Perspective: Are Online Food Delivery Services Emerging as Another Obstacle to Achieving the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?

Si Si Jia; Alice A Gibson; Ding Ding; Margaret Allman-Farinelli; Philayrath Phongsavan; Julie Redfern; Stephanie R Partridge

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.858475

Perspective: Are Online Food Delivery Services Emerging as Another Obstacle to Achieving the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?

Front Nutr. 2022 Mar 3:9:858475. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.858475. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Si Si Jia¹, Alice A Gibson^{2

3}, Ding Ding^{3

4}, Margaret Allman-Farinelli^{3

5}, Philayrath Phongsavan^{3

4}, Julie Redfern^{1

6}, Stephanie R Partridge^{1

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Engagement and Co-design Hub, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
² Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁴ Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁵ Nutrition and Dietetics Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁶ The George Institute for Global Health, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Abstract

Online food delivery usage has soared during the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which has seen increased demand for home-delivery during government mandated stay-at-home periods. Resulting implications from COVID-19 may threaten decades of development gains. It is becoming increasingly more important for the global community to progress toward sustainable development and improve the wellbeing of people, economies, societies, and the planet. In this perspective article, we discuss how the rising use of these platform-to-consumer delivery operations may impede advances toward the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specifically, online food delivery services may disrupt SDGs that address good health and wellbeing, responsible consumption and production, climate action and decent work and economic growth. To mitigate potential negative impacts of these meal delivery apps, we have proposed a research and policy agenda that is aligned with entry points within a systems approach identified by the World Health Organization. Food industry reforms, synergised public health messaging and continuous monitoring of the growing impact of online food delivery should be considered for further investigation by researchers, food industry, governments, and policy makers.

Keywords: global health; online food delivery; public health; sustainable development goals; systems approach.