Mitrofanov S. V., Yanbykh R. G., Orlova N. V. Consumption patterns and economic accessibility of rational nutrition in the CIS: Identifying hidden vulnerability // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №3. P. 115-147.

EDN: RSCTOS

Annotation

Traditional approaches to the food security assessment, based on aggregated indicators of production and calorie intake, often hide structural imbalances in diets and economic vulnerability of households. The study aims at identifying hidden forms of food vulnerability and providing a typology of the CIS countries based on consumption patterns and economic access to rational nutrition. The authors address the following tasks: (1) to analyze cross-country differences in the consumption of basic food products; (2) to assess economic factors affecting access to rational nutrition (income, share of food expenditure, purchasing power, poverty, inequality); (3) to develop a typology of countries. The study is based on the data of the Interstate Statistical Committee of the CIS for 2010–2022 on nine countries; the methodology combines statistical, comparative-geographical and cross-tabulation analysis (indicators of dietary diversity, share of food expenditure, quintile ratio, and deviations in the consumption of micronutrient-dense products). The authors argue that formal caloric sufficiency does not guarantee a balanced diet: in some countries, high energy value of the diet is achieved by bread and potatoes, while there is significant underconsumption of meat, milk and vegetables. Four types of hidden vulnerability were identified – from a persistent monotonous diet with a critically high share of food expenditure to “structural inertia”, combining excessive meat consumption with a deficit of vegetables. 36.8% of the region’s population (approximately 84 million people) live in countries with a high share of food expenditure (>40%) and low dietary diversity, which form a “zone of critical vulnerability” – even moderate economic shocks can increase micronutrient deficiencies. The authors emphasize the role of eggs as an affordable source of high-quality animal protein in countries with low consumption of meat and milk. The concept of hidden food vulnerability and the proposed typology provide an empirical basis for monitoring social consequences of economic reforms and coordinating policy measures within the EAEU and CIS.

Keywords

Food security, consumption patterns, economic accessibility, hidden vulnerability, rational nutrition, social differentiation, inequality, CIS.  

About the authors

Sergey V. Mitrofanov, PhD (Agriculture), Head of the Department of Economics of Innovation in Agriculture, Institute of Agrarian Research, National Research University Higher School of Economics. Pokrovsky Bl., 11, Moscow, 109028, Russia.
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Renata G. Yanbykh, DSc (Economics), Head of the Department of Agrarian Policy, Institute of Agrarian Research, National Research University Higher School of Economics. Pokrovsky Bl., 11, Moscow, 109028, Russia.
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Nadezhda V. Orlova, Head of the Institute of Agrarian Research, National Research University Higher School of Economics. Pokrovsky Bl., 11, Moscow, 109028, Russia.
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