ROME – A heartfelt plea for an end to the fighting in Yemen has been issued by the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme as he concluded a three-day visit to the country which has become the scene of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today.
Archive for month: November, 2018
Farmers have a vital role to play in stemming the spread of antimicrobial resistance among disease-causing pathogens, and can make a significant contribution simply by adopting good hygiene practices during their day-to-day farm operations.
Open until 10 JANUARY 2019
UNSCN Nutrition is the flagship, peer-reviewed publication of the UNSCN, previously entitled UNSCN News. The 2019 edition will focus on food environments to enable healthy and nutritious diets.
On a daily basis, people acquire and consume food through their food environments. It is the link between diets and the wider food system. It considers the ability to access nutritious food affordably and conveniently. It is also shaped by external factors, such as the price and availability of food, as well as the taste, marketing and regulations that impact what is being promoted.
There are various ways in which the food environment has been defined. The 2017 HLPE defines it as “the physical, economic, political and socio-cultural context in which consumers engage with the food system to make their decisions about acquiring, preparing and consuming food”(HLPE 2017). Others have defined food environments more in terms of the foods themselves, as “all the foods which are available and accessible to people in the settings in which they go about their daily lives. That is, the range of foods in supermarkets, small retail outlets, wet markets, street food stalls, coffee shops, tea houses, school canteens, restaurants and all the other venues where people procure and eat food” (FAO), encompassing the aspects of availability, affordability, convenience, and desirability (Herforth and Ahmed 2015).
From local markets to megastores, food environments are changing rapidly as people move from rural to urban areas and as dietary preferences evolve. This evolution has also led to a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity and deaths from non-communicable diseases, especially in high income countries. Food labelling, product positioning, advertising, promotions and marketing are particularly influential, especially when children are the target audience. When designed effectively, policies and fiscal measures can positively influence what is available for consumers and lead to healthier choices. Efforts aimed at introducing greater nutrition into the supply chain, improving post-harvest practices and increasing the nutrient content of foods through, for example, food fortification, are also essential.
This Call for Contributions welcomes academically rigorous examples of the positive and negative effects of our current food environments on nutrition. Programs that increase consumer demand for healthy food such as consumer behaviour change communications, social marketing and nutrition education are also welcome.
KEY QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION
- What have national or local governments done to improve food environments?
- What has been the impact of price interventions on consumption?
- How can inherently nutritious foods be made more convenient for consumers? What is the role of private sector?
- What workforce development and training opportunities are needed to build the necessary skills and leadership capacity to improve food environments?
- What are some specific observations around how food environments are changing in LMICs?
- What are some examples of public procurement affecting food environments?
We welcome contributions on the following categories:
Feature articles: 3,000 words articles related to the general topic of the publication. The articles will be submitted to peer review and can include conceptual contributions or practical examples of policies and programmes.
Speaker's Corner: 1,500 words articles with the authors’ views regarding a hot topic in nutrition policy or programme. The section sometimes features a counterpoint by another author holding an opposite opinion to stimulate debate on important issues. Your contribution could also serve to share your food environment story and how that has impacted the health and well-being of your family and community.
Publications: recent publications of relevance to nutrition, including manuals, tools and guidelines that are usually not found in regular bookstores. Max. 200 words per submission.
Please send your contributions electronically to the UNSCN News to SCN@fao.org with the title “UNSCN Nutrition Proposal”. For editorial information, please refer to the UNSCN News Guidelines for Contributors available here.
Photo credit: FAO/Giulio Napolitano
Deadline: 10 January 2019
Open until 10 January 2019
UNSCN Nutrition is the flagship, peer-reviewed publication of the UNSCN, previously entitled UNSCN News. The 2019 edition will focus on food environments to enable healthy and nutritious diets.
On a daily basis, people acquire and consume food through their food environments. It is the link between diets and the wider food system. It considers the ability to access nutritious food affordably and conveniently. It is also shaped by external factors, such as the price and availability of food, as well as the taste, marketing and regulations that impact what is being promoted.
There are various ways in which the food environment has been defined. The 2017 HLPE defines it as “the physical, economic, political and socio-cultural context in which consumers engage with the food system to make their decisions about acquiring, preparing and consuming food”(HLPE 2017). Others have defined food environments more in terms of the foods themselves, as “all the foods which are available and accessible to people in the settings in which they go about their daily lives. That is, the range of foods in supermarkets, small retail outlets, wet markets, street food stalls, coffee shops, tea houses, school canteens, restaurants and all the other venues where people procure and eat food” (FAO), encompassing the aspects of availability, affordability, convenience, and desirability (Herforth and Ahmed 2015).
