Sustainable food supply

1. Sustainable food supply Geraldine McNeill g.mcneill@abdn.ac.uk

2. ‘Double burden’ of nutrition • Obesity is rising rapidly in lower and middle income countries, particularly among urban populations, leading to increases in chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes BUT • Undernutrition remains common in rural areas, particularly among the poor, notably in women and children, and other disadvantaged groups

3. Food security • The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”. • Requires • Food availability • Food access • Appropriate food use (water, sanitation…)

4. Undernutrition • Chronic undernutrition defined by FAO/WHO as having <2250 kcal/d • Total numbers approx. 1 Billion • Over 60% of these are in S Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa • Decreasing proportions in S and SE Asia and Latin America,but increasing overall numbers • Micronutrient deficiences e.g. iron are also common • 1 in 4 children under 5 are stunted or wasted • 1 in 3 Africans are chronically malnourished • 2 in 5 pregnant women are anaemic

5. Future challenges • Preventing switch from plant-based to meat and processed food based diets • Preventing rising food prices due to speculation • Ensuring that fair prices are paid for food imports from LMICs • Ensuring that rural populations, particularly women and children, have a more varied diet • Improving nutrition for those with chronic disease esp. HIV-AIDS

6. Sustainable food supply • Optimise land use in all regions of the world, taking into account climate and water issues • Ensure equity in international food trade • Make meeting all nutritional needs a priority, not just providing calories • Improve nutritional surveillance • Increase capacity in emergency nutrition programmes