In a Nutshell (2012) Food-Nutrition-The Vulnerable

7/28/2019 In a Nutshell (2012) Food-Nutrition-The Vulnerable

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‘How is it possible that in the 21st century, hunger continues

to be the number one risk to health worldwide? Not cancer;

Not heart disease; Not even AIDS. Hunger!’

(James T. Morris, The Economic Impact of Hunger, Indianapolis Economic Club, 9 February 2004)

The apparent economic progress measured by the presence

of several foreign fast food chains and food service

establishments hide the real truth: that food insecurity and

hunger are a very real problem for many people in many

parts of the Caribbean. This is a tragedy especially given

the high level of food wastage in both humid city markets

and air-conditioned supermarkets; of half-eaten servings in

hotels and restaurants, dumped because ‘over-catered left-

overs’ are not allowed to leave the premises; of seemingly

nutritious boxed school lunches discarded because

Caribbean children have taken a taste for fast foods of the

fried kinds.

Hunger is a very familiar word. And familiarity does breed

contempt, sometimes obvious, but more often veiled, as

society looks down on the vulnerable who beg, scrape, or do

worse, in an attempt to stave off hunger. Familiarity can act

as an incentive to not act, i.e., to ignore the problem or adopt

a view that it is a Government problem. Bob Marley warned

that ‘a hungry man is an angry man!’ In Caribbean societies,

hunger is driving people to do desperate acts.

In a Nutshell seeks to sensitise, raise awareness, provide

insights and inform on issues and topics of importance to

sustainable agriculture and food and nutrition security in

the Caribbean. Hunger and food insecurity are an important

issue!



In a Nutshell

What is Food and Nutrition Security (FNS)?

The concept of food and nutrition security is made up of two distinct, yet inseparable parts that individually, have

fuelled debates over decades.

food security is when there is enough food physically available over time, for a particular household,

community, country and/or region to meet their daily needs.

Debate continues as to whether FNS should mean that a country should produce most of its own food, or focus

on increasing wealth to purchase food from others (imports). Some leading experts have advised (developing)

countries to concentrate their resources and efforts in areas that offer the greatest return to investment, wealth

creation and economic growth. This is usually veiled advice to ‘get out of agriculture and food production’. This is

also based on the premise that developed countries are ‘better at it’ and can supply foods at lower prices!

nutrition security is when individuals in households, communities, countries and/or regions use food,

through consumption, as raw materials for growth, fuel for energy and vitamins and minerals that keep the

body healthy and functioning properly.

The nutrition debate has been re-ignited as the negative impacts of ‘poor nutrition’, due to poor diets, are becoming

clearer and more costly in terms of wide-ranging illnesses, rising health care costs and ultimately death! More

worrisome is that such nutrition-related illnesses are affecting a significant number of children and young adults.

Because of this, a number of foods are being closely scrutinised for links between their over-consumption and

ill-health.

Taken separately, these debates need to resolved and addressed. A first essential step is to keep the two individual

parts of the concept firmly connected. It should become clear that food security and nutrition security are not the

same; that they are two sides of one coin, and that they cannot exist or be treated in isolation of each other.

Food is an important and major, but not only source of nutrition.

But not all foods provide the nutrients that the body needs for good health.

Understanding Food and Nutrition security is to understand that an individual must choose, among

the increasingly diverse range of available foods within their means, those that are ‘nutrient dense’, in

order to keep the body healthy. Simply put, individuals must ‘fuel-up’ on a mix of foods that have the

greatest nutritional value and not ‘fill-up’ on ‘empty calorie’ foods. Empty calories are foods, though very

attractive, tasty and filling, contain little or no nutritional value, often called ‘Junk food’. Too much of their

consumption is detrimental to good health.

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In a Nutshell

Changing land use and crop use patterns

By now it is well known that Caribbean countries have lost substantial

lands for farming. These lands are increasingly being converted into hotels,

highways or houses, leaving several farmers, especially those with no land

titles, displaced and removing producers from the food system. If this trend

continues, then Caribbean countries could systematically lose their ability to

grow enough to either feed their populations or to earn foreign exchange from

exports to purchase food; even enough foreign exchange is no guarantee for

food security. Intense competition between use of crops for food or non-food

uses, such as fuel (corn), cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, is also contributing

to scarcity and rising prices of food on world markets.

Climate change and other natural hazards!

