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Nutrition and Health in a Developing World pp 737–751Cite as

The Impact of Supermarkets on Nutrition and Nutritional Knowledge: A Food Policy Perspective

Part of the Nutrition and Health book series (NH)

Abstract

This chapter provides an analytical and policy perspective on the rapid emergence of supermarkets and their modern supply chains, and the subsequent impact on food security and nutritional well-being. The story is complicated because there are important opportunities and challenges raised by the supermarket revolution. On the positive side, supermarkets and modern supply chains offer significantly enhanced food safety, the opportunity to fortify basic food staples with essential vitamins and minerals, and the potential to stabilize food prices, thus contributing to food security. On the negative side, supermarkets offer an enticing array of “junk foods” that are likely contributors to the obesity epidemic and rapid spread of non-communicable diseases. Government policies can shape both the positive and negative dimensions at the margin, but most of the dynamics of supermarket growth are stimulated by technological changes and consumer demands that are beyond the control of governments.

Keywords

  • Dietary transition
  • Economic growth
  • Food policy
  • Food security
  • Marketing system
  • Nutritional impacts
  • Role of governments
  • Supermarkets

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Fig. 33.1
Fig. 33.2

Notes

  1. 1.

    This perspective on regional specialization has been generalized and formalized in Krugman’s work on economic geography. See Krugman [9].

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Acknowledgments

This chapter, significantly revised from the first edition, had its origins in a paper presented at the Sixth National Workshop on Food and Nutrition, Indonesian Academy of Sciences (LIPI), Jakarta, Indonesia, May 17–19, 2004. In over a decade since then, the “supermarket revolution” has continued to accelerate. Recent reviews are in Reardon and Timmer, 2012 and 2014 [3, 5].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Economics, Harvard University, PO Box 1402, Kenwood, CA, 95452, USA

    C. Peter Timmer

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  1. C. Peter Timmer
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Correspondence to C. Peter Timmer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. World Food Programme , Rome, Italy

    Saskia de Pee

  2. School of Public Health, University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman, Tucson, Arizona, USA

    Douglas Taren

  3. World Food Programme, Nutrition Division , Rome, Italy

    Martin W. Bloem

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Timmer, C.P. (2017). The Impact of Supermarkets on Nutrition and Nutritional Knowledge: A Food Policy Perspective. In: de Pee, S., Taren, D., Bloem, M. (eds) Nutrition and Health in a Developing World . Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43739-2_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43739-2_33

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