02 ISSUE X
FEBRUARY 2026
FEBRUARY 2026
food is power
Everyday eating reflects global inequality, shaping access to nutrition and health. One strategy is to fight for indigenous food sovereignty against corporate control.
By Issepa Galillea Eddir
Food gives us nourishment and energy, making it the basis of human existence, second only to water. We perceive it as natural and necessary, but it is not neutral. It is regulated by power, and profit often shapes what people eat, how they eat, and who gets to eat. Modern food systems are shaped by historical forms of colonialism, neoliberal markets and corporate greed. Food is no longer a means of nourishment but rather a tool that transforms diets, disrupts cultures and produces modern forms of inequality. Many of the regions that were once subject to colonial rule, and starved of sustenance and the ability to cultivate, are now faced with the “double burden of malnutrition,” a situation in which communities simultaneously experience diet-related illnesses linked to overconsumption and nutrient deficiencies. What was once scarcity-driven malnutrition has been replaced by diet-related health issues, fueled by the methodical spread of ultra-processed addictive foods. Hunger and obesity coexist within the same communities, households, and bodies. These patterns of difficulty in accessing certain foods are the result of colonial control over food systems.
Image by GETTY Images.
Food systems prior to European colonization were, by and large, diverse, regionally adapted, and sustained through local agricultural practices. Colonial powers, however, established a pattern of seizing fertile land for cash crops such as cotton, coffee, and sugar, and relegating them to export rather than redistributing them back to the community. This effectively displaced traditional and indigenous farming practices and created dependency on the colonial powers and their imported foods. This long history of disruption produced a change in local diets and subsequent food insecurity that has persisted long after the formal end of colonial rule..
As an example, food habits native to East Africa, consisting of indigenous fruits, vegetables, roots and cereals, were systematically eroded over centuries through colonial land dispossession, cash-crop agriculture, and the systematic restructuring of their local food systems. This postulation is known as the “nutrition transition,” that is, a shift away from traditional nutrient-dense diets towards an ultra-processed industrialized diet high in sugars and fats. The “nutrition transition” concept describes how the growth of cities and global food corporations increases the number of people relying on cheap, convenient foods instead of traditional meals. While these introduced foods may be “modern”, they symbolize the continuation of disruptive colonial and global economic processes. As a result, indigenous knowledge of food cultivation, preservation, and preparation has been lost, leaving communities vulnerable to nutritional imbalances.
For the first time in history, childhood obesity has surpassed underweight among school-aged children and adolescents worldwide. UNICEF attributes these trends to the proliferation of ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks that are aggressively marketed, widely available, and often cheaper than nutritious local foods.
While colonial powers controlled dietary habits through land theft and agricultural exports, the current shift in diet is driven by multinational corporations that intentionally and methodically target disadvantaged communities. Corporations also direct their influence towards children, shaping their taste preferences and producing new dietary norms. In marketing ultra-processed foods as convenient and “nutritionally complete,” they have normalised unhealthy foods as staple household items. As a consequence, long-term health complications have become increasingly common.
Conglomerates such as Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo have leveraged global marketing to expand their influence in developing countries, often formerly colonized. Marketing towards children and adolescents has been especially aggressive and largely successful in establishing new consumption patterns, generating both brand loyalty and dependency (UNICEF, 2025). The effects have been significant: unprecedented rates of obesity, diabetes, micronutrient deficiencies, and other diseases. While ultra-processed foods contain calories that cause weight gain, they lack the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for healthy growth, leaving children both overfed and undernourished – a “double burden.”
Beyond sustenance, food is also culture, identity, and community. These are unsettled by the colonial disruption of farming practices and the dominance of modern ultra-processed foods. As a result of corporations popularizing these foods, traditional diets and food systems have become devalued amongst youth. This cultural shift reflects the persistence of ongoing colonial legacies and reinforces global hierarchies.
Food is sustenance. But it is also a means of uncovering how everyday practices such as eating, cooking, and feeding younger generations are directly linked to historical systems of colonialism and modern global power structures. As revealed by the UNICEF report, the dietary patterns of formerly colonized, economically disadvantaged countries are the product of systemic inequalities rather than merely matters of choice or taste. To understand the way that food is shaped by the colonial present is to recognize that food as a site of power continues to manifest in what people eat, how nutrition is accessed and how health disparities are produced. To challenge both historical and contemporary forms of food-based control and foster autonomy, indigenous communities must reclaim their local food systems and prioritize equitable nutrition, whilst opposing corporate multinationals that target their youth.
issepa galilea eddir.