Big Food without big diets? Food regimes and Kenyan diets

Abstract

Path-breaking scholarship has described how corporate control of food production and distribution is implicated in the global emergence of diets heavy in fats, meats and sugars. The 'multinational food and beverage companies with huge and concentrated market power' can be thought of as Big Food. Big Food's presence in Kenya has expanded, and organizations have expressed concerns about the number of Kenyans who are obese. Despite these concerns, Kenya's dietary profile does not show a clear picture of high fats, meats and sugars. This suggests that the structural factors that shape the organization of Kenya's food supply need to be examined. By looking to the food regime approach, it is possible to understand how dietary patterns are a 'reconstitution of material culture', as trade arrangements shape diets in ways that make some foods seem traditional, while others appear to be new or exotic. By using the food regime approach, it is possible to understand how Kenya's position in international trade influences food production and consumption, as well as how the Kenyan state has played a role in mitigating the Big Food diet. In this respect, the policies and practices that organize Kenyan diets are reflective of global-historical arrangements, but are also particular to Kenya. I base my argument on ethnographic research conducted in 2010 and 2014 in urban and rural areas, interviews, FAOSTAT statistics, scholarship, government documents, agency reports, newspapers and relevant food websites.

The Food Desert as a Concept and Policy Tool in African Cities: An Opportunity and a Risk

“…Key reasons were variety of foods (99%), quality (83%), bulk purchasing (77%), and lower prices (50%). O'Neill [58] (p. 266), also working in Kenya, argues that further reasons for supermarket use include the sales strategies used by stores to attract customers, including flyers, loyalty programs, and sales as well as some stores providing a "lifestyle" experience by selling other household and clothing items as well as food, thereby appealing to a cosmopolitan aspiration. Households who reported not shopping at supermarkets frequently were asked why they did not use them.…”

Policy Action Within Urban African Food Systems to Promote Healthy Food Consumption: A Realist Synthesis in Ghana and Kenya

“… 35 , 41 , 45 Many LMIC governments, including in Kenya/Ghana, implemented liberalisation measures from the mid-1980s: removing price controls on domestic products like maize and sugar in Kenya, removing import licensing, and loosening investment rules. 41 , 44 , 46 - 48 …”

“… 29 , 31 - 33 , 36 , 38 , 41 , 42 , 44 - 46 , 49 For trade/investment regulations to work, stakeholders must respond in anticipated ways to incentives/disincentives 29 and urban consumers must adapt purchasing/consumption behaviours in anticipated ways to food environment changes. 44 , 48 , 50 In practice, many factors affect ‘success’ at these two points and it is difficult to anticipate what will happen in urban Africa due to limited knowledge of the complex socio-material dynamics of supply, demand and local competition, and in contexts occupied by many small and medium enterprises. 43 , 45 , 50 - 53 Many LMICs collate limited data to inform/evaluate policy action (eg, product-specific retail sales, consumption patterns, sector-specific FDI, market concentration of transnational corporations, existing tariffs/import duties).…”

“… 55 Kenya’s 2015 removal of sugar protections surfaced fears of cheaper sugar imports competing domestically, making greater quantities of confectionary available. 48 Growth of vegetable oil imports in Kenya coincided with liberalising reforms, with vegetable fats now commonly consumed by Kenyan women. 48 FDI is the ‘preferred method’ for transnational companies to enter new markets for processed foods: allowing product marketing that creates demand while adapting to consumer preferences.…”

“… 48 Growth of vegetable oil imports in Kenya coincided with liberalising reforms, with vegetable fats now commonly consumed by Kenyan women. 48 FDI is the ‘preferred method’ for transnational companies to enter new markets for processed foods: allowing product marketing that creates demand while adapting to consumer preferences. 41 , 43 Evidence highlighted FDI’s role in exposing populations to unhealthy products (eg, sugary, highly-processed foods, soft drinks) in LMICs, and undermining food security in Ghana.…”