity of mutton flaps imported into Tonga,
19802007
- In 2004 mutton flap consumption was about 600 g
per week per adult and comprised 18 of total
meat consumption - Draft legislation for import quota to any product
that had gt40 energy from fat - Under WTO trade rules quotas are perceived as
highly trade distorting - WTO accession negotiations resulted in
postponement of legislation
Thow et al 2010 Food Policy 35 556564
13- Nutritional quality and quantity of imports
- Foreign direct investment convenience creep
- Limitations on domestic policy instruments
- Reduce tax-revenue base of governments to fund
nutrition health and social programs
14- Per capita sales of unhealthy food and beverage
commodities, 19972010, projected to 2016
Stuckler et al (2012) Manufacturing Epidemics
The Role of Global Producers in Increased
Consumption of Unhealthy Commodities Including
Processed Foods, Alcohol, and Tobacco. PLoS Med
9(6) e1001235. doi10.1371/journal.pmed.1001235
15FTAs, Soft Drink Consumption, 35 low- and
middle-income countries, year 2010
Soft Drink Consumption (volume per capita)
1 higher GDP per capita 0.90(0.19)
1 percentage point higher urban population ( of total) 0.018(0.0068)
Free Trade Agreement with the United States 55.4(24.2)
Number of Countries 35
R2 0.74
Stuckler et al (2012) Manufacturing Epidemics
The Role of Global Producers in Increased
Consumption of Unhealthy Commodities Including
Processed Foods, Alcohol, and Tobacco. PLoS Med
9(6) e1001235. doi10.1371/journal.pmed.1001235
16- Top 10 manufacturers of
- packaged foods
Three quarters of world food sales involve
processed foods, for which the largest
manufacturers hold over a third of the global
market.
Stuckler et al (2012) Manufacturing Epidemics
The Role of Global Producers in Increased
Consumption of Unhealthy Commodities Including
Processed Foods, Alcohol, and Tobacco. PLoS Med
9(6) e1001235. doi10.1371/journal.pmed.1001235
17- Nutritional quality and quantity of imports
- Foreign direct investment convenience creep
- Limitations on domestic
- policy instruments
- Reduce tax-revenue base of governments to fund
nutrition health and social programs
18Thailand Snack Food Labelling
- Technical Barriers to Trade Dispute
- 2006 Proposed Traffic Light System X
- Proposed Warning Label ?
- 2007 Label
- Should consume small amounts, and exercise for a
better health. - changed to
- Should take less, and exercise for a better
health
19- Nutritional quality and quantity of imports
- Foreign direct investment convenience creep
- Limitations on domestic policy instruments
- Tariffs reduce tax-revenue base of governments
to fund nutrition health and social programs
20Pacific Agreement of Closer Economic Relations
(PACER PLUS)
- Elimination of substantially all import tariffs
between PICs and Australia and New Zealand - Most of the increase will be in PIC imports not
exports
Government Expend as Total Budget
Education Health PACER revenue loss
Cook Islands 14 11 6
Fiji 29 14 3
Kiribati 14 9 15
PNG 10 6 2
Samoa 22 17 12
Tonga 13 14 19
Vanuatu 23 11 18
Oxfam 2009
21Global food prices, 1990-2012
2002-2004100
FAO 2012
22Food commodity speculation
Trends in rice futures (200008)
Pace and Costello (2008). Food commodity
derivatives a new cause of malnutrition. The
Lancet Vol 371 May 17
23Thank you