ABSTRACT
More than 920 million people in the developing world do not have
enough to eat, and a further 34 million people in the industrialised
countries and economies in transition also suffer from chronic food
insecurity. Food insecurity is generally taken to mean a dietary intake of
insufficient and appropriate food to meet the needs of growth, activity
and the maintenance of good health. In addition to those suffering from
chronic hunger, many millions more experience food insecurity on a
seasonal or transitory basis. Prolonged periods of insufficient food
intake result in protein-energy malnutrition with loss of body weight,
reduced capacity to work and susceptibility to infectious, nutrient-
depleting illnesses such as gastro-intestinal infections, measles and
malaria. Even mild undernourishment in children can lead to delayed or
permanently stunted growth. There are almost 200 million children in
the world displaying low height-for-age, with almost half of the children
of South Asia failing to reach the weights and heights considered to
represent healthy growth (FAO 2006, 2008).
