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Running Head: Food Consumption 1

Food Consumption

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Food Consumption 2

Introduction

It is abundantly clear that human beings in the world rely on food for survival and to

maintain standard body functions. Without food, people in different parts of the world are faced

with the most significant danger of malnutrition and, to a greater extent, massacre can follow.

Studies have shown that dietary patterns of people across the world has undergone dramatic

shifts in the recent years including even the most basic or staple food. Changes in agricultural

practices on the global scale, in the past 50 years, have resulted in the production of different

types of foods that are crammed with divergent quality and tastes. Variety of food in the world

has given people a widened opportunity of choosing a myriad of food that has affected their

health.

As long as people adhere to strict code of food nutrition, then food becomes an expedient

component. However, lacunas in dietary patterns can cause malnutrition and food-related

maladies (Kearney, 2010). Recent statistics show that food consumption has dramatically

increased due to use of technology in farming such as contemporary farm machinery, use of

genetically modified seeds and so on. On that account, the primary objective of this study is to

explore, examine and critique some of the factors that have causes increase in food consumption

and the impact on human health.

Factors that have Increased Food Consumption

Agricultural Subsidies

Agricultural subsidies are perchance one of the strategies used by significant countries in

the world as a specific mechanism of increasing food production to reinforce food security.

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Many scholars have depicted that increase in consumption can be attributed to the presence of

agricultural subsidies. In general, agricultural subsidies refer to financial assistance given to

farmers from national government as a way of raising the income of farmers, stabilize food

prices and, above all, ensure abundant of food in that country. Through agricultural subsidies, the

national government deliberately lowers the cost of farm inputs such as fertilizers, seeds farm

equipment and machinery to motivate farmers. Once the price of farm inputs are kept reasonably

low, farmers are driven more thus increased food production. For example, Fields (2014)

established that, after the United States was plagued with stifling great depression, American

farmers were given agricultural subsidies and support programs to ensure farming activities

hiked, crop price stability and USA families were provided affordable and reliable food.

Bits of evidence indicates that agrarian subsidies have an impact on the supply and prices

of the commodity in the market. Illustratively, the presence of agricultural subsidies should

lower the cost of farming which, in the long run, causes the prices of food include staple one in

the market to go down. When the prices of commodities in the market drop or kept to the

minimum, the consumer is likely to escalate purchasing power since affordability is enhanced.

This will undoubtedly lead to increases in food consumption. Globally, statistics show that

agricultural subsidies are practiced both in less developed and developed countries as a

mechanism for establishing food security.

Developing nations have invested rapidly in agriculture to dispense plenty food to feed

the hungry nation and the surplus exported to generate income. High agricultural subsidies,

critics say, it has played a fundamental role in lowering the cost of food in the world. Fields

(2014) both developed and developing countries have spent millions of shillings in providing

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agricultural subsidies especially in the area of adopting new technologies that have made farming

easy and efficient. In a nutshell, agrarian subsidies increase food consumption in the world since

it lower prices of commodity making them affordable and encourage farming resulting in the

steady supply of food.

Availability of Food

Availability of food at household, national and global levels strongly correlates with food

consumption. Bentley & United States. Department of Agriculture (2017) the population of the

world is dynamically changing indicating that nutritional standards are considerably divergent

which is consistent with food consumption rate. The quantity and quality of food consumed

displays a significant difference in the context of the population living in urban and rural areas.

Contemporary statistics show that people in different parts of the world have failed to adhere or

follow recommended amount of food a person is expected to take hence translating to increased

consumption. For instance, USA diets have been subjected to suffocating criticism since the

majority of Americans consume more calories of major food groups such as eggs, meat,

vegetables, and grains among others (Bentley & United States. Department of Agriculture,

2017).

Developed and developing countries have enacted measures aimed at ensuring the citizen

have enough food. In fact, when a nation is faced with the food crisis, the government often

outsource food from other overseas countries to feed the country. Therefore, plenty of food

supply guarantee citizen of a particular country availability of food that is easily acquired and

accessed irrespective of the location. The government assures not only citizen availability of

food, but also different varieties, quality, and quantity to meet the consumer expectations and

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demands. In summary, a country where food is available and accessible is heading in a right

direction; however, weak food policies apparent in that country to regulate food available has

made consumers ingest higher calories of food.

Marketing Dynamics of High Sugar Foods

Marketing is often decorated as an imperative component of any business setting in the

world. It dispenses a platform where food manufacturing and processing plants can make

consumers cognizant of goods and services they are offering. As a result, the increases in food

consumption in the recent years can be attributed to marketing mechanics. Just like other

industries, the food industry in the world is driven by fierce competition hence marketing, at its

core, is a vital avenue of cementing competitive advantages. Marketing is usually structured and

articulated in the manner that can influence food consumption behaviors of a customer. The

consumer can be convinced to consume specific products through marketing even without the

holistic understanding of its intrinsic value.

