Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, par. 7 (2014)

Text of the recommendation

7. The 1980s “structural adjustment programmes” of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank compelled developing countries to open up their markets, including the food sector, to foreign trade as a part of loan fulfilling conditions. Agreements negotiated at the World Trade Organization sought further market integration by reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade, curtailing export subsidies and removing protections of domestic industry to promote the freer flow of goods and services. These policies were implemented as a means of increasing the efficiency of the food system in producing the foods that people needed and wanted, but they had significant effects on the types of available foods and their costs. As a result, there has been a drastic increase in production of certain products relative to others. For example, there was a substantial increase in the global production of vegetable oils such as partially hydrogenated soybean oil, a source of trans-fats, and palm oil, a source of saturated fats. Similarly, grains such as corn are produced in larger quantities to cater to the food processing industry to produce sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup, substantially increasing global calorie consumption from such sweeteners (A/HRC/19/59, pp. 13–14). Studies show that countries adopting market deregulation policies experience a faster increase in unhealthy food consumption and mean body mass index, an indicator of obesity. In furthering the goals of market expansion and profits, critical focus areas of health such as diets and nutrition have not been given due consideration.