Is South Africa Snobby?
Over the past couple of weeks I have seen several news updates on the ongoing drought in South Africa. Having only considered the African food crisis in terms of the stereotypical rural villages in countries such as Nigeria thus far, I decided to look at what food insecurity looks like in a more modern setting. Whilst doing so, I came across an interesting news clip from CGTN Africa. It documents the western mentality towards sub-standard produce that many South Africans have adopted.
The drought in South Africa is the worst to hit the country in over a century, and it has had a huge impact on the national food market. Shop owners, such as those in the above clip, are suffering from a lack of sales as consumers are unwilling to buy inferior fruit and veg, and many cannot afford the higher prices of the better quality food that is sourced form out-of-area suppliers.
In my next post I will be continuing to investigate the current drought and consequent water crisis in South Africa.
Hi Emma,
ReplyDeleteI think it's good that you have used a current example to address the issues of food and water insecurity in Africa. However, I think you should use more existing literature to support your views and possibly elaborate more on this topic.
One question: Does other parts of Africa suffer from the same issue as South Africa? as I believe East Africa has a similar drought problem too...
Hi! I'm not too sure if there is a large literature on this- it was more just a passing comment. I just found it interesting that this is the case in South Africa, which is obviously westernised. I have looked at some case studies from the Eastern Cape province, and they don't seem to be wasting the same amount of food.
Delete