Changing climates, hurricanes, droughts, floods, pests and diseases will have

a direct and immediate negative impact on food production. Already, farmers

in the Caribbean are feeling these effects on crop responses, pest problems

and lower yields. Adverse natural conditions can therefore affect two critical

pillars through which the FNS concept is usually defined, i.e., food availability

and stability of the food system. If these ‘acts of God’ prevent food from being

produced and/or destroy ‘food in the ground’ or stored supplies, then the

entire food system is destabilised. The degree of impact on food insecurity

will depend on how quickly the food system can be brought ‘back on line’, i.e.,

fields rehabilitated, crops replanted. In times like these, food aid is an important

back-up plan!

Industrialized and Intensive Farming/Food Production

The FAO has estimated that world food production needs to be doubled in

order to meet the growing population’s demand for food by 2050. Production

systems in the major food growing centres of the world are already intensive

and patterned on factory-type processes. While the output from these ‘factory

farms’ is tremendous and consistent, there are growing concerns about the

quality and safety of such foods, particularly concerns over use of agro-

biotechnology that alter the natural properties of crops and animals. Concerns

also exist with respect to the impact of such farms on the environment and risks

to neighbouring communities. Because of these concerns, in 2010, the United

States debated the Senate Bill S510, which recognised that ‘food safety within

our industrial farming system is desperately in need of a check-up’.1

Senate Bill S50: The Tester Amendment, in Sustainable food | Nov 2, 200 8:39 pm Est.,

http://www.justmeans.com/Senate-Bill-S50-Tester-Amendment/379.html. Also a good article

on the risks of Factory Farms is available on http://www.gracelinks.org/270/public-health

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Threats to Food and Nutrition Security

The automotive supply chain is increasingly

looking to bio-based materials as an alternative to

petroleum-based or non-renewable components.

Source: griid.org

Some believe that industrial agriculture contaminates

vegetables and fruits with pesticides, slips dangerous

bacteria into lettuce and puts genetically engineered

growth hormones into milk. “The Seven Deadly Myths

of Industrial Agriculture: Myth Two’.

Source: alternet.org

The cassava hornworm, an pest, devastated cassava

elds in Trinidad in 2010. Their great numbers was

thought to be associated with the severe drought

conditions.

Photo: TTABA



In a Nutshell

Economic and Political Crises

Several studies suggest that the world produces enough food now to feed all.

Control over production systems, food distribution and pricing by a few mega,

global firms, make food inaccessible to large segments of the population,

in both developed and developing countries. In times of economic stability,

free market systems are not necessarily efficient or sufficient to ensure that

everyone has access to wholesome and safe food. In periods of economic

and political crises, however, market inequalities and inefficiencies are

substantially multiplied, limiting access to food for an increasing number of

persons forcing Governments, religious and other charitable organizations to

intervene to bring relief to vulnerable groups.

Poverty and social exclusion!

An adequate supply of food at the national or international levels does not,

in itself, guarantee household-level food security. Direct and immediate food

and nutrition threats at the individual and household levels relate mostly to

their ability to access available food and their capacity to prepare and utilise

food in a manner that enhances their well-being. Persons who live below the

poverty line and are socially marginalised – i.e., the vulnerable – are under

greatest threat for poverty-induced food and nutrition insecurity, hunger and

malnutrition!

Unhealthy lifestyle choices!

In the Caribbean, total food caloric availability (calories/caput/day) has been

increasing since the 1960s and exceeds Recommended Population Goals

(RPG). Carbohydrates, protein, fats and sweeteners have been increasing

well above the RPG. The supply of fruits and vegetables, though increasing

sharply over successive decades has consistently fallen below the RPG.

The supply of staples (cereals plus starchy roots) has been increasing, but

is lower than the RPG. As a result, there is a high and rising incidence of

non-communicable diseases, such as, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke,

heart diseases, and some forms of cancers in Caribbean populations. This is

increasingly being linked to over-consumption of ‘empty calories’.

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Acting on their own, or combined, these are among the main threats to food and nutrition security. From

2007 to 2008, food prices rose exponentially and pushed the number of hungry persons in the world to

over a billion, or one sixth of the population. This convergence of the 2007/09 financial, fuel and food

price crises clearly illustrated how easily the Caribbean could become food insecure, with potentially

devastating impacts on nutrition and ultimately health. Maintaining a balance between assuring food

security and ensuring that the basic nutritional requirements for good health are met continues to be

a challenge. This challenge is becoming even more acute as current and emerging economic, social,

political and environmental factors disrupt and threaten food production, food trade and social and

political stability. It is the vulnerable who are most at risk!

