Economy has dominated public debate in this election year, especially as it affects the daily lives of Brazilians. The incumbent president,Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT),has encountered a paradox: his third term has presented very positive economic figures, such as Brazil's exit fromthe Hunger Map,while a high level of family debt, around 80%, creates a negative perception among the population about the economy. This scenario ultimately impacts the relationship between purchasing power and food prices.
InConversa Bem Viver,the agronomist José Graziano da Silva, former Extraordinary Minister of Food Security and Hunger Combat and former Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), explains that purchasing power and food prices in national currency have improved, driven by the valorization of the minimum wage, but the cost of living has been strongly affected by high debt and elevated interest rates that erode family income. “We are paying 1% per day, almost, in credit card interest rates. That's usury. That's criminal,” he criticizes.
Additionally, he points out that the fluctuation in food prices in the country was primarily driven by internal climate instabilities, not international market shocks. "There's no doubt that we faced, especially this year and last year, an increase in global food prices, which has a lot to do with wars, instability in the global market... But this didn't greatly affect Brazil. What affected Brazil most were climate instabilities. So, we had prices that went up and down a lot, depending on the harvest season, especially the prices of foreign products, which are the most affected by climate instabilities. So, on average, Brazil performed better than the rest of the world," he reflects.
When discussing Brazil's exit from the Hunger Map, Graziano explains that the country successfully reduced undernutrition to less than 1% of the population. However, he warns that the central challenge of food security has shifted from the quantity of calories to the nutritional quality of the diet, severely compromised by the replacement of fresh foods with ultra-processed products. "Our problem has now shifted from quantitative, how much we eat at a minimum for a quality index, to what we eat," he states. As a reflection of this deterioration in food quality, he draws attention to the growing prevalence of overweight and obesity, projecting that two-thirds of Brazilian adults could be overweight by 2030.
To guide public debate and ensure sustainable progress in the country's nutrition, the Zero Hunger Institute formulated six strategic guidelines. Among the proposals, the need to subsidize fresh products as part of tax reform, strengthening family farming, implementing anticipatory social protection in the face of climate emergencies, and encouraging community engagement stand out. "This deficiency in fruits, vegetables, and legumes requires more than just simple tax exemption. It requires subsidies. The whole world subsidizes fresh products," he highlights. "There is no food and nutritional security policy without social participation," he concludes.
Good Living Conversation
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