The food industry makes its profits grow as much as consumers

< IMG LOADING = "Lazy" SRSC = "/Sites/Default/Files/Styles/Medium/2017-04/F36A7257252D5F6C9A9D8590E972D70429C79483.JPG ? Itok = -ijz2bcs" 1300 " Height = "868" alt = "several industrialists of the agrifood#039; agrifood and large distribution groups S ' engage in Afficu" title = "images/f36a7257252d5f6c9a9d8590e972d70429c79483.jpg" IMG-Fluid Image-Style-Max-1300x1300 "SRC ="/Sites/Default/Files/Styles/Max_1300x1300/Public/2017-04/F36A7257252D5F6C9A9D8590E972D70429C79483.JPG ? iTok = /> © Jeff Pacoud/AFP/Archives < P >< Strong > The agrifood, engine of malnutrition, is dominated by some giants that shape our food choices to the detriment of our health. Food precariousness, the excesses of supermarkets and the impunity of multinationals aggravates this crisis. So what to do ?

< P >Between the outbreak of the prices of basic necessities and an agrifood industry increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few giants, the current system kills us slowly: by not allowing access to a healthy and affordable diet, these actors harm both public health and the environment. A WHO study, published in Lancet, predicts that in 2050, 60 % of adults will be obese. < H4 > of products at the slightest price < p > Karine Jacquemart, director of the NGO < EM > Foodwatch , is the lawyer of a necessary revolt against these inequalities. “The agrifood giants benefit from breathtaking impunity,” she denounces in an interview with < EM > usbek & amp; Rica . According to her, this impunity is due to the fact that a handful of large areas, dominant in the sector, decide the quality and prices of food products. “Prices increase in a vertiginous way, but it is the margins of these large companies that explode,” she insists, pointing to an increase in margins of 28 % to 48 % between 2021 and 2023. A situation which is “simply historic”, and which suggests that the food crises to come will only worsen the situation Vulnerable. < P > The agrifood industry, on which the main actors like Carrefour, E. Leclerc and Auchan reign supreme, has nothing to do with crises its choices generate. If we believe Jacquemart, “everything is organized so that consumers choose products bad for their health”. According to an investigation by < EM > Foodwatch , the cheapest products are systematically those that contain the most sugar, while fruits and vegetables are becoming more and more inaccessible for modest households. And who says sugar, says addiction. So, even if consumers want to benefit from a healthy diet, it becomes particularly difficult to withstand sweet and inexpensive products. This model benefits directly from large groups, the profits of which are inflated by a price strategy at a discount on poor quality products, thus contributing to the explosion of obesity diseases. < P >One of the tragic consequences of this situation is food precariousness: millions of French people no longer have access to fresh or balanced products. A 2017 report from the National Food Health Safety Agency (ANSES) reveals that workers consume an average of 50 % less than executives. This inequality is amplified by processed products, mainly rich in sugars, fats and salt, and often presented as solutions accessible for households in financial difficulty. “Fruits, vegetables, fibers and legumes disappear from the poets of the poorest,” says Karine Jacquemart. These inequalities, however invisible in the official discourse, reveal the extent of the social and health disaster which stems from the unbalanced management of the food system. < H4 > which end up by cost dear < P > 62 > 62 > 62 > 62 > 62 ~ 62But the problem does not only reside in accessibility to a healthy diet. It’s also a model problem. In France, the annual cost of the agrifood system amounts to $ 160 billion, the majority of which is directly linked to public health expenses. The impunity of the agrifood giants is therefore all the more shocking, as it feeds a loop of private profits and public spending. Faced with this drift, the NGO < EM > Foodwatch claims more transparency, a rebalancing of public policies and the end of the opacity of the margins of the companies. < P >Karine Jacquemart offers practical and accessible solutions. It is not a question of revolutionizing food production, but of adapting it. “Agroecology is enough to feed everyone,” she says. By attacking intensive agricultural practices and supporting agriculture respectful of the environment and human health, it would be possible to go towards a healthier and more durable diet. But these solutions require strong public policies, oriented towards the democratization of access to local, organic and fair products. The example of the common food fund in Montpellier, a system in which members contribute to buy healthy products at a lower cost, illustrates the possibility of a model of food solidarity on a larger scale. < P > Faced with this global challenge, Karine Jacquemart calls for strong citizen mobilization. “The right to food is inseparable from fundamental rights,” she said. It is a question of restoring a balance where private interests do not dominate the lives of citizens, and where everyone can have access to a healthy diet without undergoing the influence of a unbridled market. The fight is collective and requires immediate awareness. < P >< Strong > The article you liked ? It mobilized our editorial staff which only lives from your gifts. < Br > Information has a cost, especially since competition from subsidized writing requires additional rigor and professionalism. < P > With your support, France-Soir will continue to offer its articles for free & nbsp; we think that everyone must have access to free and independent information to forge their own opinion. < P > You are the sine qua non condition for our existence, support us for France-Soir to remain the French media which makes the most legitimate express.