Socio-cultural paradigms refer to the beliefs, values, norms, and behaviours that shape how people produce, consume, and relate to food. These societal paradigms along with inequalities in the society (mainly related to economic disparities) drive the food system by influencing dietary preferences, agricultural practices, food policies, and broader societal goals.
This section presents selected data on key trends in technology:
- National Income and Growth Disparity
- Loss of Indigenous Cropping Culture
1. National Income and Growth Disparity
Projections
World Bank report suggests that economic growth is an important driver of poverty reduction. However, poverty reduction only materializes if the gains of economic growth are shared across social strata (FAO, 2022a). (FAO, 2017b) used AT2050 projections to describe the plausible economic growth disparities in the future. According to the report, despite the higher annual GDP growth rate in low- and middle-income countries till 2050, the average incomes of the population of low- and middle-income countries would remain only a fraction of those of people living in high-income countries, rising from 8.5 per cent in 2005–7 to 16 percent in 2050. Furthermore, given the large difference in initial levels of per capita GDP, the income gap would continue to widen in absolute terms, from US $25,500 to almost US $40,000.
Table: What different reports say about inequalities in future
Variable | (FAO, 2018)- Gini index in three FAO scenarios | (Global Panel, 2020a) |
Income inequality | BAU- slow reduction of inequality up to 2050 compared with 2012, with the Gini index only dropping from 0.63 to 0.58. If China is not factored into the calculation of this global inequality index, BAU portrays an even larger inequality up to 2050, with the Gini index only falling to 0.63 from an initial 0.67. TSS- more equitable income distribution across countries than BAU, with the Gini index significantly dropping between 2012 and 2050 to 0.46 (or 0.48 if China is excluded). downward trend observed globally in the last decade continues until 2050 SSS- income inequality follows a pattern similar to the BAU scenario up to 2050. | By 2030, the number of people living in fragile settings is projected to reach 2.3 billion, which includes 80% of the global poor. That represents another 500 million people over today’s total |
2. Loss of Indigenous Cropping Culture
Indigenous cropping practices contribute to agricultural biodiversity, resilience, and cultural heritage preservation. The conservation of these cultures and recognition of indigenous knowledge is important for sustainable food production, resilience to environmental stressors, and food system governance that leads to equity and fairness. FAO (FAO, 2022a) and HLPE (HLPE, 2020) reports highlighted that despite the indigenous food systems being the most resilient systems, indigenous people’s knowledge is at the risk of disappearing in the near future due to the lack of dedicated policies and the multitude of issues associated with food industrialisation and urban growth. There is no variable that can illustrate this trend.
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