Nestle (2013) conducted a cross-sectional and qualitative study aimed at providing vital

insights about how competition operates in the food industry that has continuously exerted

adverse effects on the health of people. United States has plenty of food to meet the needs of

every citizen. Nestle (2013) blamed food industry (calling them over efficient) for actively

embark on marketing to convince American citizen to eat extra calories without caring their

well-being. They are motivated by making a massive profit at the expense of the welfare of

citizen. Nestle (2013) portrayed food companies in the United States as a major stakeholder the

government has to deal with using applicable laws. This is because food companies have spent a

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significant amount of money in marketing food to children, minority groups, and the general

population without considering the safety of the food varieties being advertised.

Nestle (2013) is shocked to learn that food industry is crammed with unnecessary politics

that have adversely affected the health of American citizens. Nestle (2013) used “food politics in

action” to imply how past government advice in light of dietary has been diluted, and mass

production and food consumption is purely regulated by economic factors instead of the

available food policies. Politics in food has directed consumer astray. Consumers have been left

at the crossroad wondering what kind of food they can eat to stay healthy. Conclusively, food

companies in the United States have embraced marketing and politics persuadeding consumers to

eat more leading increased food consumption.

Impact of Increased Food Consumption

Food-related Diseases

Food is exceptionally essential for our health. However, deficient diets and wrong choice

of food can be a source of diseases in a given population that has adverse effects on well-being.

Increased food consumption has been blamed for causing food-related diseases. Arguably, WHO

(2014) report indicates that at least 2.8 million people globally are subjected to massacre every

year due to either obesity or overweight. When body mass index increases steadily due to poor

diets and increased food consumption, a population is put at risk of contracting food-related

diseases such as high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, coronary heart disease and ischemic

stroke. WHO (2014) established that death rate has taken place over the years is directly

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proportional to overweight scenarios. When obesity and overweight increases, mortality rate

increases. Conversely, if obesity and overweight scenarios decrease, mortality rates go down.

WHO (2014) further found out that women are at the greatest danger of becoming obese

or overweight were contrasted with men cohorts. The prevalence of obesity and overweight

depends on the economic status of a country. Incidences of overweight and obesity are likely to

be high in places where the economy is good. For instance, developed countries like United

States have high degrees of obesity and overweight compared to countries in Africa and Asia.

Monteiro et al. (2013) conducted a study to determine if a correlation exists between global food

systems and obesity or overweight. He first acknowledged that processing of food is vital in

supporting human life. However, Monteiro et al. (2013) is concerned and worried about

increasing trend of ultra-processing of food in middle and high-income countries of the world.

Ultra-processed food predominantly refers to the type of food that is rated as high-energy, rich in

fats and sugars and have characteristics of obesogenic. The outcome of Monteiro et al. (2013)

study showed that 79 high-income and middle-income countries rapidly use ultra-processed

products. High-income countries are the leading in the use of ultra-products, and the trend is

dramatically finding its way in middle-income countries. Countries where ultra-products reigns

coincidentally have the high rate of obesity and overweight when compared to other countries.

Conclusion

This research paper entails food consumption in the recent years. The results show that

food consumption behaviors and patterns across the human population have steadily changed

resulting in increased food consumption. The study has presented three crucial factors that have

caused the increase in food consumption in the current years namely agricultural subsidies,

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availability and marketing. Less development and developed countries have enacted measures to

underpin agricultural subsidies and programs to motivate a farmer to cultivate more so that

plentiful supply of food is enhanced hence increased consumption. As long as the food is

available and accessible, consumption rate is often high. The food industry has conducted

intensive marketing to persuade consumers to eat more. The research concluded by looking at

how the increase in food consumption has given rise to food-related diseases especially obesity

and overweight.

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References

Bentley, J., & United States. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service, issuing

body. (2017). U.S. trends in food availability and a dietary assessment of loss-adjusted

food availability, 1970-2014 (Economic information bulletin ; no. 166). Washington,

D.C.]: United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

Fields, S. (2014). The Fat of the Land: Do Agricultural Subsidies Foster Poor Health?

Environmental Health Perspectives, 112(14), A820–A823.

Kearney, J. (2010). Food consumption trends and drivers. Philosophical Transactions of the

Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 365(1554), 2793–2807.

http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0149

Monteiro, C.A., Moubarac, J.C., Cannon, G., Ng, S.W., and Popkin, B. (2013) Ultra-Processed

Products are Becoming Dominant in the Global Food System. Obesity Reviews, 14

(Suppl.

2), 21-28

Nestle, M. (2013). Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health.

Berkely, CA: University of California Press

WHO (World Health Organization). (2014). Mean Body Mass Index (BMI): Situation and Trends

[online]. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at:

www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/bmi_text/en/ (accessed 13 November 2017)

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