fruit Food source: rainbowcookinglight
A big problem silently taking its place in middle of busy cities of India. With having markets, restaurants, and convenience stores near by and thousands of urban residents living there, finding fresh, affordable and nutritious food is like looking for a pearl in the ocean. They are called food deserts–and they are a stealthy cause of malnutrition in a nation that already has a dual burden of undernutrition and obesity. We usually relate malnutrition with rural environment or poverty, but worst “acceptable and unaccountable” malnutrition is in urban food deserts despite food accessibility and geographical proximity to abundance.
What are Food Deserts in the Indian Context?
“Food Desert” was first seen in context of developed countries like United states, where it means “Urban poor communities lacked access to fresh groceries despite living close to retail outlets.” While in India the case absolutely different, our urban areas do not have shortage of food- we have street vendors, corner stores, general stores and even big supermarkets. But we still lack healthy, affordable and quality food in low to middle income neighbourhoods.
Food deserts case in cities is horrible and hidden. Here, people may not be starving or having food scarcity but rather lack essential nutrient i.e. hidden hunger. The food usually is highly processed and energy dense but have almost zero nutritional value needed for human body.
A 2023 report by UNICEF point out those urban children, living is areas with supermarket, eateries and shops are more and more suffering from both undernutrition and obesity—two sides of the same coin of poor dietary diversity. The culprits are dominance of processed food companies and factories, urban planning gap and our mind. Same things were stated in SOFI,2023 report that increasing urbanisation and fast paced life giving rise to consumption ultra processed foods with high sugar, oil and preservatives. This is triggering rates of both side of coin.
Why Food Deserts Matter for Health?
Well as I have stated above that our mind is also one of the culprits, below is how our own mind and choices contribute to food deserts and malnutrition. We all know our tongue and brain is hard-wired to prefer taste over nutrition. We all carve of sugary, salty and oil fried food over dull looking healthy vegetables and fruits.
Also, in our urban fast paced life quick pleasure through ultra processed and easily accessible food feel much comforting than preparing time-consuming healthy meal. The marketing, bright packaging, discounts and repeated reels and video convince us to choose a short-term gratification despite of knowing it cons. While things are limited to this, some people eat out stress and fatigue and after all above some develop default choice for themselves. One more point is that there is perception in young minds that healthy food is expensive or boring, may be not of there style but in actual local and seasonal foods are diverse and affordable.
In community health conversations, malnutrition is usually associated with rural poverty or lack of agricultural production. But urban malnutrition is more of hidden reason and that is enough calories from rice, wheat, sugar and oil but deficiencies in essential and required vitamins, proteins and other nutrients. Its consequences are absolutely dreadful. For grownups, diets are full of processed and fried foods that cause heart diseases, cancers and blood pressure disorders. While for young ones, food is usually loaded with sugar and preservatives which can causes serious issues like weaken immunity, and delay cognitive development at very young age.
The ironical part is that these health issues commonly go along with obesity. These unhealthy but cheap and filling foods are high in energy but low in nutritional profile for us. So, this leads double burden of undernourishment and obesity at same time in poplution of country.
Why Do Food Deserts Even Exist in Indian Cities?
“Urbanization, industrialization, and increase in dispensable… this dietary pattern is also unsustainable.”
– Dr. R. K. Prasad,
Last year in 2024 at 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists our honourable Prime minister Narendra Modi said “India has now become a food surplus country, the largest producer of milk, pulses and spices, and the second-largest producer of food grain, fruits, vegetables, cotton, sugar, tea and farmed fish.” If this is the situation in our country now, then why do we have food deserts? The answer is simple, it’s because of affordability, poor infrastructure, time poverty, accessibility, and psychological pull.
Let’s first see affordability and availability from both sides i.e. vendor and consumer. Vendor wants to sell those goods which have high profit margins and low maintenance, whereas consumers wish for low-priced diet options. Cold storage and broken supply chains are also reasons for increased prices of fresh fruits and vegetables, which again contribute to vendors’ unwillingness to sell. Second, people in cities travel long distances to reach offices and schools, which supports our cause of time poverty. Hence, instant noodles, packaged snacks, and ready-to-eat foods become their default choices. Thereafter, it becomes a habit of the same. Third and most critical is psychologically pull from those visually appealing packaging, taglines, hashtags and marketing strategies and addicitons caused due to anyone one reason from above two mentioned. Fourth and last is Policy Blind Spots, government schemes like PDS ensure calorie availability through rice and wheat; they rarely include fruits, vegetables, or proteins—leaving a nutritional gap unaddressed in urban diets.
The Consequences
Malnutrition is a double-edged sword as it burdens us with undernutrition and obesity within the same neighbourhood. Lack of healthy and affordable dietary choices leads to childhood stunting and wasting as their basic requirement of micronutrients and even sometimes major nutrients remain unfulfilled which is prone to illness and weakened immunity at an early age. Rising obesity and lifestyle diseases is something that we all saw in our homes and society.
We don’t require any explanation for it, we all have experienced it first hand. Isn’t it? The junk food is fuel for diabetes, cholesterol, and blood pressure disorders. Micronutrient deficiencies can cause visual and hearing impairment, immunity ailments, and reduce work productivity. Malnutrition of the mothers in urban areas results in low birth weight and malnourishment remains a continuous cycle. Food deserts worsen health disparities at the urban level in the form of disproportionate health impacts on women and children in low-income regions.
Finding a Way Out
The possible solution for this is reviving local mandis and farmers’ weekly markets, firming up cold and supply chains, encouraging rooftop farming and community produce, promoting nutrition education and awareness along with suitable changes in public policies. Having one kitchen garden is one of the best solutions at an individual level.While setting up local community areas for urban farming in apartments and colonies will decrease the chance of malnutrition in that area at least, and also give localities organic and fresh produce.
Innovation and planning strategies in the supply chain can significantly improve the overall cost of these fresh produces and reduce wastage. With growing cities’ population, some sort of digital solution to connect farmers and consumers locally should be developed. It should be supported by the government in order to gain the trust of both parties (farmer and consumer). Schools, colleges and other institutions should start nutrition awareness programs and drive to spread food consciousness. Teaching healthy food habits from a young age can leave favourable long-term impact on them. Similarly, government should also amend appropriate and required changes in policies as early as possible.
Subsidising just grains won’t work, as they fulfill calories only while nutrition remains underseen. Government should subsidize fruits, vegetables and pulses through their schemes regularly. This would help the large population of our country.
Conclusion
From all the above points, we must have understand that people might have fulfilled their calorie requirement, which is essential for energy, but nutritional value is yet unsatisfied. They are invisible hunger zones. Often urban areas face a double burden of undernourishment and obesity. And both of them are harmful to countries’ population.
Social reforms by communities and society should be taken collectively, such as community roof farms, urban farming, and kitchen gardens. Strengthening supply chain and fresh food logistics through governmental reforms can be done. This ensures balancing accessibility, affordability, and awareness together and not in sections. Awareness through schools, colleges and other institutions should be encouraged but before it’s too late.
“Remember, Nutrition is not just about food choices, but about food environments that shape those choices.”
By: TANISHKA KARANDE
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