Food systems transformation, animal-source foods consumption, inequality, and nutrition in Myanmar

Scott, Jessica; Belton, Ben; Mahrt, Kristi; Thilsted, Shakuntala H.; Bogard, Jessica R.

doi:10.1007/s12571-023-01380-6

Cited by 2 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Changing fish trade practices 4 106 107 4.1. ), is indicative of the importance of fish -both wild caught and farmed -in the diets of consumers in Yangon and throughout Myanmar (Scott et al 2023). San Pya's location on the edge of Ayeyarwady Delta and its transport connections to the rest of the country also make it the ideal site to examine changing practices associated with the transition from capture to farmed fish.…”

Section: (A) (B)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, Chapter 4 described changes in the trading practices that respond to but also shape demand for fish in urban settings. For instance, the practices of sourcing, processing, and selling fish by wholesalers is embedded in wider changes in urban settings, such as the emergence of convenience in urban lifestyles reflecting changing working schedules and the accompanying emergence of aquatic food-based urban cuisines that reflect but are different to rural aquatic food cuisines (Khaing et al 1975;Scott et al 2023). Understanding how these practices shape wider demand for aquatic food challenges the conceptualising of consumption and trade as discrete activities (HLPE 2017;Béné et al 2019b).…”

Section: Food Fish Practices In Everyday Lifementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Transformations towards sustainable aquatic food systems have primarily focused on technological interventions to production, such as the intensification and expansion of aquaculture in response to 'declining fisheries' (Williams 1996;Garlock et al 2020). This emphasis on aquaculture, as reflected in both research and development policy (Short et al 2021;Cisneros-Montemayor et al 2021;Crona et al 2021), has drawn attention away from the wider set of practices that shape food system outcomes -including food and nutrition security (see Bogard et al 2017;Scott et al 2023), social equity (see Adduci 2009;Saguin 2016;Campbell 2019), and environmental sustainability (see De Silva 2012;Edwards 2015). This is especially evident in regions such as Southeast Asia, and countries such as Myanmar, where drivers for the expansion of aquaculture continue to be framed in productivist terms rather than being seen as a function of changes to the role aquatic foods play in everyday production, trade and consumption practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The country is also an exceptional case because the expansion of aquaculture is driven almost solely by the expansion of the domestic market (Tezzo et al 2018). Finally, the case of Myanmar is exceptional because of the ongoing and explicit use of aquatic productivism as a means of achieving food and nutrition security, as well as social equity (Tezzo et al 2018;Scott et al 2023). In summary, the prominence of food fish in the everyday lives of people in Myanmar combined with the scale of the social transformations at play offer an opportunity to develop a sociological perspective on aquatic food systems transformation and opportunities for rethinking pathways for achieving normative ambitions for aquatic foods, namely food and nutrition security, but also social equity, all within environmental limits.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the considerable attention to aquaculture by these development organizations, concern has been raised that freshwater fisheries, although of ongoing importance for food security, continue to be overlooked (Tezzo et al 2017;Campbell 2019). Concerns have also been raised on the availability of aquaculture-produced fish to poorer populations as farmed fish make an increasingly larger proportion foods traded across the country (see Scott et al 2023). The balance between wild-caught and farmed production has also raised questions about the resilience of an overall availability of aquatic foods given that the aquaculture production in Myanmar is poorly diversified, with the indigenous carp -rohu, constituting roughly 70% of production (Belton et al 2015;Tezzo et al 2018).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Everyday aquatic food system transformations in Myanmar

Tezzo

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Aquatic foods are important for nutrition, livelihoods and cuisines in many countries across Asia and Africa, yet they have historically been overlooked in food policy and research (Béné et al. 2015;Golden et al. 2021). However, in response to renewed political attention to food systems, including at the United Nations and the World Economic Forum (Tigchelaar et al. 2022;Crona et al. 2023), there is increasing recognition of the accessible and affordable contribution of aquatic foods to nutrition security in both high-and low-income countries (Béné et al. 2015; Bennett et al. 2021;Ryckman et al. 2021). There is also growing realization that this contribution is made possible by the inherent diversity of aquatic food systems -including land and seascapes that produce over 600 farmed species and 2,200 from wild caught animal and plant species (Naylor et al. 2021a;Crona et al. 2023), and a diversity of actors and activities associated with producing, transforming, distributing, and consuming aquatic foods (Short et al. 2021; Tigchelaar et al. 2022;Tlusty et al. 2019).Owing to a combination of factors -most notably population growth, rising incomes, and urbanization -demand for aquatic food has continued to increase over recent decades, leading to transformations in how it is produced, traded and consumed (HLPE 2014;FAO 2022). Current understandings of these transformations are dominated by a productivist perspective that focuses on the spectacular intensification and expansion of aquaculture -a phenomenon commonly referred to as the 'blue revolution' (Garlock et al. 2020). This productivist framing holds important policy implications as it influences the ways in which aquatic food systems are imagined, understood and ultimately governed. At the heart of this blue revolution rhetoric is the assertion that aquatic productivity must keep increasing in order to meet the ever-growing demand for these foods globally Chapter 1 1 2 (see Pullin & Neal 1984;Bush 2008;Hishamunda et al. 2009). The conjunction of this narrative with wider neoliberal agendas of economic development and growth (see Sonnino et al. 2016) has consequently asserted that aquaculture is fundamental to food and nutrition security by making aquatic foods more abundant and cheaper (Short et al. 2021). Over time, aquatic productivism has been credited with even wider (yet poorly substantiated) merits (Béné et al. 2016). For instance, 'blue economy' narratives have driven perceptions that aquatic landscapes have an untapped potential for aquaculture expansion to deliver economic growth and improved livelihoods (Cisneros-montemayor et al. 2021). In addition, the blue revolution is assumed to deliver a range of opportunities for improving environmental performance (e.g. lower carbon footprints) of the (global) food systems to which they contribute (Crona et al. 2023; Willett et al. 2019).While having driven the expansion of aquaculture, aquatic productivism has also drawn attention away from multiple other factors that shape the role of aquatic foods, especial...

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Section: (A) (B)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Food Fish Practices In Everyday Lifementioning

confidence: 99%