From local markets to megastores, food environments are changing rapidly as people move from rural to urban areas and as dietary preferences evolve. This evolution has also led to a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity and deaths from non-communicable diseases, especially in high income countries. Food labelling, product positioning, advertising, promotions and marketing are particularly influential, especially when children are the target audience. When designed effectively, policies and fiscal measures can positively influence what is available for consumers and lead to healthier choices. Efforts aimed at introducing greater nutrition into the supply chain, improving post-harvest practices and increasing the nutrient content of foods through, for example, food fortification, are also essential.
This Call for Contributions welcomes academically rigorous examples of the positive and negative effects of our current food environments on nutrition. Programs that increase consumer demand for healthy food such as consumer behaviour change communications, social marketing and nutrition education are also welcome.
KEY QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION
- What have national or local governments done to improve food environments?
- What has been the impact of price interventions on consumption?
- How can inherently nutritious foods be made more convenient for consumers? What is the role of private sector?
- What workforce development and training opportunities are needed to build the necessary skills and leadership capacity to improve food environments?
- What are some specific observations around how food environments are changing in LMICs?
- What are some examples of public procurement affecting food environments?
We welcome contributions on the following categories:
Feature articles: 3,000 words articles related to the general topic of the publication. The articles will be submitted to peer review and can include conceptual contributions or practical examples of policies and programmes.
Speaker's Corner: 1,500 words articles with the authors’ views regarding a hot topic in nutrition policy or programme. The section sometimes features a counterpoint by another author holding an opposite opinion to stimulate debate on important issues. Your contribution could also serve to share your food environment story and how that has impacted the health and well-being of your family and community.
Publications: recent publications of relevance to nutrition, including manuals, tools and guidelines that are usually not found in regular bookstores. Max. 200 words per submission.
Please send your contributions electronically to the UNSCN News to SCN@fao.org with the title “UNSCN Nutrition Proposal”. For editorial information, please refer to the UNSCN News Guidelines for Contributors available here.
Photo credit: FAO/Giulio Napolitano
Deadline: 10 January 2019
The conference will be a five-day event, including a field visit, from 12-16th November 2018 at the Conference Centre, Radisson Hotel, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
Experts in the field of sustainable agriculture, food security, nutrition security, climate change, integrated pest management, organic farming, agro-ecology, value addition, soil health management, policy experts in climate change and sustainable agriculture will be presenting the lead papers.
The main aim is to bring together leading local, regional and international researchers, academicians and practitioners in the field of climate change, sustainable agriculture and food security to accomplish the following objectives:
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To share cutting-edge research in sustainable agriculture with special reference to food security and climate change
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To build and strengthen regional and international networks
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To develop climate resilient sustainable agriculture models that are suitable for different conditions
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To develop sustainable agriculture and climate change policies to be shared with relevant stakeholders for consideration and adoption
FAO, World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and World Health Organization (WHO) have expanded their partnership to counter antimicrobial resistance through the addition of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The move is intended to attack AMR in a more holistic way.
70 panelists and more than 150 attendees from 40 countries reviewed evidence and discussed strategies at a high-level expert seminar held to explore ways to build on traditional knowledge to achieve Zero Hunger, organized by FAO and UNESCO
Obesity grows by 3.6 million people every year in the region, while hunger has increased in three countries since 2014, according to a new report from FAO, PAHO, UNICEF and WFP.
7 November 2018, 14:00 – 17:00 (CET), FAO HQ, Rome (Italy)
On 7 November 2018, the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition will launch its new policy brief: "Preventing nutrient loss and waste across the food system: Policy actions for high-quality diets".
This brief argues that a reduction in food loss and waste, particularly in high nutrient foods, has the potential to yield substantial nutritional benefits, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the advancement of the Decade of Action on Nutrition. It also argues why addressing food waste and loss should be a new priority for improving nutrition.
On the panel:
- Sir John Beddington, Co-Chair, Global Panel on Agriculture; and Food Systems for Nutrition.
- Prof K. Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India; and Global Panel Member.
- Rachel Kyte, CEO, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All); and Panel Member.
- Prof Patrick Webb, Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy; and Director, USAID’s Feed the Future Nutrition Innovation Lab.
If you wish to attend in person, the registration is compulsory. Please REGISTER HERE.
Alternatively, you can watch the event live from the FAO
Hunger, malnutrition, lack of micronutrients, overweight and obesity have greater impact on people with lower income, women, indigenous people, Afro-descendants and rural families in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a new UN report.
The brief, Preventing nutrient loss and waste across the food system: Policy actions for high-quality diets, points out that poor-quality diets are now a greater public health threat than malaria, tuberculosis or measles. Meanwhile, approximately one third of all the food produced for human consumption never reaches the consumer's plate or bowl.
Declining agricultural commodity prices will ease the bill the world’s poorest countries pay for food imports, although the rising U.S. dollar poses “serious concerns”, FAO's Food Outlook says. Worldwide food imports are likely to reach $1.467 trillion in 2018, 3.0 percent above the previous year’s level.
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