Big Brands Are Fuelling the Business of Nutrition

Dr Myriam Sidibe is a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School and is on sabbatical leave from Unilever.   Jane Nelson directs the Center’s Corporate Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School.By Dr Myriam Sidibe and Jane NelsonCAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Oct 29 2018 (IPS)Food is an increasingly hot topic, no matter if you are rich or poor. Malnutrition – including undernutrition, overweight and obesity – affects 1 in 3 people around the world. When it comes to the link between health and nutrition, consumers in both developed and emerging economies are facing high social and economic costs of being malnourished. While governments must take the lead in tackling malnutrition, this situation presents untapped commercial opportunities to develop new products and market-based solutions to deliver more nutritious foods. As people and policymakers wise up to the importance of eating a varied and healthy diet, an increasing number of commercial enterprises are springing up to satisfy this growing demand. It is in this context that over 200 experts recently gathered at the Nutrition Africa Investment Forum in Nairobi. The forum offered a platform for fresh ideas to develop the food value chain and to mobilize private sector investment and innovation to enhance nutrition in Africa.Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are widely acknowledged as key to the economic development of Africa. This is just as tru...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Development & Aid Economy & Trade Food & Agriculture Global Green Economy Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations Trade & Investment Source Type: news