In those circumstances “numerous daily challenges mean constantly weighing up if you have the time and income. This means food-related decisions are economic decisions too,” he explains.
An economist and Professor of Food Systems, Nutrition, and Sustainability at the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food, his current work focuses on improving the access of disadvantaged communities and people to nutritious foods.
He was the team leader for the landmark 2023 report by the High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) Reducing inequalities for food security and nutrition, and co-leads a project researching how to use rural markets to deliver improved nutrition in two of the poorest states in India.
It was “unexpected and very exciting,” he says, to be named as one of ten 2024 Goalkeepers Champions by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The list spotlights individuals from across the globe leading the way towards a more nourished world and making transformative progress on tackling malnutrition.
The markets project, funded by BMGF and the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), is trying out ideas and co-designing policy with the Indian Government.
It requires a policy rethink because until now governments have supported cereal crops, whereas fruit, vegetables, meat, milk, and eggs are the most critical to nutrition. “Governments can help shape rural markets by providing complementary investments to support access to perishable foods,” says Professor Shankar.
Supportive policies include tapping into the economic drivers of small-scale farmers, making credit available, and encouraging cooperatives to strengthen collective bargaining. Investment can implement gender-positive policies that recognise the multiple pressures felt by female consumers who are also farmers and responsible for childcare.
“We can take existing markets and make them nutrition-friendly by ensuring availability of healthy foods, by improving food safety, and by providing spaces where women can feel comfortable and safe areas where children can play,” he says. The project still has “lots of hard work to do to produce a proof of concept that these things are possible.”
Professor Shankar was born in southern India and went to university in Madras (now Chennai). A PhD in America in agricultural development preceded a post at the University of Reading. That is where he was when the WHO (World Health Organisation) and FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation) released groundbreaking findings on the relationship of diet, nutrition, and physical activity to chronic diseases and proposed global dietary goals.
Motivated by his concern and interest in inequality, it triggered Professor Shankar to investigate “which groups of populations were disadvantaged and struggled the most,” and led to a project with the European Union exploring a basket of policies to improve health and nutrition. “Back then we were looking at potential policies like sugar taxes,” says Professor Shankar, “so it is really interesting to see that being played out now.”
It was also the beginning of an interdisciplinary dialogue on nutrition, delving into its links with agriculture and health. Over the next decade, this novel approach by groups across the world produced a progression of blue-sky thinking. “From how to improve nutrition in kitchen gardens with a bit of kit and training, to increasing the diversity of crops and supporting livestock transfers, to the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) working on biofortification to make staple foods more nutritious,” he explains.
The approach has moved on again. “From 2020 the community started to look beyond nutrition to include the climate agenda. Good climate action is good nutrition action,” says Professor Shankar. It is a “golden opportunity,” to address both.
He notes the leading role the UK Government played in the past to tackle global nutrition, and that funding for ODA (Official Development Assistance) has come under pressure recently. “But malnutrition is the number one solvable problem,” he says. “Bill Gates understands that big improvements can be accomplished in a reasonable time frame.”
It is no surprise that Professor Shankar advocates there is a strong economic argument to do just that, stressing “Investing in nutrition has a large multiplier effect. It gives a lot of bang for the buck.”
He – like us – is delighted to become part of the UAMH alliance, describing it as the glue binding nutrition allies, helping to translate research into messages that can connect with Parliamentarians. “It makes perfect sense for me to join,” he says.
His ambition is for the markets project to go from strength to strength and does not stop there. “It would be hugely gratifying,” to take a lead on bringing more equity into food systems, he says. “It is an issue close to my heart. I want to focus on the disadvantaged the most, supporting workable policy instruments that do not simply pay lip service to the idea that no one is left behind.”
