FRESH POINTE
ABSTRACT In recent years, due to Covid19 and military conflicts, the world has faced unforeseeable market conditions. Where global trade plummeted, and prices of goods significantly increased. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the overall consumer price index of food prices is 10.1% higher than in May 2021. Leading to growing concern about food security; nations are either incapable of producing enough food to feed their people or are vulnerable because of global external factors that affect the food supply. As a result, any economic or environmental risk at this point can jeopardize the availability and affordability of food. Like the UAE, despite recent efforts to convert 7,237 square kilometers of desert into farmable land, agriculture accounts for only 3% of the UAE’s GDP. Since the 1900s, the UAE but more specifically Dubai gained its reputation as a trading hub; immigrants would choose Dubai as their home due to its affordability and strategic location along the trade route. Farmlands at the time were mainly palm trees since they could survive with little to no water. They would visit Dubai creek, where Indian and Persian merchants sold fruits close to the trading ships for easier accessibility. In doing so, the community unintentionally created dynamic markets for commerce and chatter between different backgrounds. Today, Dubai has welcomed over 200 nationalities, and the population is forever growing. The creek is still present, and the people are still here, however the interaction between consumer and seller has diluted into big chain supermarket-dominance. Once a vital aspect of a Dubaian lifestyle, a marketplace where people gather, strengthen social ties, and commerce has been wiped to nonexistence. This research aims to explore the UAE’s response to food security, analyze the significance of marketplaces and their symbolic importance in societies, and examine the connection between rural-urban linkage. In times of modernity and globalization, it will assess the need for a market space for cultural preservation and food security.
ABSTRACT
In recent years, due to Covid19 and military conflicts, the world has faced unforeseeable market conditions. Where global trade plummeted, and prices of goods significantly increased. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the overall consumer price index of food prices is 10.1% higher than in May 2021. Leading to growing concern about food security; nations are either incapable of producing enough food to feed their people or are vulnerable because of global external factors that affect the food supply. As a result, any economic or environmental risk at this point can jeopardize the availability and affordability of food. Like the UAE, despite recent efforts to convert 7,237 square kilometers of desert into farmable land, agriculture accounts for only 3% of the UAE’s GDP. Since the 1900s, the UAE but more specifically Dubai gained its reputation as a trading hub; immigrants would choose Dubai as their home due to its affordability and strategic location along the trade route. Farmlands at the time were mainly palm trees since they could survive with little to no water. They would visit Dubai creek, where Indian and Persian merchants sold fruits close to the trading ships for easier accessibility. In doing so, the community unintentionally created dynamic markets for commerce and chatter between different backgrounds. Today, Dubai has welcomed over 200 nationalities, and the population is forever growing. The creek is still present, and the people are still here, however the interaction between consumer and seller has diluted into big chain supermarket-dominance. Once a vital aspect of a Dubaian lifestyle, a marketplace where people gather, strengthen social ties, and commerce has been wiped to nonexistence. This research aims to explore the UAE’s response to food security, analyze the significance of marketplaces and their symbolic importance in societies, and examine the connection between rural-urban linkage. In times of modernity and globalization, it will assess the need for a market space for cultural preservation and food security.
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FOOD SECURITY
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1.1 Challenges During the Pandemic
COVID-19 has severely disturbed people’s lives, an
unprecedented challenge with immediate public and
economic health consequences. It fundamentally altered
global relationships. People started to learn social
distancing, wear face masks while walking and shopping,
and smile with their eyes more. The pandemic
elevated the possibility of a global food crisis in a short
period. To control the spread of Covid, Governments
have imposed lockdowns that have forced many businesses
to close, restricted travel, closed borders to trade
in food products, and imposed curfews that have disrupted
economic activity (Swinnen and McDermott 8).
Furthermore, public health responses to COVID-19 have
had severe economic implications. According to The
World Bank, the world economy will contract by more
than 5%, the most significant drop since World War II,
demonstrating that localized hunger and instability can
lead to global problems. This economic crisis resulted in
increased unemployment and significant disruption of
food systems and supply chains; labor, transportation,
and trade ceased. Furthermore, the pandemic is altering
our relationship with food in ways that go beyond
the kitchen. People became concerned about the food
supply and relied more on the emergency food system.
The pandemic exposed many of the world’s challenges,
particularly food fragilities in low-income labor
systems such as those for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Supply chains have broken down due to the virus’s spread
and many policy restrictions, causing consumer prices to
rise. Producer prices, on the other hand, are falling, increasing
food insecurity for urban and rural populations.
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