High food prices have health consequences

Skyrocketing prices are putting some healthy foods out of the reach of people on low incomes and will inevitably impact on the health of New Zealanders, the Green Party says.

Health Spokesperson Sue Kedgley says she is concerned at the 7 percent increase in the price of fresh vegetables from February to March reported in the latest food price index figures released by Statistics New Zealand today.

"Also of huge concern is the 2.8 percent increase in the price of bread. This is core staple to many people’s diets. If we do not address food affordability people will start letting their wallets make choices that will hurt their long term health."

Grocery products and especially dairy products have been rapidly driving up food prices for a year now. Cheese is up 44 percent, fresh milk up 22 percent, and butter up 82 percent.

Food prices increased 6 percent in the year to March 2008.

The threat of unaffordable and inaccessible food is gripping the world with riots and protests in recent weeks in Haiti, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Mauritania, Mozambique, Senegal, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Bolivia, Jordan and Indonesia. Many Asian countries have limited their rice exports to ensure supplies for their own citizens.

“New Zealand is part of the same global food crisis that the rest of the world faces. We currently import about half of our food.

“Affordable fresh vegetables are essential to the health and well-being of our people. If people are unable to afford these the inevitable result will be that the health and well-being of New Zealand families will be impacted.

“We need a food security strategy that ensures that New Zealand can grow and produce and provide enough healthy affordable food for our whole population.”