Milk insecurity: accounts of a food insecurity phenomenon in Canada and its relation to public policy.

摘要

The phenomenon of milk insecurity among low-income lone mothers in Nova Scotia, Canada, was investigated. Focus group and in-depth interviews were conducted and analysed to assess challenges mothers faced in accessing milk for their families, and the ways in which they coped with milk scarcity. Milk insecurity is a distinct feature of food insecurity for this population, with potentially serious health implications. Just as food insecurity is structurally determined through inadequate income, so too is milk insecurity. However, in Canada it is further exacerbated by public policy that sets the price of this staple too high relative to the purchasing power of the poor.