2006-2008 saw dramatic increases in the price of many staple food items, particularly maize, rice, and wheat. These staple commodities form the bulk of the diet of the world’s poor populations, many of whom spend over one-half of their income on food. The result in many areas of the world was worsening poverty for already poor populations due to a decline in purchasing power. While much attention has been given to the economic impacts of the rise in food prices, little empirical research has been conducted to examine the nutritional impacts of the food crisis.
IFPRI Research Fellow Dr. Miguel Robles and Dr. Lora Iannotti, Assistant Professor at the Institute for Public Health, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, have examined the nutritional impacts, in particular the impact on calorie intake, of the food price crisis in seven Latin American countries (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Haiti, Ecuador, and Peru).
Using nationally representative household budget surveys and data from the ProPAN and US Department of Agriculture food composition databases, their research has found that, in the seven countries studied, there was a median reduction of 8.0% (range, 0.95% to 15.1%) in calories consumed following the price shock. In five of the seven countries (Ecuador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru), households were shown to move from above calorie adequacy levels to below adequacy levels due to the food price shock, with the largest changes observed in Ecuador and Peru (13 and 7 percentage points, respectively). On the other hand, in the wealthiest quintile, there were significant increases in calories consumed, exceeding 10% of previous levels.
These findings support the argument that macroeconomic events, such as the global 2008 financial crisis, can diminish food and nutrition security for the world’s poorer populations. While more research is needed to examine the effect of food price crises on micronutrient nutrition, it is clear that policies and programs targeting the poorest households in both rural and urban areas may be needed in the future to offset the energy deficits associated with food price increases.
Watch Professor Lora Iannotti further discuss the findings and implications of this research.