FOOD AID-THE DOUBLE STANDARDS

Rich countries do have considerations for the sufferings and miseries of people in many third world countries and billions of dollars worth of food are donated under many aid programs. In spite of such generosity, world's poor continue to famish with no hope for reversal of this trend. Though sociologists feel strongly that rich nations must increase the quality and quantity of aid to make any significant impact on poverty and malnutrition, there are practical and logistical problems that need to be overcome if the utopia of universal peace has to be realized. It was only recently that the US was blamed for reducing the impact of the food aid program because of insistence on using only US registered carriers to transport the food to aid receiving countries though the freight cost was 60% more than other carriers. Similarly aid givers are blamed for dumping the surplus food grains from their own countries into the recipient countries incurring high costs where as same money if spent on buying the grains locally would have covered more beneficiaries. Here is another criticism about the inadequate nutrition quality of food blends presently being distributed for the benefit of children less than two years old which has the potential to stunt the growth of children. Probably such a thing has happened because of inadequate evaluation of the impact of these types of programs periodically.

"A US-backed campaign highlighting the importance of quality nutrition in a child's first 1,000 days contradicts its own food aid policy for developing countries, says a medical charity. The 1,000 Days campaign was prompted by findings published in The Lancet in 2008 confirming that the first two years of life were a "window of opportunity", when nutrition programmes had an enormous impact on a child's development, with life-long benefits. Yet, the US delivers US$2 billion worth of food aid largely comprising corn soya blend containing no animal-source food, which is not ideal for children younger than two or moderately malnourished children, says Emi MacLean, US manager for the Access Campaign for Essential Medicines of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). MSF has been lobbying for some years for reforms in international food aid for young children, who are most affected in a food security crisis. Providing quality nutrition in the first 1,000 days can save a million children every year, according to a new effort by UN and other partners to scale-up nutrition in poor countries. Most international food aid consists of blended flour, which does not include animal-source protein such as milk and essential minerals and vitamins. However, most European donors now provide money to buy food, rather than donations. In response to MSF's criticism, a US Agency for International Development (USAID) spokeswoman pointed to a blog post written by Ertharin Cousin, the US ambassador to the UN agencies in Rome. While Cousin did not address the nutritional deficiencies in the aid the US provides, she noted that the US Congress had earmarked $14 million for a pilot project to "field-test new or improved micronutrient-fortified food aid products" and to innovate around the nutritional content and composition of food aid products".

It is true that milk proteins are considered to be the best one in terms of amino acid profile besides the presence of f almost all essential nutrients present in this omnipotent food. How ever the protein cost from milk can be quite high compared to that from plant proteins and the aid givers have the Hobson's choice regarding the quality versus quantity consideration. If milk solids are included the cost invariably will go up and the coverage will obviously be less. The willingness on the part of USA to have a re-look at the program and consider bringing about improvements is itself a positive development. One can only hope that the new micro-nutrient fortified food aid products being developed and field-tested would remedy the present lacunae in the program.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

CHILD NUTRITION-THE NEW "DOUBLE-EDGED" INITIATIVE

School feeding program is considered a socially driven necessity with multi-dimensional impact. Billions of dollars are invested in these national programs run in many countries with a fond hope that the health of children, growing to become the responsible citizens of tomorrow, is not adversely affected due to negligence. In a country like India school feeding is more targeted, the major objective being improving attendance. A rich country like the US is very much concerned with school feeding and this has to be understood against the present health crisis facing the country with over weight and obese population approaching the fearsome 40% mark. Probably it may be an indirect reflection of the shirking of parental responsibility because most well to do parents do not inculcate the habit of consuming balanced foods at home. Schools provide an ideal avenue for "guiding" the children regarding good and bad foods. Banning of vending machines and junk foods in schools can help to some extent in reforming the eating habits but to what extent such efforts can replace parental responsibility remains to be seen.

"The bill is a top priority for the Obama Administration and a key component of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign to end the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation. "There is no better investment--no better stimulus to our economy--than feeding this nation's children healthy and well," said well-known chef and Top Chef host, Tom Colicchio before Congress yesterday. "Let's fund school lunches and breakfasts at a spending level that significantly raises the quality and variety of what schools can afford, and get rid of junk food in vending machines once and for all. "We are on the brink of a national health crisis that is affecting our youngest children," said committee chairman George Miller (D-CA) at the hearing. Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Nearly one in three children is obese."

"We want to empower schools to help improve meal quality, to change children's lives and take the issue of children's health seriously," said Miller, as he outlined four central tenets of the bill: (1) increase access to healthy food during the school day, (2) improve food safety and recall process in schools, (3) increase the reimbursement rate for school meals for the first time in 30 years, (4) extend nutrition programs to meet needs beyond the traditional school year. On top of targeting both obesity and hunger crises facing millions of Americans eligible for federal nutritional programs, the bill contains specific food safety language. The legislation responds directly to a September Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found a lack of coordination in communicating food safety problems to schools. The bill calls for improved communication to speed notification of recalled school foods consistent with GAO recommendations and ensuring all food service employees have access to food safety training to prevent and identify food-borne illness such as through Web-based training.

Food safety is assuming serious proportion in the US with massive recalls involving billions of dollars suspected to be contaminated or safety compromised and the credibility of the food security system is increasingly coming under the scanner. The health dimension to the food is probably more difficult to comprehend for evolving a definitive proactive policy but the broad contour of any policy must deal with excessive calories, high fat content and higher levels of salt in every day foods one eats. This is where the new administrative dispensation in the US is attempting to bring about far reaching changes.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com