Why Our Food Systems Need to Be More Nutrition-Smart

Courtesy of Howarth BouisBy Howarth BouisWASHINGTON, Nov 8 2014 (IPS)“We are especially distressed by the high prevalence and increasing numbers of malnourished children under five years of age in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Moreover, more than 2000 million people, mostly women and children, are deficient in one or more micronutrients…”These words are from the Final Report of the International Conference on Nutrition that took place in December 1992 in Rome.The distress is felt most by the poor, whose response is to cut down on the more expensive micronutrient-rich foods while making sure the household gets by on stomach-filling staples. Twenty-two years later, government representatives from around the world will again gather in Rome for the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) and will have to contend with the reality that despite reducing the percentage of people suffering from micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) deficiencies, about the same absolute number of people – two billion – are still not getting the micronutrients that are essential for good health.This is still too high a number; being deprived of essential micronutrients in the first thousand days from conception to a child’s second birthday can result in stunting, lowered IQ, and repeated bouts of illness that reduce lifelong productivity and keep generations in poverty and poor health.So, today, we still face many of the same challenges as w...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Climate Change Development & Aid Economy & Trade Environment Food & Agriculture Global Headlines Health Population Poverty & MDGs TerraViva United Nations Food prices International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) Malnutrition mi Source Type: news