ABSTRACT
The effects of poor diets, and malnutrition as their consequence, are far-reaching, well beyond the realm of public health and disease. Agriculture and environmental issues are inextricably linked to human nutrition, and the impacts of poor diets on sustainable development are equally and profoundly detrimental. The reality of many food systems and their associated diets is devastation – for individuals, communities, nations and the planet. The concept of sustainable diets, as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is to shift the view of malnutrition from a medical challenge with pharmacological interventions (for example supplements, fortificants, therapeutic formulations), to an ecosystem challenge addressing agriculture and food systems. This shift would effectively engage the sectors of health, agriculture and the environment in simultaneously addressing the challenges of malnutrition, from root cause to remediation. Topics addressed in this chapter include malnutrition in all its forms, highlighting micronutrient deficiencies; sectors and their interventions, causing and alleviating malnutrition; and reframing human nutrition as an ecosystem service.