Source: cdn.theatlantic.com

Source: clikhear.palmbeachpost.com

Source: newsday.co.tt

Source: shutterstock.com



In a Nutshell

What is ‘vulnerability’?

Vulnerability is explained as: ‘sensitivity to’, ‘exposure of’ (people, place or system) to shocks, stresses or natural

hazards; ‘capacity to anticipate, cope, resist, recover and/or adapt’ from/to impacts of such shocks. It has an

external aspect: risk, shock and stress to which an individual is subject; and an internal aspect, captured by the

situation of ‘defencelessness’.

Vulnerability is strongly related to the concept of food insecurity. An individual with a substantial amount of assets

and a stable livelihood is more resilient than one with a limited asset base and an unstable and undiversified

livelihood.

The Vulnerable is usually found among:

the indigent poor, homeless and unemployed

This group is vulnerable because they have no or very limited purchasing power to buy food; they have no, or

limited access to land to grow food, and they have no, or l imited access to facilities for safe preparation and storage

of food. Although statistics suggest that poverty in the Caribbean is declining in some areas, there are still pockets

of extreme poverty, which in turn leads to food insecurity, hunger and ultimately poor nutrition and ill-health.

the working poor/low income families

This describes a large number of persons who, although employed, are finding it difficult to cope with the basic cost

of living and to cover their basic necessities. Although they are fully employed, these ‘working poor’ as they are

called, are economically disadvantaged and often have to make the difficult choice between filling-up on the more

affordable empty calories or fuelling-up on the more pricy healthier food options. In the Caribbean, the working poor

are becoming more visible.

other socially or economically challenged

Households who may not fit into any of the descriptions above, but who live in a setting with adverse agro-climatic

conditions and limited natural resources, or in a community where there is insufficient entrepreneurial activity

and job creation; or work in a sector that is particularly sensitive to macroeconomic volatility and sectoral shock

or who have low levels of human capital, know-how, access to information and limited access to credit and risk-

management instruments are also vulnerable.

dependents - children, the aged and infirmed

Persons who cannot provide for themselves, care for themselves or fend for themselves are usually dependent

on someone else – family, friends, charity or government – to provide their basic needs. These ‘dependents’

can be found among the poor and homeless, the working poor, the middle class and affluent in society. Their

vulnerability stems from the fact that they depend almost entirely on the decisions and choices of others made for

them. Depending on their circumstance that choice with respect to the foods provided, may either help or hamper

their health status. For children especially, such choices could stunt their growth prospects.

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The Vulnerable and Insecure



In a Nutshell

pregnant women/nursing mothers

This is a special category of vulnerable because of the extra demands on the body as a provider of food. Hence

the need to rapidly regenerate energy sources through nutrient dense foods is even more critical during pregnancy.

Poor nutrition during pregnancy and nursing will have negative health impacts on the growing foetus and newborn.

Research has shown that good nutrition in early life stages is essential to good health. Early-life health (i.e. infants

and children), is the basis for the formation of human capital, the driver of development.

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How do they cope?

For the vulnerable, coping with challenges is a

constant battle. Low incomes levels due to under-,

or seasonal employment, undiversified livelihoods,

low or no savings, indebtedness, limited earnings

and limited access to credit, prevent them from

adequately coping with or recovering from shocks.

Common coping strategies have been:

use of meager savings,

borrowing,

depending on remittances (from families

abroad),

begging and

involvement in illegal activities.

In coping with rising food bills, vulnerable household

also resort to reducing the quantity and quality of

food intake for adults and children are commonly

practiced, but with the children having the first

preference in most instances.

Government programmes that either provide the

means of earning or improving income levels and/

or enhancing access and/or providing food, are

important safety nets for these vulnerable groups.

Especially for urban or inner city’s poor.

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While these vulnerable groups are at risk from the double-whammy of food and nutrition insecurity, nutrition

insecurity in particular, exists among the employed and not-so-poor households. In fact, in the region, research

has shown that ‘nutrition transitions’, i.e., a shift away from traditional diets comprising mostly nutrient dense

foods, to a western diet based on highly processed and fast foods, has been a major contributor to a sharp

rise in diet-related illnesses. Chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs) such as, diabetes, obesity, hyper-

tension, etc., are on the rise, including among very young children.

