Too poor to choose? Analyzing food agency in food insecure households in rural Burundi

Wannes Slosse (), Marijke D’Haese, Carl Lachat and Willy Désiré Emera
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Wannes Slosse: Ghent University, Belgium
Marijke D’Haese: Ghent University, Belgium
Carl Lachat: Ghent University, Belgium
Willy Désiré Emera: Ghent University, Belgium

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2024, vol. 16, issue 5, No 12, 1300 pages

Abstract: Abstract Despite recent attention, the concept of food agency has been largely overlooked in academics as a food security dimension. In this study, we define lack of food agency as the inability to make food choices and the consumption of non-preferred and undesirable foods, and examine its relation to other food insecurity domains and household characteristics. Our analysis is based on data collected from 486 households in the impoverished regions of northern Burundi. Specifically, we use the responses to two questions of the Household Food Insecurity Access Score scale that examine the consumption behavior of non-preferred and undesirable foods. The results highlight a worrying lack of food agency in this area of research, as more than 80% of households admitted to consuming such foods. Our study also shows that only households with additional off-farm income are able to avoid non-preferred foods. This study serves to highlight the critical issue of food agency, particularly among low-income consumers in the Global South, and underscores the widespread nature of this problem.

Keywords: Burundi; Food agency; Food choice; Food security; Non-preferred foods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-024-01482-9

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