People across the globe are changing their dietary habits because the price of food is increasing exponentially. Particularly in the poorest countries, cutbacks on the quantity and quality of food are being seen due to rising food costs, states a report by Oxfam America.
- 54% of people globally and 56% in the U.S. say they were not consuming the same foods as they were two years ago
- Globally, 39% of people say their diet had changed because food became too expensive; 33% cited health reasons for a change in habits. Comparatively, in the U.S. 31% of people cited the cost of food and 49% cited health reasons
- The biggest food worry cited was the rising cost of food. 73% of Americans and 66% of people globally stated it as one of their top concerns.
- 43% of people in the U.S. and globally said that the healthfulness or nutritional value of the food they and their families consumed was also a key concern
- In poorer countries, the availability of food was also a bigger concern; 20% of those surveyed in developing countries say that they sometimes, rarely or never had enough to eat on a daily basis. In very poor countries, up to 21% of people report that they rarely or never had enough to eat; 8% of Americans surveyed say that they sometimes, rarely or never had enough to eat on a daily basis
Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America, states, “what we eat is changing fast, and for too many people, it is changing for the worse.”
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