In Britain’s Inflation Crisis,Healthy Diets Are A Casualty

李晓萌

Fresh vegetables and fish are falling off the menu. Packaged pizzas and processed meat are the dishes of the day.

Many British households are turning away from healthier foods as rampant inflation pushes them towards cheaper processed meals，according to consumer data.

Joanne Farrer used to regularly serve her three children roast beef dinners or stews packed with fresh vegetables. Now shes more likely to give them chicken nuggets and fries or sausages and mashed potatoes，which are“cheaper and filling”.

Her monthly welfare payments mostly swallowed by rent and the rising cost of gas and electricity.

“It doesnt seem like theres light at the end of the tunnel，”said the 44-year-old.

“You think，whens it going to end？ But its not.”

As grocery prices rise across the board，the cost of fresh food has largely been outpacing processed and packaged products，according to the official UK consumer price index（CPI）.

Prices for fresh vegetables rose about 14% in September versus the same month last year earlier for example，while fresh beef also jumped 14%，fish 15%，poultry 17%，eggs 22% and low-fat milk 42%.

Meanwhile，salted or smoked meat such as bacon and crisps went up a slower pace of about 12% each，packaged pizzas rose nearly 10%，sugary snacks like gummies increased by 6% and chocolate increased by just over 3%.

Shopping habits are changing too，according to exclusive data from NielsenIQ. Volume sales of fresh vegetables fell by In Britain s Inflation Crisis， Healthy Diets Are A Casualty more than 6% and fresh meat by over 7% in August，for example，while sales of snacks and candy rose almost 4%.

“There is plenty of evidence that poor diets lacking in fruit and vegetables have serious consequences for health，”said Shona Goudie，policy research manager at the Food Foundation，a British charity that promotes healthy diets.

“We also know that cheap highly processed foods are the ones most likely to cause obesity.”

Packaged food products often contain unhealthy levels of salt，fat and sugar，plus flavour- enhancers and preservative chemicals to give them longer shelf lives，and are associated with higher risks of obesity，heart disease，type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancers.

Britain is already near the forefront of an“obesity epidemic”across Europe，where almost 60% of adults are overweight or obese，raising their risk of premature death and serious disease，according to a World Health Organization report in May.

Fresh food has become more expensive because it is more energy intensive to produce than packaged food.

For some，the consequences of rising prices are dire.

Close to 10 million adults — or one in five households —are unable to put enough food on the table，with some skipping meals or going without for an entire day，Food Foundations nationwide survey carried out in late September suggests.

Sharron Spice，a London-based youth worker，said people visiting food banks had stopped requesting fresh food because they worried about having to use gas or electricity to cook it.

She added that many parents would go for buy-one-get-one-free deals in supermarkets：“Cheap food like pizza and everything thats unhealthy for you，basically.”

The country is not alone in facing an inflation crisis. More than half of consumers in the UK，France，Spain，Germany，Italy and the Netherlands have cut down on essentials，such as food，driving and heating，according to a poll by market research firm IRI this month.

新鮮蔬菜和鱼从菜单上消失了。速食披萨和加工肉制品被摆在了饭桌上。

消费者数据显示，恶性通胀迫使许多英国家庭不再选择健康食品，转而购买更便宜的加工食品。

乔安妮·法雷尔过去一般给孩子们吃烤牛肉或放了很多鲜蔬的炖菜。如今她常常给孩子们吃炸鸡块、薯条、香肠和土豆泥，这些东西“更便宜而且吃得饱”。

她每月所得的福利金大部分都用于支付房租和涨价的燃气和电费。

这位44岁的母亲说道： “隧道的尽头似乎看不见光亮。”

“你想，什么时候是个头？但却看不到头。”

官方公布的英国消费者价格指数显示，随着食品杂货价格全面上涨，新鲜食品的价格大多比加工和包装食品价格涨得更快。

举例而言，9月份新鲜蔬菜价格同比上涨约14%，鲜牛肉同比上涨14%，鱼肉上涨15%，家禽肉17%，鸡蛋22%，低脂牛奶42%。

与此同时，培根和酥肉等腌肉或熏肉价格上涨较慢，涨幅约为12%，速食披萨涨价近10%，橡皮软糖等甜食涨价6%，巧克力价格涨幅略高于3%。

资讯平台NielsenIQ的独家数据发现，民众的购物习惯也在改变。举例来说，8月份新鲜蔬菜的销量下降超6%，鲜肉销量下降超7%，零食和糖果销量却增加了近4%。

推广健康饮食的英国慈善机构食品基金会的政策研究经理肖娜·古迪说： “有很多证据表明，缺乏水果蔬菜的不良饮食会给健康带来严重后果。”

“我们也知道，廉价的高度加工食品最易导致肥胖。”

包装食品通常含有过量的盐、脂肪和糖，而且还会添加风味增强剂和延长保质期的防腐剂，从而导致患肥胖症、心脏病、2型糖尿病和某些癌症的风险增高。

根据世界卫生组织5月的报告，英国本来就在席卷欧洲的“肥胖浪潮”中领跑，近60%的成年人超重或肥胖，这提高了他们早逝或患重病的风险。

新鲜食品变得更贵，因为生产新鲜食品比生产包装食品需要消耗更多能量。

对于某些人来说，食品涨价的后果很严重。

食品基金会9月底开展的全国调查显示，近1000万成年人（五分之一英国家庭）吃不饱饭，有些人少吃饭或一整天都不吃饭。

伦敦青年工作者莎伦·斯派斯说，去食物银行领饭的人不再索要新鲜食物，因为他们担心要用燃气或电来烹饪。

她还表示，许多父母会选择超市里“买一赠一”的食品： “基本都是披萨等廉价食品和不健康的食物。”

市场调研公司 IRI 本月的民调显示，英国不是唯一一个遭遇通胀危机的国家。

英国、法国、西班牙、德国、意大利和荷兰超半数消费者都减少了食品、驾车、取暖等必需的开支。