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After meeting with President Jair Bolsonaro (without party), the president of the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Abras), João Sanzovo Neto, defended the substitution of rice for pasta.
“We will be promoting the consumption of pasta, pasta, which is a substitute for rice. And we will guide consumers who do not store,” he said.
Amid rising food prices, the suggestion soon sparked comparisons to the phrase “Don’t have bread? Eat brioches!”, Which became a legend when attributed to Marie Antoinette, although there is no record of actually being say for her. The expression became a symbol of the lack of understanding of the nobility in relation to the needs of the population.
From time to time, the Brazilian hears a suggestion of a product to be replaced at the table. In September 2014, in the face of high food inflation, Márcio Holland, then Secretary of Economic Policy of the Ministry of Finance, suggested that the Brazilian population be alert to the possibility of replacing meat with poultry and eggs.
Now the discussion is about carbohydrates. Although other foods have been priced even higher this year, it is rice that has dominated the debate: it has been almost 20% more expensive since the beginning of the year, while the price of mulatinho beans rose 32.6% , from zucchini. , 46.8%, and onion, 50.4%, according to data published on Wednesday (09/09) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
BBC News Brazil heard from experts in the areas of nutrition, sociology and economics on what factors should be taken into account when discussing the substitution of rice for pasta. A spoiler: at least in the city of São Paulo, pasta is still more expensive than rice.
1. Inflation
The suggestion of substitution came from the high price of rice: although this year it rose 19.25% until August, the price of pasta remained stable, according to IBGE data.
Rice rose in all surveyed regions, reaching an increase of 27.8% in Salvador. The price of pasta has risen slightly in some regions and has fallen in others, resulting in a variation equal to zero when we think of the entire country.
Economist Fábio Terra, professor of economics at the Federal University of ABC, explains that the logic behind the suggestion in the exchange of products is the so-called substitution effect, which, in this case, consists of replacing the demand for rice with the demand pasta. However, he considers that, in practice, the change is not as simple as economic theory wants.
“The foundation that we put in the theory of the economy does not consider culture, taste, routine, habit. So it is very easy to say that rice is replaced with pasta, but 95% of Brazilians eat rice. It is not such a simple change to make. “
Almost 95% of Brazilians consume rice and more than half do so at least once a day, says Conab.
Image: Getty Images
A study by the National Supply Company (Conab), published in 2015, mentions that “almost 95% of Brazilians consume rice and more than half do so at least once a day.” The same document indicates that the national consumption preference is long and fine class rice, commercially known as “needle rice”.
Terra recalls that the increase in the price of rice is a combination of factors and many are outside of Brazil. “There is a shock going on, in part, because there may have been an increase in demand (due to the fact that people are more at home, and not because of emergency aid), and this is combined with the harvest from international producers that They have not yet started and exports from Brazil have increased significantly. “
2. Shelf price and performance
The rate of increase in the price of rice does not mean, however, that a kilo of rice has necessarily become more expensive than pasta, especially considering regional differences.
Data from the survey of the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese) in 17 capitals point to an average price of a kilo of rice that ranges from R $ 3.20 in Curitiba to R $ 4.54 in Rio de Janeiro in August . In São Paulo, the average is R $ 3.37.
The average price of a 500g pasta package in August was R $ 2.64 in the municipality of São Paulo. This means that the average kilo of pasta (R $ 5.28) is still more expensive than the average kilo of rice. (There is no data on the price of pasta in other capitals since the item is not part of Dieese’s basic basket).
The research coordinator for Dieese’s basic basket, Patrícia Costa, recalls that pasta is made with wheat flour and a large part of the wheat consumed in Brazil is imported. “Importing food with the real devalued means paying more for grain in real and making the average value of derivatives more expensive, as seen in the price of pasta and French bread.”
He also points out that “it is very difficult for Brazilian families to pay for the increase in such basic and important products as rice, pasta, meat, milk, French bread.”
UnB Nutrition professor Raquel Botelho recalls that, in order not to fall into a trap, it is important to compare prices taking into account the value of the kilo, and not the package of pasta (which, in general, contains 500g of the product).
Specialist in the area of dietary technique, which includes cooking and preparations, also points out that rice yields more than pasta. According to her, a one kilo bag of rice, well prepared, yields at least 2 kg in the pot. If it is a type 1 rice, it can reach 2.5 kg after preparation. As for pasta, according to her, the trend is not to exceed 2kg.
Rice has become almost 20% more expensive since the beginning of the year in Brazil and should continue to increase in the short term
Image: Thinkstock
3. Nutritional characteristics
The sociologist Carlos Alberto Dória, author of the book “Una cocina caipira de Paulistânia”, says that there is a “colonialist perspective” in the speech of the supermarket representative, who only points to pasta as a substitute for rice. Remember that Brazil has alternatives of nutritional quality and flavor.
“Rice is opposed not only to pasta, but also to other carbohydrates, such as corn flour, cassava flour, couscous, important in Brazilian food from north to south.”
The “Food Guide for the Brazilian Population”, of the Ministry of Health, indicates that rice is the main representative of the group of cereals in Brazil and that the most frequent consumption is in the mixture with beans. In the group of cereals, there are also corn (including cereals and flour) and wheat (including cereals, flour, pasta and bread), as well as oats and rye.
So why mention just pasta? Dória says it is the “logic of the supermarket”: pasta is more standardized and has various price ranges, while more regional solutions are mainly linked to family farming or small local industries.
Raquel Botelho says that, looking exclusively at macronutrients, pasta is a substitute for rice, but she discourages substitution.
“In terms of calories, if it is pure rice and pure pasta, there is no difference. They are similar. But we do not eat pure, but garlic and oil, tomato sauce, white sauce. Depending on how to combine, there is a calorie.”
The value of rice, he says, is exactly in the popular combination with beans. For this reason, he says, the population should be encouraged to consume rice and beans, which is a “marker of identity in Brazil.”
“The combination of rice and beans is very happy because rice has an amino acid that beans do not have and vice versa. They complement each other. That is why, as nutritionists, we encourage consumption, especially in populations that do not consume as much animal protein. a way of minimally guaranteeing the supply of these amino acids “.
He points out that beans are a source of iron and fiber, especially important in a population that consumes fewer and fewer fruits and vegetables.
“By taking rice and beans, you take fiber from the Brazilian diet.”
But can’t you eat macaroni and beans?
May. Raquel Botelho says, however, that the combination of the two is not as common in Brazil as rice and beans.
Dória recalls the popular pasta fagioli in Italy, which is a kind of bean soup with noodles.
“When people say it doesn’t fit, there is first an elitist bias and second, lack of knowledge, because one of the most popular things in Brazil is rice, beans and pasta, all in the same dish.”
4. Sensitivity to gluten
Another important factor pointed out by the nutritionist is that the pasta contains gluten.
As an estimated 10% of the population is sensitive to gluten, according to her, pasta is not an option for these people. This percentage includes celiac, allergic and gluten sensitive.
“The alternative would be … rice noodles,” he says.