Dominica School Feeding Programme

Photo: Helen Francis-Seaman,

Corn soup - a local Trini staple

Photo: TTABA

Burgers made out of Bhagi (dasheen bush)

Photo: Naitram Ramnanan



In a Nutshell

Food is a basic human right and need.

However, factors influencing the availability, access and

utilisation of food make it difficult for many persons to exercise

this right.

These are the vulnerable!

They need intervention!

Who should intervene?

Government is seen as the primary entity to intervene on

behalf of the vulnerable. The nature, scope and duration of

interventions needed to meet the basic needs of the vulnerable

is often beyond what the commercial sector is willing to provide

on any continuous basis.

Helping the Vulnerable become Food and Nutrition Secure

fmscblog.com

Source: savite.les.wordpress.com Source: www.gov.ms

What philosophy underlies Government intervention?

The Basic Needs Approach (BNA).

The BNA emerged in the 1970s, from the experiences of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It

recognises that employment is critical to allow persons to provide for their basic needs.

For some persons, such employment enables them to go beyond basic needs. However, for most, including

the ‘working poor’, the quality and remuneration from this employment is insufficient, even to meet basic

needs on a consistent basis. It was this outcome that, in the 1970s, led to the design of a development

strategy centred on meeting basic needs, particularly of the more vulnerable.

In the Caribbean, the BNA underpins the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) programme of the Caribbean

Development Bank (CDB), launched in 1979, as a mechanism to directly target poverty reduction.

The BNTF recognised that efforts at poverty reduction, and hence hunger, are unlikely to progress without

significant improvements in access to health, water, sanitation and other public services, training and skills

enhancement especially for the empowerment of persons involved in low-wage income-earning activity,

young people and disadvantaged populations.



In a Nutshell

Food must physically exist and continue to be available!

Food must exist! This is the essential starting point!

Food is made available through farming, storage (especially of grains), processing (to extend shelf-life) and trade

(whether local distribution, or export/imports). Most countries grow some proportion of their food supplies but all

countries import some portion of their food. For the Caribbean, the imbalance between local production and imports

is very high. Most of the available food is supplied through imports from countries outside the region. A significant

share of these food imports is processed fruits, vegetables, grain, meat and dairy products.

Available food must be ‘nutrient dense’ and safe!

Not all foods are created or processed equal!

Foods are classified into groups based on their nutrient properties. Not all foods contain the same or equal amountsof nutrients. The nutritional value of foods also diminishes after harvest, especially if post-harvest practices (such

as, handling, packing, transport, storage) are poor. Poor farming (such as improper use of agro-chemicals), post

harvest and food preparation practices (including unclean working conditions) could also introduce undesirable

elements and other additives that can make foods unsafe for human consumption.

Individuals/households must know about food properties!

People must know what they are putting into their bodies!

How can they know? through continuous nutrition education that provides information on food requirements for

good health and nutrient values of all foods- fresh and processed; through food labels that specify the ingredients,

additives and nutritional value of food products; through nutritional guidelines that offer a range of food combinations

and options for balanced diets, based on age, diet-preference, health profile and other important factors that will

enhance the body’s ability to effectively use food as raw material for energy, growth and good health! Information

and awareness of food properties can contribute to making a healthy choice.

Individuals/households must be able to afford balanced diets!

Not every individual or household can exercise their right to food!

Poverty, low incomes and sometimes, remoteness can affect the ability to afford and access food, any food, much

less make a healthy choice. Despite the rapid increase in the number of wholesale stores, supermarkets, mini-

marts, corner shops and food service establishments in the Caribbean, there are several persons who are unable

to buy food on a regular basis. As incomes decline, households spend less and less of their budget on food, and

more often than not, that food ends to be those classified as ‘empty calories’, which are ‘‘cheaper and more readily

available and accessible.

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Basic Conditions to Secure Food and Nutrition



In a Nutshell

As an individual,

YOU HAVE A RIGHT to safe and healthy foods at all times.

It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to make the healthy choice!

identify some basic ‘must have’ healthy foods for you and your family;

read food labels, especially the ingredients and the ‘Best by’ dates;

exercise great caution in preparation of fresh foods, especially

leafy vegetables, as they may be hosts to harmful parasites and

high levels of chemical residues

But IF YOU DON’T HAVE access or the means

to choose and consume healthy FOOD ALL, OR MOST OF THE TIME,

then YOU ARE AT RISK of food insecurity and under-nutrition!

