World Food Policy Volume/Issue 2-2/3-1 Fall 2015/Spring 2016 | Page 51

World Food Policy - Volume 2 Issue 2/Volume 3 Issue 1, Fall 2015/Spring 2016

What’s Old Is New Again: Innovative Policies to Support
Thai Fresh Markets Within a Healthy Food System
Cathy BanwellA, Jane DixonA, Matthew KellyB, Sam-ang SeubsmanC,
Wimalin RimpeekoolA & Adrian SleighB

Traditionally, Thais have bought their food from fresh markets. However,
recently multi-national supermarket chains have expanded rapidly so that
currently, Thais procure food from both modern a nd traditional retail formats.
If Thailand were to follow the Western pattern, supermarkets will become the
dominant food retail format.
We present a synthesis of 10 years of multidisciplinary research, examining
the contribution of food retail to the Thai nutrition and health transition, to
demonstrate that fresh markets provide access to fresh, affordable, nutritious
foods. Fresh market shoppers have healthier diets and lower chronic disease
risks than other groups.
In the South East Asia context, the protection of fresh markets constitutes a
novel intervention to protect and promote nutrition-sensitive retail. This could
be achieved through policy action nationally, with monitoring of national
and multi-national supermarket chain growth, regionally, with planning to
safeguard fresh markets’ urban locations, and locally, with the development of
food hubs.
Keywords: food system, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, food retail, nutrition
transition, Thailand

A

National Centre for Epidemiology & Population Health, The Research School of Population Health,
ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, The Australian National University.
B
Department of Global Health, The Research School of Population Health, ANU College of Medicine,
Biology and Environment, The Australian National University.
C
School of Human Ecology, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University.
doi: 10.18278/wfp.2.2.3.1.4
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