Nutrition, Food Supplies

World food supply 1960-1998

Relative food production by regions

Africa

Former

Soviet Union

World

Asia

Lat Amer

(Cunningham & Cunningham 2006)

Countries with populations at risk for

inadequate nutritionLittle risk!

High risk!

(Cunningham & Cunningham 2006)

Change in agricultural production in 2000

(Cunningham & Cunningham 2006)

Chronically undernourished people in the world(<90% of min. caloric intake of 2770 calories/day)

#

>%

>#

(Cunningham & Cunningham 2006World Watch Institute 2001)

At risk of eating too much!!??

67%?10/2002

• Sub-Saharan Africa: food production has not kept pace with rapid population growth

Why???

• In sub-Sahara, 35 out of 40 countries had decreasing food production last 20 years

Nutrition, Food Supplies

Reasons: Droughts, War, Poverty, Govt mismanagement

Nutrition, Food Supplies

http://www.nordictrack.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/product/nt/product_v4.d2w/report?prmenbr=153&prrfnbr=105197&cgrfnbr=46526&rootcat=46525

In richer countries, the most common dietary problem is over-nutrition (too many calories).

Average daily caloric intake in North America and Europe is 3,500 calories (2770/day needed for healthy, active life)

Importance of Diet• At least half of all Americans are considered

overweight (about 1/3 are obese).

• Strong correlation between cardiovascular disease and the amount of salt and animal fat in one’s diet

• Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, complex carbohydrates, and dietary fiber have beneficial health effects.

• Eating too much food has negative effects on health.

The Challenge of Choosing Foods – Variety!

Nutrition, Food Supplies• Asia has experienced

the most rapid increase in crop production (esp. China, Indonesia tripled food production in less than decade).

• Ex. In Indonesia, in 4 years had worlds biggest rice reserves from being worlds biggest importer of rice

Malaysia, palm oil

Food Security• Food security - the ability to obtain sufficient

food on a day-to-day basis• About 800 million people are chronically hungry (200

million are children) – 1 in 5 in developing world.• Chronic undernourishment in children leads to:

permanently stunted growth, mental retardation, other social and developmental disorders.

• Higher incidence of infectious diseases when undernourished.

• Poverty is the greatest threat to food security.• Within families that don’t get enough to eat, women

and children have the poorest diets.

Countries at risk for food shortages – high risk in orange color, low risk in white

Greatest risk: sub-Sahara Africa, Southeast & South Asia, parts of Latin America. Little risk: US, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia

Essential Nutrients

• Malnourishment - a nutritional imbalance caused by a lack of specific dietary components or an inability to utilize essential nutrients

• Richer countries eat too much meat, salt, fat and not enough fiber, vitamins etc since foods are so processed

• The number of people with allergies has gone up and has not been helped by the chemicals (hormones) used to speed up the rate at which animals accumulate biomass (the food source).

Essential Nutrients• Starchy foods like corn and polished rice

tend to be low in several essential nutrients

• Protein deficiency diseases - kwashiorkor, marasmus

• Iron deficiency - anemia - most severe in India

• Iodine deficiency - goiter, hyperthyroidism

WHY DO DEFICIENCIES EXIST?

kwashiorkor

marasmusgoiterhttp://www.healthcentral.com/mhc/img/img1164.cfm

‘Displaced child’Deprived of breast milk& little protein to eat;Reddish-orange hair; puffy, discolored skin; bloated belly

Chronic iodine deficiency Swollen thyroid gland;

Stunted growth;Reduced mental ability

‘to waste away’Diet low in calories

& protein; Thin & shriveled

• Environmental conditions– drought,

– insects,

– natural disasters

• National politics– poor distribution infra-structure

– corruption,

– oppression

• Armed conflict - war• Economics

– price gouging,

– poverty,

– landlessness

Famine: Some Causes

The aid policies of rich countries often serve to: get rid of surplus food and temporarily decrease starvation but do not deal with root causes of starvation; set up feeding camps but do not deal with growing own crops, etc.

Dealing with Underlying Causes of Famine?Famine causes people to use up their productive capacity (killing their animals, eating stored grains), mass migrations

To help feed the entire world?

• GMO (Genetically Modified Organism)???

To help feed the entire world?or• Selective breeding for desirable traits

For example, to • help control erosion and maintain soil productivity, • increase productivity by matching

plant traits to land capability, • mitigating land-use impacts • land rehabilitation & revegetation

http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/es/research/breeding.htm

To help feed the entire world?• New foods? Eg,

– insects (micro-livestock),58-75% protein by weight,3-4x protein-rich as beef, fish or eggs,

– Winged beans (tropical legume), many edible parts so called “supermarket on the stalk”

World Health Organization (WHO)

studies in 20021. 20 questions on Genetically Modified Foods:

Conclusion (by WHO) is that - the environmental safety aspects of GM crops vary considerably according to local conditions

2. Preventing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life:Top 10 Risks are Tobacco, alcohol, unsafe water, sanitation & hygiene, high cholesterol, indoor smoke from solid fuels, childhood & maternal underweight, unsafe sex, high blood pressure, iron deficiency, & overweight/obesity

• A poor environment will contribute to a poor diet and negatively affect nutrition (and too much food can also be bad).

• Poor nutrition may contribute to diseases & their emergence.

• Also social factors (govts, war, policy, economics, etc) may affect nutrition and hence diseases.

• Global organizations have been developed to help solve these global problems.

In summary: