Biological Inflation: Why Food Security Without Nutrition Is a Mirage

South Africa may celebrate record-breaking harvests of maize and grain, but full silos do not guarantee healthy citizens. Despite producing ample calories, the nation faces a severe malnutrition crisis marked by child stunting, anaemia, and rising lifestyle diseases, driven by a quiet phenomenon known as biological inflation. Modern agricultural methods, soil degradation, industrial processing, and rising atmospheric carbon dioxide have stripped essential micronutrients from basic crops. To secure true food security, the country must look beyond sheer tonnage and start measuring harvests by their nutritional yield per hectare.