As we continue to talk about energy, we’ll be exploring its relationship with the food we eat. Food and energy are inextricably linked, but all too often, their connections are overlooked. But before we begin considering average daily per capita intake for humans and how that relates to production and availability, it’s necessary to consider that an adequate amount of food is a vastly different topic from nutrition.
The US National Research Council has set Recommended Daily Allowances for what we consume, which includes vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. In affluent countries like ours, it’s relatively easy to obtain what we need, but micronutrient deficiencies occur at very high numbers globally. Micronutrients are necessary to make hormones, enzymes, and ensure proper growth and development. So deficiencies can lead to mental impairment, blindness, compromised immunity, infant mortality, hearing loss, and more. Billions around the world are now at risk. In Feeding the World, Vaclav Smil writes “the eradication of micronutrient deficiencies could exceed the impact of the global elimination of smallpox.”
How to get there–or at least, move in that direction? We can either provide the necessary foods to those who do not currently have regular access to them and/or make supplements readily available. The good news is that many scientists and others have been working hard to achieve this. But we have a long way to go.
So as we press on exploring these topics, keep in mind that quantity alone is not enough when considering world food production.
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Excellent point. Abundance doesn’t always equate with neccesary. Someone already brought this up on your facebook wall, but even in this countries many are living lifestyles where they do not get the nutrients they need to. Fast food and excessive alcohol. So everyone struggles on different countries. Worth discussing I think.
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Yes, I should have been clearer. In this post, I am mainly talking about general accessibility to vital micronutrients in the US, as compared to say, parts of Ecuador, Bolivia, or Central Africa. But I agree, it’s worth discussing why we eat the way we do in the US, the impacts, and what we’re missing.
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:36 pm
I never really considered it like that. I always focused on what crops are best for the climate,environment, technology. Once again proving that no country can lead an isolated non trading existence in this world.
I should think that distribution and education will the biggest hurdles even if those nutrients are imported.
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Poor nutrition and poverty are definitely related. There was a study done that showed that children who have poor nutrition don’t do as well in math and science as others kids do.
June 23rd, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Most of us are used to thinking of it this way, which is why I began with this particular post when discussing food.
Yes there have been many.
June 23rd, 2010 at 1:22 pm
This reminds me of reading about one of the most cost effective potential public health interventions worldwide: iodizing salt.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/16/health/16iodine.html?fta=y
Also, it’s amazing that micronutrient deficiencies are still a problem 12,000 years after the start of agriculture.
June 23rd, 2010 at 8:27 pm
I personally don’t think that supplements can replace a quality diet. And I believe a basic question that is debated heatedly – I’ve discovered – is, what makes a quality diet? Are we designed to be plant eaters as vegans argue, meat eaters as low carb followers believe – maybe somewhere in the middle?
I’m personally a believer in the low carb/ paleo camp. Not only is the paleo diet bests for what our genes are designed for – producing foods found in the paleo diet are better for the environment compared to our current grain based eating habits.
June 29th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
[...] a topic that I intend to explore in detail here at The Intersection over the coming months. That post dealt with limited micronutrients in other parts of the world, but just because they are more [...]
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:01 pm
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