Elsevier

Food Policy

Volume 32, Issue 3, June 2007, Pages 281-298
Food Policy

Westernization of Asian diets and the transformation of food systems: Implications for research and policy

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2006.08.001Get rights and content

Abstract

Rapid economic and income growth, urbanization, and globalization are leading to a dramatic shift of Asian diets away from staples and increasingly towards livestock and dairy products, vegetables and fruit, and fats and oils. While the diversification of diets away from the traditional dominance of rice with rising incomes is expected and observed, current food consumption patterns are showing signs of convergence towards a Western diet. The diet transition is characterized by increased consumption of: wheat; temperate fruit and vegetables and high protein and energy dense food. Globalization and the consequent global interconnectedness of the urban middle class, is the driving force behind the convergence of diets. The rapid spread of global supermarket chains and fast food restaurants is reinforcing the above trends.

The growing demand for diet diversity cannot be met solely by the traditional food supply chain. It requires the modernisation of the food retail sector, and the vertical integration of the food supply chain, in effect linking the consumers’ plate to the farmers’ plow. As a consequence, Asian agriculture is on an irreversible path leading away from its traditional pre-occupation with cereal crop production, especially rice, towards a production system that is becoming increasingly commercialized and diversified.

This paper describes the determinants and trends in the diversification and Westernization of Asian diets. Implications of the evolving demand trends for food supply and retail systems are presented. The paper discusses the prospects for small farmer participation in the emerging food supply system, with a particular emphasis on Asian rice production systems. Finally, the paper considers emerging challenges for food policy, small holder welfare, and agricultural research and development priorities.

Section snippets

Diet and nutrition change in Asia

The process of diet transformation in Asia can be seen as involving two separate stages: (i) income-induced diet diversification and (ii) diet globalization and westernization. At the start of the process of faster economic growth, diets diversify but maintain predominantly traditional features. As urbanization and globalization begin to exert their influence, we see the adoption of markedly different diets that no longer conform to the traditional local habits.

The main determinant of the

Transformation of food supply systems

Asia is observing a dramatic transformation in its food supply systems in response to rapid urbanization, diet diversification, and the liberalization of foreign direct investment in the food sector. The observed changes are in both the retail sector as well as in the production sector. This section describes the changes in food supply systems, with a particular emphasis on provisioning the cities and meeting the needs of the changing Asian diet.

Feeding the burgeoning urban masses is one of the

Commercialization of the small holder agriculture

The issue of agricultural commercialization and the small farmer is by no means new. Most developing countries have witnessed agriculture “moving away from traditional self-sufficiency” to an activity where “farm output is  more responsive to market trends” (Pingali and Rosegrant, 1995). It has long been understood that with increasing economic growth, small farm production systems could not remain static and would need to gear themselves to some degree of commercialization for their survival.

Challenges for food and research policy

The persistence of hunger in most Asian countries means that ensuring adequate and nutritious food for the population will remain the principal challenge facing policy makers in the years to come. However, the rapid transformation of diets and the changes in food systems at all levels (production, processing and distribution/retail) pose a number of important additional challenges to food security and food policy, small holder welfare, and agricultural research and development priorities.

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    The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and should not be attributed to FAO.

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