By Jose Luis Chicoma on SDG Knowledge Hub | 11/06/2025
The world does not need more cheap calories. Today, we produce more than enough food to feed the global population, yet hunger and malnutrition persist. The global production of calories is sufficient to nourish 10 billion people, but more than 700 million people suffer from hunger, and almost 3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet.
This paradox is exacerbated by climate change, which disrupts food production and access. Extreme weather events – such as droughts and floods – are increasingly undermining food and water security, with the “largest impacts observed in many locations and/or communities in Africa, Asia, Central and South America.”
Moreover, the production of healthy foods remains insufficient. A recent study highlights that while global food production has increased, the availability of nutrient-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and legumes has not kept pace with population growth, leading to dietary imbalances and health issues.
In this context, it is important to understand that renewed calls to increase agricultural productivity are outdated. What is truly needed is a fundamental shift in our food systems to prioritize the production, equitable distribution, and affordability of nutritious foods. Our focus should be on ensuring that healthy foods reach and remain accessible to those who need them most.
Even when efforts focus on supporting the production of healthy food – rather than merely increasing the productivity of staple commodities – they often adopt a simplistic approach that fails to address the food security of the most vulnerable populations. For example, a recurring narrative suggests that producing high-value “superfoods” for the Global North can lift farmers in the Global South out of poverty. This idea, deeply rooted in a commodity-driven food system, has often led to extractive models that promise prosperity but frequently reinforce cycles of inequality.
The rise of quinoa as a global superfood, for example, initially benefited smallholder farmers in Peru and Bolivia. Between 2005 and 2013, quinoa exports from these countries increased sevenfold, with prices escalating 600%. This boom initially boosted incomes for Andean farmers; however, it also led to unintended consequences. To meet international demand, many farmers shifted to intensive monocropping of quinoa. This transition resulted in soil degradation and reduced biodiversity, challenging the sustainability of local farming systems. In some communities, local consumption dropped, with people replacing the once-staple crop with less nutritious and often highly processed alternatives.
Similarly, the avocado’s rise as a superfood has had mixed outcomes. In Mexico, escalating global demand has driven deforestation, increased water usage, and heightened agrochemical applications, raising environmental sustainability and social justice concerns.
Yet, the situation is complex. While working in the Peruvian government, I witnessed firsthand how smallholder cooperatives producing premium crops like Geisha coffee were able to secure long-term contracts with buyers in Germany, the US, and Japan, significantly improving their incomes and livelihoods.
However, the broader extractive nature of global commodity chains cannot be ignored. These models often fail to address the root causes of food insecurity and environmental degradation, as well as the urgent need to promote affordable, healthy, and sustainable diets – not only for the Global North but, more importantly, for those who need them the most.
The 2.8 billion left behind
The challenge of food affordability is staggering. An estimated 2.8 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. This figure does not take into account the economic cost if the diet were not only nutritious but also sustainable, which would likely be even higher. The transition to sustainable diets – those that minimize environmental impacts and preserve ecosystems and biodiversity – often results in higher costs due to the cost of transitioning to organic or agroecological production, limited government subsidies for sustainable farming, and supply chain inefficiencies.
These costs increase even further when considering the need to ensure fair wages and adequate livelihoods for the very people producing our food. Smallholder farmers and artisanal fishers, who are responsible for a substantial portion of the world’s food supply, often struggle with food insecurity themselves. Despite their critical role in feeding both local and global populations, many of these producers face exploitative market structures, lack access to financial resources, and receive disproportionately low prices for their goods. If food systems were to internalize the true cost of fair labor – paying these workers adequately, guaranteeing them access to social protections, and ensuring their long-term economic stability – the price of sustainable diets may rise even further. However, the concentration of market power among large agribusinesses and food corporations enables them to extract higher profits by underpaying agricultural and fisheries workers. Reducing this corporate dominance is therefore fundamental to achieving social justice for workers while also ensuring that sustainable diets remain affordable for all.
Climate change exacerbates these existing inequalities by adversely affecting crop yields, increasing food prices, and disproportionately impacting low-income populations. Extreme weather events, shifting climatic patterns, and the increased prevalence of pests and diseases pose significant threats to agricultural productivity. These challenges often result in reduced incomes for small-scale producers and higher food prices for consumers, further limiting access to nutritious and sustainable diets.
The path towards affordable access to healthy and sustainable diets
Ensuring access to affordable, healthy, and sustainable food demands a shift from extractive, export-driven food systems to localized, climate-resilient production models. The following four solutions contribute to this transformation:
1. Agroecology offers a viable solution by promoting diversified farming systems that enhance food security and climate resilience. Unlike industrial agriculture, which relies on monocultures, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides that deplete soil health and contribute to biodiversity loss, agroecology emphasizes ecological balance.
A practical example of agroecology’s success is Brazil’s agroforestry programs, where farmers integrate crops with native trees, improving biodiversity while increasing yields. In Mexico, milpa systems – a traditional intercropping method involving maize, beans, and squash – have been shown to sustain soil fertility and provide a diverse, nutritious diet.
