Food safety and nutrition for low-income urbanites: exploring a social justice dilemma in consumption policy

doi:10.1177/0956247819858019

. 2019;31(2):397-420.

doi: 10.1177/0956247819858019.

Food safety and nutrition for low-income urbanites: exploring a social justice dilemma in consumption policy

Sigrid Wertheim-Heck¹, Jessica Evelyn Raneri², Peter Oosterveer³

Affiliations

¹ Sigrid Wertheim-Heck is a professor of Food and Healthy Living at Aeres University of Applied Sciences and a senior research fellow at the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University, both in the Netherlands. Her interest in global urban food security informs her research agenda on the relationship among metropolitan development, food provisioning and food consumption. With a background in consumption sociology, her main areas of interest include everyday consumption practices and equitable access to sustainable, safe and healthy foods.
² Jessica Raneri is a nutrition research specialist at Bioversity International. She is involved in designing and implementing "Agricultural Biodiversity, Nutrition and Dietary" assessments using participatory, qualitative and quantitative methods. She leads a project in Vietnam designed to improve dietary diversity through an integrated systems perspective. She also supports sustainable diet activities and believes that it is crucial to understand how biodiversity can be utilized to improve the sustainability of food systems and quality of diets.
³ Peter Oosterveer is a professor at the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. His research interests are in global public and private food governance arrangements and innovative institutional developments in sustainable food production and consumption, in particular labelling and certification practices in global supply chains. Furthermore, he is studying food consumption practices from a sociological perspective and is particularly interested in how consumers access sufficient, sustainable and healthy food, including the role of retail.

PMID: 32704235
PMCID: PMC7340485
DOI: 10.1177/0956247819858019

Food safety and nutrition for low-income urbanites: exploring a social justice dilemma in consumption policy

Sigrid Wertheim-Heck et al. Reg Environ Change. 2019.

. 2019;31(2):397-420.

doi: 10.1177/0956247819858019.

Authors

Sigrid Wertheim-Heck¹, Jessica Evelyn Raneri², Peter Oosterveer³

Affiliations

¹ Sigrid Wertheim-Heck is a professor of Food and Healthy Living at Aeres University of Applied Sciences and a senior research fellow at the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University, both in the Netherlands. Her interest in global urban food security informs her research agenda on the relationship among metropolitan development, food provisioning and food consumption. With a background in consumption sociology, her main areas of interest include everyday consumption practices and equitable access to sustainable, safe and healthy foods.
² Jessica Raneri is a nutrition research specialist at Bioversity International. She is involved in designing and implementing "Agricultural Biodiversity, Nutrition and Dietary" assessments using participatory, qualitative and quantitative methods. She leads a project in Vietnam designed to improve dietary diversity through an integrated systems perspective. She also supports sustainable diet activities and believes that it is crucial to understand how biodiversity can be utilized to improve the sustainability of food systems and quality of diets.
³ Peter Oosterveer is a professor at the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. His research interests are in global public and private food governance arrangements and innovative institutional developments in sustainable food production and consumption, in particular labelling and certification practices in global supply chains. Furthermore, he is studying food consumption practices from a sociological perspective and is particularly interested in how consumers access sufficient, sustainable and healthy food, including the role of retail.

PMID: 32704235
PMCID: PMC7340485
DOI: 10.1177/0956247819858019

Abstract

Equitable access to healthy food is a critical challenge in urban Asia. Food safety governance promotes modern supermarkets over more traditional markets, but supermarkets are associated with unequal access to food. This study investigates how retail policies driven by food safety impact the diets of the urban poor in Hanoi, Vietnam. We do this by linking food retail infrastructures with the food shopping practices and measured dietary intake of 400 women. Our results reveal sub-optimal dietary diversity and reliance on foods sourced through traditional markets, which do not provide formal food safety guarantees. Modern channels supply formal food safety guarantees, but are mainly frequented for purchasing ultra-processed foods. The paper uncovers a conflicting duality governing food security and suggests that the public responsibility for ensuring access of the poor to nutritious and safe foods requires a more diverse retail policy approach.

Keywords: Hanoi; Vietnam; food access; food retail environment; healthy diet; social equity; urbanization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

