The cost of the Daily Maverick food basket has continued to rise. The basket attempts to select some of the food items that a person who receives the Social Relief of Distress grant would buy.  Researchers and activists note that environment and socioeconomic status can predispose individuals to unhealthy products such as ultra-processed foods, resulting in high obesity rates and lifestyle diseases such as diabetes.

The monthly food basket had a sharp rise in the cost of rice, beef stock, and soup. These are three of the 14 products Daily Maverick has been tracking, with the basket coming to a total of R415,84 — R66 over the R350 grant.

Those who do receive the SRD grant are faced with the dilemma of choosing what is most affordable, what is available and what can last until the next grant payment. Healthy choices take second place to filling the stomach with something more affordable. 

The R350 grant is just over half the sum needed to reach the food poverty line of R663 and is substantially lower than what it would cost to feed a child or an adult a nutritious diet over the course of a month. According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in July 2023, the average cost to feed a child a basic nutritious diet was R899.54. Over the past month, the average cost to feed a child a basic nutritious diet increased by R5.76 or 0.6%. Year-on-year, the average cost to feed a child a basic nutritious diet increased by R75.41 or 9.1%.

Half of all adults in South Africa are either overweight (23%) or obese (27%). Noncommunicable diseases account for 59.3% of reported deaths in the country. The collective physical, economic, policy, and socio-cultural surroundings, opportunities, and conditions influence people’s food and beverage choices and nutritional status according to the CPI.

Unhealthy truths on display

Karen Hofman, Research Professor and Founding Director of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has worked tirelessly with her team to change policies around food in South Africa, which could even the playing field for those with limited money. The team’s aim is to enable low-income households with affordable access to healthy food options instead of ultra-processed foods with high salt and sugar. 

(From left to right) Historian of medicine and host of the launch Catheryne Burns, research professor and Priceless SA founder, Karen Hofman and Health economist Shu Wen Ng. (Photo: Simone Ferreira)

In mid-August, Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science (Priceless SA) in the School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences partnered with the Adler Museum of Medicine in Melville Johannesburg to showcase “From Past to Present; A journey through the history of nutrition and commercial food in South Africa,” exhibition which will last until September 15, 2023.

The exhibition traces through and displays texts, research, products and adverts of some well-known brands that, in their heyday, were presented as solutions to poverty and hunger, yet contain high sugars and unhealthy chemicals. The exhibition tells the history of these brands and how they have become trusted and even culturally engrained in communities, from each generation to the next. 

Hofman in an interview with Daily Maverick said, “This is to show that companies have been working to sell their products at great profit with no interest in the health of the public of South Africa for 150 years, I was hoping that there would be this understating that we have been sold poisonous products for 150 years and that has to come out,” said Hofman.

An exhibition of popular brands that have a long history in South Africa and have been presented as a solution to hunger while they can have high sugar content and other health risks. Adler Museum of Medicine, Johannesburg. (Photo: Simone Ferreira)

Mandatory regulations based on Priceless SA research showed how many lives could be saved by reducing sodium in foods, a leading cause of high blood pressure. The team was also instrumental in driving the Health Promotion Levy (‘sugar tax’), based on scientific research, towards reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) to advance public health. Liquid sugar is a major contributor to obesity. Diseases related to poor nutrition are now more prevalent than HIV/Aids in SA. The latest policy researchers, scientists, and activists are bringing to life is front of package labelling, which the food industry has continuously deterred and delayed.

“I think the industry has continuously pushed back on various policies including the sugary beverage tax, which hasn’t been increased  by inflation for five years. They promised that they would increase it from 10% after two years but they have done nothing. And the labelling — they have asked for an extended period now. They had it for three months in public opinion, now they are asking for another three months. They are always pushing back with false excuses,” Hofman added.

Nutrition education

In attendance at the exhibition were some young students who were surprised that some of the products they grew up with were ultra-processed and high in sugar.

Khensani Molete, 20, a second-year student studying health systems sciences at Wits University, says she learned a lot in the exhibition. 

“I realised I should be more considerate of what I put in my body, like snacks that don’t contain good stuff as it leads to many diseases. As much as we think companies provide information about what they have in their products, it’s not necessarily full information, based on the examples they gave us in the exhibition. I was surprised that baby formula, I thought they were healthy and contained vitamins. It was a big surprise that they contain stuff that can make babies obese,” said Malete.

“I think this system has been imposed on us from early childhood and we get addicted to sugar and we are told thousands of jobs would be lost. This is similar to what the tobacco industry would say but they had to find jobs elsewhere,” Hofman concluded. DM