Malnutrition

Feed Your Head, Feed the Poor

I have that charitable musical album "Feed the World" (let them know it's Christmastime), on vinyl, from back in the day. Things haven't changed all that much.

Then again, in 2006, Professor Popkin from the University of North Carolina, said there were now more overweight people across the world than undernourished people. He told the International Association of Agricultural Economists the number of overweight people had topped one billion (of which 300 million are obese), compared with 800 million undernourished.

As of 2008, malnutrition continues to be a worldwide problem, particularly in lesser developed countries. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, "850 million people worldwide were undernourished in 1999 to 2005, the most recent years for which figures are available" and the number of malnourished people has recently been increasing. The Wikipedia article quotes 852 million hungry people currently. That this number continues to suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition in a time of unprecedented plenty is obscene, in my opinion. These people lead a life of misery and are denied the most basic of human rights: the right to food.

The United Nations Development Program estimates that the basic health and nutrition needs of the world's poorest people could be met for an additional $13 billion a year. Animal lovers in the United States and Europe spend more than that on pet food each year. In developing countries nearly 16 million children die every year from preventable and treatable causes. Sixty percent (9.6M) of these deaths are from hunger and malnutrition. Another source says 36,000 children die from malnutrition per day (13.14M/yr), and that over 230 million children below the age of five suffer from malnutrition.

In any case, $13B is nothing (in a $48T economy), and it's basically criminal that the world hasn't stopped this problem yet. Healthy food is a basic human right.

Is the following still current?:
a)Over a third of the world's malnourished children live in India (with 53% for the proportion of India's children being malnourished (in '92-'93)).

b)We have the food. World agriculture produces 17 percent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, despite a 70 percent population increase. This is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per person per day (FAO 2002, p.9). Only 2300 to 2400 calories a day are required to sustain an adult. (United Nations FAO says the average American consumes 3770 calories .) Questions: if everyone ate 2400 kcal or less, could the extra production be saved for the future? Also, if everyone ate 2720 kcal, how strong and fit could they be (bodybuilders would eat more, children would eat less, so 2720's an average).

info
1.http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000404.htm (a medical overview)
2.http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/world/africa/28malnutrition.html (effects on african populations)
3.http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm (must read)
4.http://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/stats.htm (some stimulating stats)
5.http://www.ied.info/books/www/feedingtheworld.html (on history, beef, and processing)
6.http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/subjindx/113hung.htm (unicef pleas to save millions of lives, and prevent the (living) plight of a)brain damage, b)stunting, c)wastage, and d)low weight).

organizations
1.http://www.bread.org/BFW-Institute/
2.http://www.savethechildren.org/programs/hunger-malnutrition/
3.http://www.disasterlogistics.org/html/efforts.html
4.http://youtube.com/watch?v=e-XMu1YzLsU (video of Dr's without borders)
MSF champions widespread distribution of 'nutrient-enriched food pastes' for children, the primary malnourishment demographic.

Solutions
1.good: about spirulina (video)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sMmjkP71BRo
http://www.antenna.ch/en/malnutrition/spirulina-study.html
SUPPORT SPIRULINA (that's my S.S.)

2.bad (in a way): biotech quickfixes
http://www.biotech-info.net/engineering.html

3.weird, maybe (until you click through)
http://media.bloggingbaby.com/2007/09/14/peanut-butter-solution-to-malnutrition/

hodgepodge (a warning about statistics)
http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/populate.asp
(which incorrectly (?) states that 33% (or 50%!) of humanity is malnourished; 850M people is about 12.7% of 6.7B).

Kevin Carter's Pullitzer Prize winning 1994 photograph of a starving girl is quite powerful.
http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/odds_and_oddities/ultimate_in_unfair.htm

I think prime agricultural land should not be given to tobacco farmers, or even wine grape growers, if people need rice or grain, for example. I believe in sobriety. And as much as we all seem to like beef, it's really not the most environmental or efficient alternative.

On beef
1.http://www.international-web.com/mambo_nandita/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=33
2.http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/bal-fo.kasper20feb20,0,7470279.column
3.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFCeV8vFzlo

Two points of my own: 1. What ever happened to Scott Adams' concept of the dilburrito (a full day's nutritional requirement in one neat package). And 2. Is it possible to create a food that produces no excretion (containing only what the body needs)?

Aside: I think the internet search functions should be restructured from (endless google pages, for example) to something more like: http://www.linkedwords.com/, where you can see a list of related topics..