**Figure 1**
Conceptual framework and methods deployed

**Figure 2**
Retail census categorization

**Figure 3**
Shopping basket and consumption share across retail outlets

See this image and copyright information in PMC

Cited by

Understanding Vietnamese Urban Consumers' Nutrition Label Use, Health Concerns, and Consumption of Food and Beverages with Added Sugars.
Nguyen-Anh D, Umberger WJ, Zeng D. Nguyen-Anh D, et al. Nutrients. 2020 Oct 29;12(11):3335. doi: 10.3390/nu12113335. Nutrients. 2020. PMID: 33138339 Free PMC article.
Understanding food westernisation and other contemporary drivers of adult, adolescent and child nutrition quality in urban Vietnam.
Umberger WJ, Rupa JA, Zeng D. Umberger WJ, et al. Public Health Nutr. 2020 Oct;23(14):2571-2583. doi: 10.1017/S1368980020001354. Epub 2020 Jul 15. Public Health Nutr. 2020. PMID: 32665051 Free PMC article.
Consumer perceptions of food safety in animal source foods choice and consumption in Nairobi's informal settlements.
Bukachi SA, Ngutu M, Muthiru AW, Lépine A, Kadiyala S, Domínguez-Salas P. Bukachi SA, et al. BMC Nutr. 2021 Jul 15;7(1):35. doi: 10.1186/s40795-021-00441-3. BMC Nutr. 2021. PMID: 34261518 Free PMC article.
Urban physical food environments drive dietary behaviours in Ghana and Kenya: A photovoice study.
Pradeilles R, Irache A, Wanjohi MN, Holdsworth M, Laar A, Zotor F, Tandoh A, Klomegah S, Graham F, Muthuri SK, Kimani-Murage EW, Coleman N, Green MA, Osei-Kwasi HA, Bohr M, Rousham EK, Asiki G, Akparibo R, Mensah K, Aryeetey R, Bricas N, Griffiths P. Pradeilles R, et al. Health Place. 2021 Sep;71:102647. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102647. Epub 2021 Aug 7. Health Place. 2021. PMID: 34375838 Free PMC article.
The relationship between food insecurity, purchasing patterns and perceptions of the food environment in urban slums in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Ilori T, Christofides N, Baldwin-Ragaven L. Ilori T, et al. BMC Nutr. 2024 Sep 18;10(1):122. doi: 10.1186/s40795-024-00929-8. BMC Nutr. 2024. PMID: 39294824 Free PMC article.

See all "Cited by" articles

References

1. Alkon A H, Block D, Moore K, Gillis C, DiNuccio N and Chavez N (2013), “Foodways of the urban Poor”, Geoforum Vol 48, pages 126–135.
1. Banwell C, Dixon J, Seubsman S A, Pangsap S, Kelly M and Sleigh A (2012), “Evolving food retail environments in Thailand and implications for the health and nutrition transition”, Public Health Nutrition Vol 16, No 4, pages 608–615. - PMC - PubMed
1. Black C, Moon G and Baird J (2014), “Dietary inequalities: what is the evidence for the effect of the neighbourhood food environment?”, Health & Place Vol 27, pages 229–242. - PMC - PubMed
1. Black C, Ntani G, Inskip H, Cooper C, Cummins S, Moon G and Baird J (2014), “Measuring the healthfulness of food retail stores: variations by store type and neighbourhood deprivation”, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol 11, No 1, 11 pages. - PMC - PubMed
1. Boonchoo W, Takemi Y, Hayashi F, Koiwai K and Ogata H (2017), “Dietary intake and weight status of urban Thai preadolescents in the context of food environment”, Preventive Medicine Reports Vol 8, pages 153–157. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

[1] Alkon A H, Block D, Moore K, Gillis C, DiNuccio N and Chavez N (2013), “Foodways of the urban Poor”, Geoforum Vol 48, pages 126–135.

[2] Alkon A H, Block D, Moore K, Gillis C, DiNuccio N and Chavez N (2013), “Foodways of the urban Poor”, Geoforum Vol 48, pages 126–135.

[3] Banwell C, Dixon J, Seubsman S A, Pangsap S, Kelly M and Sleigh A (2012), “Evolving food retail environments in Thailand and implications for the health and nutrition transition”, Public Health Nutrition Vol 16, No 4, pages 608–615. - PMC - PubMed

[4] Banwell C, Dixon J, Seubsman S A, Pangsap S, Kelly M and Sleigh A (2012), “Evolving food retail environments in Thailand and implications for the health and nutrition transition”, Public Health Nutrition Vol 16, No 4, pages 608–615. - PMC - PubMed

[5] Black C, Moon G and Baird J (2014), “Dietary inequalities: what is the evidence for the effect of the neighbourhood food environment?”, Health & Place Vol 27, pages 229–242. - PMC - PubMed

[6] Black C, Moon G and Baird J (2014), “Dietary inequalities: what is the evidence for the effect of the neighbourhood food environment?”, Health & Place Vol 27, pages 229–242. - PMC - PubMed

[7] Black C, Ntani G, Inskip H, Cooper C, Cummins S, Moon G and Baird J (2014), “Measuring the healthfulness of food retail stores: variations by store type and neighbourhood deprivation”, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol 11, No 1, 11 pages. - PMC - PubMed

[8] Black C, Ntani G, Inskip H, Cooper C, Cummins S, Moon G and Baird J (2014), “Measuring the healthfulness of food retail stores: variations by store type and neighbourhood deprivation”, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol 11, No 1, 11 pages. - PMC - PubMed

[9] Boonchoo W, Takemi Y, Hayashi F, Koiwai K and Ogata H (2017), “Dietary intake and weight status of urban Thai preadolescents in the context of food environment”, Preventive Medicine Reports Vol 8, pages 153–157. - PMC - PubMed

[10] Boonchoo W, Takemi Y, Hayashi F, Koiwai K and Ogata H (2017), “Dietary intake and weight status of urban Thai preadolescents in the context of food environment”, Preventive Medicine Reports Vol 8, pages 153–157. - PMC - PubMed

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Food safety and nutrition for low-income urbanites: exploring a social justice dilemma in consumption policy

Affiliations

Food safety and nutrition for low-income urbanites: exploring a social justice dilemma in consumption policy

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Figures

Similar articles

Cited by

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Abstract

Figures

Similar articles

Cited by

References

Related information

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources