More sustainable eating habits in the countryside

How is the diet affected by urbanization and poverty?

This analysis shows how Household Budget Surveys (HBS) can help to understand differences in eating habits between different groups of people. It can thus be useful in formulating policies to achieve a desired local diet according to people’s needs.

Food security and sustainable food systems are on the agenda. In June 2019, Norway launched an action plan for increased efforts in this area, with a special focus on the least developed countries. A little earlier in 2019, the EAT Lancet report provided concrete recommendations on the composition of a diet consisting of 2500 calories per day while still ensuring sustainable food production and good health for all people on the planet.

Pursue good local eating habits

A healthy and sustainable diet, according to the EAT-Lancet report, implies that most people should eat less refined flour and sugar, and more fruit, vegetables and beans. According to the recommendations, red meat, poultry, eggs and fish should not be eaten in larger quantities than about once every week in a slightly small typical Norwegian portion. The recommendations in the report provide indicative figures for the average intake of various food groups, and caused a great deal of debate when launched. The authors of this article have chosen to use the recommendations as a reference measure for consumption in Sudan. The EAT recommendations are the same wherever in the world you live, but one thing both EAT supporters and its critics seems to agree upon is that local diet recommendations should be anchored in local food traditions.

High intake of grains and sugar in Sudan

Figure 1 shows the caloric intake per person of the main food groups in Sudan compared to EAT's recommendations. The reason for measuring in calories is that this is comparable across food groups. Compared to EAT's calorie recommendations, a person in Sudan eats an average of 50 percent more staple foods and three times more sugar. The other food groups are used in much smaller quantities than EAT recommends. The EAT report does not present country figures for actual food consumption but outlines the composition of average calories by food groups for some regions. Unlike in most of Africa, a typical Western diet consists of much more meat, eggs and dairy products than recommended.

A diet with a relatively large share of staples is common in poor countries. Consumption of large amounts of staples often replaces more expensive and more nutritious types of food, and the consequence is too little nutrients. These foods are generally a cheap option to ensure sufficient calorie intake. Sugar is also relatively inexpensive, and even the poor often eat large amounts of sugar. It is also important to note that even though people in Sudan eat a relatively large amounts of staples, many do not achieve their daily calorie requirements. About 40 percent of the population live in households that consume too few calories. The total caloric requirement of the household is the sum of the members' recommended average intake, given age and gender and with the assumption of a low level of physical activity.

Take note that not all the calories reported by households in the survey are included in the figure. Some food from cafes or food stalls consists of complex products that cannot be classified. This only applies to a small proportion of the total in Sudan, around 3 percent.

City dwellers are switching to more refined food

Staples are the most important source of calories, but Figure 1 above does not say anything about their nutritional content. The general recommendation, both by EAT and others, is that the staples should consist of only whole grain products. In the Sudan survey some staple foods lack enough information to be classified as either refined or whole grains, but these make up only a small part of the total staple calorie intake: about 13 percent.

In total, rural residents eat more staples than urban dwellers. However, the intake of refined flour, such as white bread and white pasta (food that according to the recommendations should be avoided) is twice as high in the cities as in the village. On the other hand, in the village, whole grain products are eaten in three times larger quantities compared to refined flour. The average intake of whole grain products in rural areas is on a par with the EAT recommendations.

The consumption of beans and nuts, which both are considered nutritious and sustainable foods, is somewhat higher in the rural areas than in the urban, as seen in Figure 3. But the amount is still far below what EAT recommends. The use of meat, fish and eggs, which are nutritious but must be consumed in limited quantities due to sustainability reasons, is below the recommendations and is somewhat higher in the urban areas. The intake of sugar, a food you should eat little of, is far above the recommendations and a little higher in urban than in rural Sudan. Otherwise, there are no major differences between urban and rural areas. The reason why people eat other food in urban areas than in the village, may be that the food selection is more varied , for example consisting of imported goods. Food prices in urban areas may also affect people’s choices, with relatively lower prices for imported food and higher prices for food produced in rural areas locally. Since urbanization is significant in most countries, including Sudan, it is likely that more and more people will adopt an urban diet. In the case of Sudan, this means a transition to more unhealthy refined products.

Geography and economy are important for food choice

Where in the country you live is important for what food you have access to and what you eat. This is especially true in countries where different geographical areas have less interaction because transport and communication are less developed than, for example, in Norway. Another important dimension is income: the poor - ie those who cannot afford a minimum of what is considered necessary - do not have the same opportunities to choose what they want to eat.

We have taken a closer look at 4 of Sudan's 18 states. The states have been chosen to cover different parts of the country, varying urbanization, different degrees of poverty and different consumption of selected foods: The foods we study also represent extremes in terms of nutritional content.

Khartoum is the capital of Sudan and is also a separate state. More than 80 percent of the population in Khartoum state live in urban areas. There are about 30 percent poor in Khartoum. Central Darfur, on the other hand, is a remote state with an urban population of less than 20 percent. It is one of the poorest states in the country: two thirds are considered poor. 44 percent of Red Sea's population lives in urban areas, and about half live below the poverty line. One in three people living in the state of Blue Nile also lives below the poverty line, and only one in four lives in an urban area.

Intestines - An outdated food source?

Eating intestines could be considered more sustainable because more of the animal than just the muscles, is utilized. In addition to being much cheaper than other animal products, it is particularly nutritious food. This could therefore be a food that the authorities in a country want to promote the consumption of. We do not show how much people have eaten, but only if they eat intestines at all. This provides information about to which extent intestines is a common product to eat.

There is neither a large nor a systematic difference between the poor and the non-poor when it comes to the consumption of intestines. The difference is greater between the states: In the Red Sea- and Khartoum states, people rarely eat intestines, while 60-70 percent of the population in the Blue Nile and Central Darfur eat this type of food. The consumption of intestines may therefore appear to be conditioned by different food cultures. One hypothesis is that intestines is seen as inferior food in more modern areas, but we cannot read from the numbers why someone opts out of a product.

Sugar and refined flour are, as pointed out earlier, foods with little nutritious values, and should be limited and replaced by other foods to ensure a healthier diet. Consumption of these "fast carbs" is much higher among non-poor than poor in each of the four states, as Figure 5 shows. The same figure also shows that there is a big difference in the consumption of these foods across states. The extremes are Khartoum, where an average of almost 900 calories per day are eaten from refined wheat and the like, while people in Central Darfur eat just under 100 calories from such processed foods.

Consumption of refined flour and sugar may appear to be conditioned by culture as well as the degree of poverty and urbanization. The latter connection is also shown in Figure 2.

Regarding intestines, white flour and sugar, we see a tendency for those who have a greater opportunity to choose what they eat, to move towards unhealthy foods and a diet that is less sustainable for the planet. The challenge in Sudan will be to stimulate people to maintain the healthy portions of the traditional diet while getting enough food and greater freedom of choice due to poverty reduction and urbanization.

The article is based on an analysis financed by Norad.