Month: June 2019

Conference visit in the Hague

Apologies for not updating my blog for a longer time! I have been busy working on my literature review, as well as starting the environmental impact assessment.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the launch event for the 2019 Global Food Policy Report and the EAT Lancet Report in The Hague. Both publications are prominent in the CCAFS field, the former making a case for rural revitalization to address developmental shortcomings, and the latter stressing the importance of environmental and human health. After presentations on both publications each were given by Shenggen Fan (Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)) and Fabrice DeClerk (EAT Science Director), a panel discussion was held among academics and professionals in this

My takeaways from this event:

-Malnutrition, poverty, sanitation problems, as well as inequality and environmental degradation persist in rural communities around the world and need to be addressed in order to deliver on SDG goals. The main strategy proposed by the 2019 Global Food Policy Report, “rural revitalization”, promotes making use of new opportunities and technologies, increasing more and better-paid rural jobs, fostering gender equality, as well as better governance of the rural environment.

-Cities can be part of the rural revitalization effort, as rural areas can supply the growing urban populations with food and other commodities. This was referred to as “rurbanomics” in Mr. Fan’s presentation

-Food production should take place within the planetary boundaries*. Crossing these boundaries would not only severely disrupt these processes, but also make agricultural production more difficult.

-Most countries have diets that are neither nutritionally optimal, nor sustainable for our planet, and many populations are affected by under- and overnutrition at the same time.

-Free trade enables food diversity and better nutrition. Trade protectionism, however, adversely food diversity and thus food and nutritional security.

-Food fortification may be part of the solution towards more nutritious and sustainable diets globally. This tool has proven to be a good way to tackle malnutrition. As for environmental impacts, my results hopefully will give me some ideas on that soon.

*Planetary boundaries: This is a concept developed by a team of environmental and earth system scientists in 2009, and refer to a set of nine environmental processes regulating the stability of the ocean, land and the Earth’s atmosphere. Processes include ocean acidification, climate change and nutrient cycles of nitrogen and phosphorus. The scientists defined quantitative ranges for boundaries and as long these are not crossed, the Earth’s processes will resume without disruptions and humans can safely inhabit the Earth.

Instant noodles as a potential food vehicle

I came across an interesting study on fortified instant noodles. Bronder et al.’s research team investigated whether adding fortificants such as iron, vitamin A and B vitamins would affect the sensory properties of the noodles, and whether the nutrients would remain in the product after cooking. Results showed that the addition of fortificants did not significantly impact sensory properties of food, and 75% of folate, vitamin B2 and vitamin B6 added was retained in the noodles after cooking (Bronder et al. 2017).

One of my preferred varieties of instant noodles. Image source

Instant noodles is a widely consumed convenience food found predominantly in Asian countries, like China, Japan and South Korea. However, it is becoming increasingly popular in other countries, too. So there is potential to improve micronutrient intake on a large scale. It would, however, also be rather controversial to fortify these noodles, as instant noodles do contain high amounts of sodium and fat. A South Korean study found that study participants who consume instant noodles frequently were more likely to have metabolic syndrome—a cluster of conditions that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, such as obesity and high blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar (Shin et al. 2014). It remains to be seen if this modified food product gains traction and becomes commercially available. If it does become available in supermarkets in the next few years–I might give it a try, unhealthy or not.

References:

BRONDER, K. L., ZIMMERMAN, S. L., VAN DEN WIJNGAART, A., CODLING, K., JOHNS, K. A. & PACHON, H. 2017. Instant noodles made with fortified wheat flour to improve micronutrient intake in Asia: a review of simulation, nutrient retention and sensory studies. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 26, 191-201.
SHIN, H. J., CHO, E., LEE, H.-J., FUNG, T. T., RIMM, E., ROSNER, B., MANSON, J. E., WHEELAN, K. & HU, F. B. 2014. Instant Noodle Intake and Dietary Patterns Are Associated with Distinct Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Korea. The Journal of Nutrition, 144, 1247-1255.