Good and healthy food in the metropolitan area

The percentage of Catalan products sold at Mercabarna was 53% in 1988, while in 2023 it was only 15%. This figure, which appears in a study presented this Thursday by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, perfectly summarizes the difficulty that the metropolitan population of Barcelona has in finding fresh, quality products close to home. In fact, the vast majority of the inhabitants of this large urban conurbation (88.65%) live in areas where the main food offering is ultra-processed products, with few fresh or healthy options.

This difficulty in accessing quality food is especially acute in low-income neighborhoods, due to its high price, which in turn has significantly reduced the supply of markets and other food establishments. The report identifies some of these black spots, such as Torrassa, in Hospitalet de Llobregat; Fondo, in Santa Coloma de Gramenet; and Ciutat Meridiana, in Barcelona. This leads to growing territorial and social inequality in access to food, which ultimately impacts other indicators, such as life expectancy. This is especially serious for children and young people, as poor nutrition at these ages can have lifelong consequences.

The report criticizes this inequality, but its content actually challenges us about the food system as a whole. Ours has become a luxury only available to certain social classes, when historically, thanks to the importance of agriculture and livestock farming and the characteristics of the Mediterranean diet, this had not been the case. It has become an unattainable dream.

The report highlights other interesting points, such as the importance of markets in guaranteeing access to fresh products. The report emphasizes the role of Mercabarna, which was born as a public platform that aimed to guarantee the supply of fresh products to the population, is key in this circuit. It is also important in our environment, but it is up to the administrations to design policies that guarantee equal access to healthy food.