Despite its benefits, agroecology remains underfunded and under-supported by agricultural policies, which largely favor industrial-scale production. Redirecting subsidies from conventional, high-emission agriculture to agroecological practices would improve affordability and long-term sustainability, ensuring that small-scale farmers have the resources to implement regenerative farming techniques that benefit both people and the planet. For example, France has introduced subsidy schemes to support small farmers transitioning to agroecological methods, proving that policy shifts can accelerate this transition on a broader scale.
2. Fisheries play a pivotal yet often underappreciated role in transforming food systems, especially concerning food security and sustainability. Industrial fishing practices frequently prioritize exports and non-food applications, sidelining local nutritional needs and economic stability.
A notable example is the Peruvian anchoveta fishery. Peru’s anchoveta catch is one of the world’s largest single-species fisheries, with annual landings reaching up to ten million metric tons. However, approximately 99% of this catch is processed into fishmeal and fish oil primarily for aquaculture and livestock feed in international markets, rather than serving as a direct human food source. This allocation raises concerns, especially when local communities face food insecurity. Redirecting a portion of the anchoveta catch for domestic consumption could enhance nutritional outcomes in Peru, providing an affordable and rich source of protein and essential nutrients.
Globally, industrial fishing often undermines local food security. In some African coastal communities, for instance, foreign industrial fleets have depleted fish stocks, leading to reduced catches for local artisanal fishers. This illegal fishing and/or overfishing has escalated food insecurity in coastal communities that traditionally rely on fish as a primary protein source.
Reforming fisheries management to prioritize local consumption and sustainable practices is crucial. Implementing community-based management systems, enforcing stricter regulations on industrial fleets, and promoting sustainable land-based aquaculture that does not rely heavily on wild fish for feed are potential strategies. A shift towards these strategies would strengthen local food security, making fish more affordable for those who need it most and ensuring that nutritious seafood remains accessible to vulnerable communities rather than being diverted to global supply chains.
3. One of the most promising interventions for improving food affordability and sustainability is investment in school meal programs. These initiatives go beyond feeding children; they represent a strategic approach to reshaping entire food systems. Well-implemented school meal programs can reduce malnutrition in vulnerable populations, particularly when meals incorporate diverse, locally produced foods rich in essential nutrients.
For smallholder farmers, school meal programs provide stable demand, enabling them to plan production cycles, reduce post-harvest losses, and invest in agroecological transitions. In Brazil, the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) mandates that at least 30% of food purchases come from family farmers, benefiting over 120,000 producers and improving dietary diversity in public schools for at least 43 million students. Similarly, in Kenya, the Home-Grown School Feeding Program has successfully linked local farmers to school meal supply chains, increasing farmer incomes while improving child nutrition.
Beyond economic stability, school meal programs can also help shift dietary patterns toward more sustainable consumption. When they prioritize climate-resilient crops such as millet, sorghum, and native legumes, these programs reduce dependency on imported grains, strengthen local food markets, and support biodiversity conservation. Additionally, when designed with community engagement, they empower indigenous and rural communities by incorporating traditional foods that are culturally relevant and nutritionally superior to processed alternatives.
4. Contrary to conventional narratives predicting their decline, traditional and informal food markets remain central to food security in many parts of the world. These markets provide fresh, local, and often more affordable food options than supermarkets, particularly in urban and low-income areas. However, they have been marginalized in policy discussions. Strengthening these networks through better infrastructure, financial support, and regulatory frameworks could enhance access to healthy foods while preserving cultural food traditions.
In Mexico, a type of traditional market, known as “tianguis,” is integral to the urban food system. These markets, often set up on specific days in various neighborhoods, provide access to fresh, locally produced foods at affordable prices. They not only support local economies but also preserve cultural food practices by offering traditional ingredients and dishes.
Despite their importance, informal and traditional markets often face challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, limited access to financial services, and marginalization in policy frameworks. Investments in these markets would not only bolster local economies but also ensure the availability and accessibility of nutritious foods, thereby strengthening food security and preserving cultural heritage.
A long-term vision: Universal food access
Ensuring access to affordable, healthy, and sustainable food requires these and other structural reforms, such as improving land and water access, increasing public investment in research and development of underutilized and native crops, promoting inclusive global and national food systems governance, and others.
However, we need a larger vision, one that redefines food as a fundamental right rather than a commodity dictated by market forces. The steps we have outlined to make food more affordable contribute in the short term to moving toward what should be inevitable: a truly just food system, underpinned by universal food access. This means ensuring that everyone, regardless of income, has access to nutritious and sustainable food. A vision of universal food access demands that we rethink food production and distribution, rethink labor in food supply chains, and rethink who has power over what we eat.
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H.E. Jose Luis Chicoma is Program Chair, The Future of Food: Power and Biodiversity at THE NEW INSTITUTE, and former Minister of Production of Peru.
This article was written for Perry World House’s 2025 Conference, ‘Feeding a Climate Changed World.’ This meeting was made possible in part by a generous grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The views expressed are solely the author’s and do not reflect those of Perry World House, the University of Pennsylvania, or the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
First published on SDG Knowledge Hub
https://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/guest-articles/rethinking-food-affordability-beyond-cheap-calories/
