This is the second in a series of blog posts representing the voices of several Fix My Food youth advocates.
Fix My Food South Africa is a coalition of young people advocating for a fairer food system where healthy food is available, accessible, and affordable for every child and youth.
This post shares the story of Owami Malobola (20), a student at the University of Pretoria and a passionate Fix My Food advocate.
In 2022 I had a health scare. I knew it was a sign to make lifestyle changes, and it was necessary to adopt a healthy diet.
I would read food packaging labels to check the ingredients and quite frankly, I was left confused! I couldn’t understand what the ingredients were nor how much of it was in the product and good for me.
I also quickly realised that I could not trust the health claims that were boldly emblazoned on the front of packaging. Very often the claim of “no sugar” or “high in fibre” was not the case when I read through the list of ingredients.
Products that I thought were healthy – such as energy drinks, breakfast cereals, and many ready-to-go meals – are filled with added sugars, fats, salts, colours, emulsifiers, flavours and other harmful additives that have been directly linked to more than 30 harmful health effects globally, including obesity, numerous non-communicable diseases ( including heart disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes and adverse mental health) as well as early death.
“It was a very frustrating time. I found it difficult to find the right healthy foods with unclear or misleading food labels. My experience brought home the flaws in the food environment!”
This realisation led me to joining the Fix My Food movement. And the more I learnt, the more I realised that we must stand together and act now!
We need government to act to ensure that healthier options are truly accessible, transparent, and aligned with the needs of consumers. I stand behind the open letter that Fix My Food has sent to the Minister of Health.
“We need to ensure that everyone has the information they need to make the right choices for their health!”
Add your voice and support the growing movement to improve the food environment in South Africa.
