Gender Roles and Food Safety in 20 Informal Livestock and Fish Value Chains

24 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2016

See all articles by Delia Grace

Delia Grace

CGIAR - International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

Kristina Roesel

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

Erastus Kang’ethe

University of Nairobi

Bassirou Bonfoh

Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire

Sophie Theis

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Date Written: December 11, 2015

Abstract

Food-borne disease remains a major public health challenge in Africa and Asia. Most of the foods that carry the highest pathogen risk are produced by smallholder farmers, marketed through the informal sector, and sold in wet markets. Given the significant role of informal markets in African and Asian food systems, attention is invested in understanding (1) how the people that participate in informal markets are exposed to risk, and (2) how they manage risk. We conduct a participatory risk analysis with a gender lens in 20 livestock and fish value chains to study whether gender-based differences influence risk of food-borne disease. We find that socially constructed gender roles are more important determinants of health risk than biological differences between men and women. Variations in risk exposure between men and women are mainly due to gender-based differences in occupational exposure, and secondarily to differences in consumption patterns. Women are important but under-recognized risk managers in the realms of food production, processing, selling, preparation, and consumption. Understanding the influence of gender on risk exposure and management is essential for improving food safety in informal markets.

Keywords: Viet Nam; Vietnam; south east Asia; Asia; Africa; gender; women; livestock; fish; food security; smallholders; markets; food systems; value chains

Suggested Citation

Grace, Delia and Roesel, Kristina and Kang’ethe, Erastus and Bonfoh, Bassirou and Theis, Sophie, Gender Roles and Food Safety in 20 Informal Livestock and Fish Value Chains (December 11, 2015). IFPRI Discussion Paper 1489, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2741313 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2741313

Delia Grace (Contact Author)

CGIAR - International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

P.O. Box 5689
Ababa
Kenya
254-20-422-3070 (Phone)

Kristina Roesel

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) ( email )

P.O. Box 5689
Ababa
Kenya

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.ilri.org/

Erastus Kang’ethe

University of Nairobi ( email )

4139-40200
Nairobi, 40200
Kenya

HOME PAGE: http://www.uonbi.ac.ke/

Bassirou Bonfoh

Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire ( email )

Niangon Sud
Ivory Coast (Cote D'ivoire)

Sophie Theis

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ( email )

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States
+1 202-862-5600 (Phone)
+1 202-467-4439 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.ifpri.org/

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