If YOU are:

a farmer or food processor, then you can chose to produce more

efficiently and to offer surplus or lower grade but healthy produce

to charitable organizations that supply meals to the vulnerable;

a food retailer, distributor or food service (restaurants, fast

food chains, etc) processor, then you can decide to waste less.

Research shows that a high percentage of food is lost every year

at the retail level, especially by consumers and food services.

a manufacturer/supplier of inputs to the food producers/

distributors, then you have a responsibility to produce contribute

to the efficiency of the food system. An important source of waste

and high food prices is packaging, especially biodegradable

plastics which contain foods in all forms: liquids, solids and

powders, etc. You should build-in mechanisms that encourage

recycling to reduce waste.

a Policy Maker, then it is your job to identify the: (a) vulnerable

and design policies that to ensure that they get at least one

wholesome meal per day; (b) food system ‘losses and wastage’

and design policies to reduce wastage through greater adherence

to standards and/or systems to save, store (if possible) and re-

distribute excess foods (especially from hotels and restaurants)

to the vulnerable, among other options.

a civil society activist or philanthropic organization, then you

already know the value of providing food, a most basic need, for

the vulnerable! You need to work more closely with governments,

food producers and retailers to ensure that systems are in place

to safely move excess and good ‘left-overs’ to those in need.

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What YOU can do!

Photo: Diana Francis, IICA Ofce in

Trinidad and Tobago

Photo: Helen Francis-Seaman

Photo: Augustine Merchant, IICA Ofce in

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Photo: IICA Ofce in Trinidad and Tobago



In a Nutshell

A healthy diet - defined as meeting one’s daily nutritional needs -

is fundamental to wellbeing, good health and productive life.

Regardless of who YOU are, WE are all CONSUMERS of food.

But not all of us have the capacity to exercise our right

to safe and nutritious food on a regular basis!

There are several factors that are

under-mining the possibilities for a healthy diet.

Economic and social inclusion (affluence)

is causing a large number of Caribbean populations

to be ‘over-fed’ on empty calories.

For these, Bob Marley’s lyrics come to life:

Economic and social exclusion (poverty)

also prevent a large number of Caribbean populations

from meeting their daily nutritional requirements.

For these, Bob Marley’s lyrics also come to life:

In both situations, over- and under-consumption of certain foods

leads to a common inevitable outcome – malnutrition.

For the vulnerable, i.e., those who just don’t have enough

or have limited or no means to provide for themselves or family,

both the food security and nutrition security will depend on others.

In all societies, Government takes the top spot among these others!

Food and nutrition security is a matter of national security, health and

life. A number of Caribbean nationals are already food and nutrition

insecure. There are emerging threats that can plunge large pockets of

Caribbean nationals into a state of food insecurity and hunger.

With budget deficits, high external debts and pressures of other priorities

that over-ride the right to food for all, several Caribbean Governments

are unable to live up to the expectations of providing the very basic

need – food – for all the vulnerable! Taking action to secure food and

nutrition, especially feeding the vulnerable, is everybody’s problem and

responsibility.

The Message!

Photos: Diana Francis,

IICA Ofce in Trinidad and Tobago



Issue #19 September 2012

Prepared by:Diana FrancisBrent Theophilebased in part on the research undertaken byStacy Rose-Richards

Caribbean Regional AgriculturePolicy Network

IICA in the Caribbean

www.iica.int

Financed by the

Technical Centre for Agriculturaland Rural Cooperation

www.cta.int

Printed by CTP Services and Supplies

For more information please contact:

Inter-American Institute for Cooperation onAgriculture (IICA)Oce in Trinidad and Tobago,#10 Austin Street, St. Augustine,P.O. Box, 1318, Port of Spain,Trinidad and Tobago

Tel: (868) 645-5020; 4555; 8886Email: [email protected] and/or [email protected]

Also available on:www.pn4ad.org and www.cta.int

Despite the appearance

of general wealth and

well-being, manifested by

the presence of several

foreign fast food chains

and a plethora of food

service establishments, food

insecurity and hunger are a

very real problem for many

people in many parts of the

Caribbean.

This In a Nutshell focuses

on key aspects of the food

and nutrition security

challenge, including currentand emerging threats that

can plunge large pockets of

Caribbean nationals into a

state of food insecurity and

as well, the plight of the

vulnerable. It seeks to create

awareness of the fact thattaking action to secure food

and nutrition, especially

feeding the vulnerable, is

everybody’s problem and

responsibility.

In a Nutshell (2012) Food-Nutrition-The Vulnerable

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