The Lubin Files

FAO publication - Combating Micronutrient Deficiencies: Food-based Approaches

FAO and CAB International have recently published the following book:

Combating Micronutrient Deficiencies: Food-based Approaches

Here is a brief summary:
Micronutrient deficiencies affect more than two billion people in the world today. With long-ranging effects on health, learning ability and productivity they contribute to the vicious cycle of malnutrition, underdevelopment and poverty. Food-based approaches, which include food production, dietary diversification and food fortification, are sustainable strategies for improving the micronutrient status of populations and raising levels of nutrition. Combating Micronutrient Deficiencies: Food-based Approaches focuses on practical, sustainable actions for overcoming micronutrient deficiencies through increased availability, access to and consumption of adequate quantities and appropriate varieties of safe, good quality food.

Click here to access this publication online.

New FAO publication: “The Impact of Climate Change and Bioenergy on Nutrition”

The recent FAO/Springer publication “The Impact of Climate Change and Bioenergy on Nutrition” examines the effects of climate change, bioenergy, and the economic crises of 2007-2010 on food and nutrition security. It shows how climate changes could affect food production through declines in crop yields, aquatic populations and forest productivity, proliferation of invasive insect and plant species and increases in desertification, soil salinization and water stress.

Similarly the pathways by which increased demands for biofuels can negatively affect food and nutrition security including by reducing physical availability and economic access to food and by increasing the risk of disease are described. Biofuel production may reduce women’s control of resources, which may in turn reduce the quality of household diets.

The book provides a unique collection of nutrition statistics, climate change projections, biofuel scenarios and food security information and offers explicit examples of adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate change and biofuel production within the agricultural sector.

Follow-up on Artificial Meat.

In an earlier blog post, the possibility of growing meat in petri dishes was presented as a way to provide a desired food product while avoiding the environmental damages of large scale animal husbandry.  Now the Economist takes up the subject as well.  At the moment it is expensive and not realistic to provide meat grown from stem cells, but is this a realistic option for the future? See the article here.

Farming fish and rice together in China, benefits productivity of both.

A study shows that cultivating fish and rice together provides several benefits in China.  The fish provide fertilizer for and protection from disease and insects to the rice, while the rice provides shade and attracts insects that the fish eat.  The dual crops of rice and carp (a delicacy in China) could double farmer's incomes as well as greatly increase food production.  Learn more from the article in Nature, entitled "Fish and rice flourish together in paddies."

 

Palm oil podcast

Palm oil-- which has long been a staple of diets in Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil-- is increasingly being used in food processing in the rest of the world.  It is valued for its cheapness, and its property of congealing at room temperature.

Since the discovery that oils processed through hydrogenation can be linked to heart disease, palm oil has been creeping as a substitute into processed food and food products like margarine, potato chips, cakes, and crackers.  Hydrogenation converts liquid vegetable oils to solid or semi-solid fats, whereas palm oil "hardens" naturally.

Palm oil often lurks in the ingredient description of many processed food products under the umbrella term of "vegetable oils."

It has been targeted by environmentalists for its impacts on deforestation, habitat loss of endangered species, increased greenhouse gas emissions.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was founded with the aim of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through global standards and certification.

For more information about palm oil, listen to the Monday 31 October episode of the Food Programme podcast, sponsored by the BBC Radio 4.

Could algae crops help fight hunger?

An interesting article in Scientific American discusses several uses for algae, one being its use as a food source.  Where others have searched for an algae that can produce large quantities with few inputs, no one has found it yet.  The scientist in this article discusses genetically modifying algae in order to create the algae desired and achieve the necessary outputs.  His hope is to create algae that might provide not only food, but also fuel while also helping to combat Carbon Dioxide content in the atmosphere.  See more on the subject here.

The link between agricultural production and nutrient consumption.

Research from IFPRI demonstrates an interesting relationship between nutrient intake, labor productivity, and agricultureal income in Uganda. This treatment of nutrition and agricultural productivity may be of interest to anyone working in predominantly agrarian countries with populations suffering malnutrition. See the abstract and link to the PDF of the article here.

Can "in vitro" meat contribute to FAO's mission in the future?

The BBC recently published an article entitled "Grow your own meat", that discusses the use of stem cells from farm animals to grow meat for human consumption.  Much of the article focuses on the benefits to the environment and eliminating the cruel treatment of animals raised for food.  If this "growing" of meat becomes a viable and inexpensive way of providing food, it could contribute greatly to the growing desire for meat as the world's population continues to grow.  The technique could be used on cows, pigs, chickens, fish, and presumably on any indigenous animal eaten around the world.

"Farming First" is working toward many similar goals as FAO!!!

Unlike FAO, Farming First is not an organization, but a coalition.  It is supported by 131 different organizations who all hope to further sustainable agricultural development worldwide.  Farming First was developed in response to the global challenges posed at the 2009 United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-17).

Together, this coalition highlights the importance of improving farmers’ livelihoods and agriculture’s potential contribution to global issues such as food security, climate change, and biodiversity. It also aims to build synergies amongst its supporters in promoting Farming First’s mission.

On their website, you can learn more about the six principles of their action plan: Safeguarding natural resources, Sharing knowledge, Building local access and capacity, Protecting harvests, Enabling access to markets, and Prioritising research imperatives.  Go to their Case Studies page for an interactive map that leads to links about what Farming First is doing worldwide.

Check out the new portal on food safety, animal and plant health

The International Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health (IPFSAPH) is an interactive database for users who require official information on food safety, animal health and plant health. IPFSAPH contains standards, legislation, safety assessments, relevant contacts, and other information for users at all international, regional and national levels in order to facilitate information exchange within countries and regions, and to facilitate international food and agricultural trade.