1. Nutrition, Food Supplies
World food supply
Asia
Relative food production by regions
Lat Amer
World
Africa
Former Soviet Union

2. Countries with populations at risk for (Cunningham & Cunningham 2006)
inadequate nutrition
Little risk!
High risk!
(Cunningham & Cunningham 2006)

3. Change in agricultural production in 2000
(Cunningham & Cunningham 2006)

4. Chronically undernourished people in the world
(<90% of min. caloric intake of 2770 calories/day) #
>#
>%
(Cunningham & Cunningham 2006)

5. At risk of eating too much!!??
67%?
10/2002
(Cunningham & Cunningham 2006
World Watch Institute 2001)

6. Nutrition, Food Supplies
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
Reasons: Droughts,
War,
Poverty,
Govt mismanagement

7. Nutrition, Food Supplies
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)

8. 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.

18. The Challenge of Choosing Foods – Variety!

19. 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

20. 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.

21. Countries at risk for food shortages –
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

22. 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).

23. WHY DO DEFICIENCIES EXIST?
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?

24. goiter kwashiorkor marasmus Chronic iodine deficiency
marasmus
goiter
Chronic iodine deficiency
Swollen thyroid gland;
Stunted growth;
Reduced mental ability
‘Displaced child’
Deprived of breast milk
& little protein to eat;
Reddish-orange hair;
puffy, discolored skin;
bloated belly
‘to waste away’
Diet low in calories
& protein;
Thin & shriveled

25. Famine: Some Causes Environmental conditions National politics
drought,
insects,
natural disasters
National politics
poor distribution infra-structure
corruption,
oppression
Armed conflict - war
Economics
price gouging,
poverty,
landlessness

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

27. To help feed the entire world?
GMO (Genetically Modified Organism)???

28. To help feed the entire world?
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

29. 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”

30. World Health Organization (WHO) studies in 2002
20 questions on Genetically Modified Foods:
Conclusion (by WHO) is that -
the environmental safety aspects of GM crops vary considerably according to local conditions
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

31. In summary:
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.