Thumbnail Image

Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2017

Investing in Food systems for better nutrition

Year of publication 2017

Place of publication Bangkok, Thailand ;

Pages 68

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (series)

ISBN 978-92-5-109965-0

Series title Asia and the Pacific – Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition

Series number 2017

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) The fight against hunger is slowing and as we reassess progress we are concerned that the number of hungry people in Asia and the Pacific region may have already begun to rise. This means that many countries in this region risk not meeting the 2030 target of ending food insecurity. Malnutrition and stunting among children below the age of five remains high in many countries in the region, with large disparities among population groups. More people in Asia and the Pacific region are moving tow ards healthier diets, although the availability of nutritious foods is still inadequate in many countries. However, on average, the consumption of food items considered unhealthy is also on the rise. A key challenge is to reorient food systems in a way that will help promote healthier diets through supportive food and trade policies, education and awareness campaigns. The special theme of this year’s report is Reducing Food Loss and Waste. Considerable analytical work has been und ertaken on this issue during the past 4-5 years, reaffirming the initial claims that reducing food loss and waste offers a triple win – for food security, higher income for farmers and supply chain actors, and the environment. The special section reviews existing knowledge on the extent of food loss and waste in the region, examines their definitions and measurement challenges, and considers existing policy/programme initiatives. One conclusion is that the data and available estimates are inadeq uate for establishing a baseline for the purpose of monitoring progress. FAO is finalizing some approaches that would help national statistics offices collect essential data and establish a baseline, which is essential for monitoring progress.

Read also the Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Insecurity 2016: Investing in a Zero Hunger Generation

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2019
    Placing nutrition at the centre of social protection
    2019
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Asia-Pacific is home to well over half of all people worldwide who do not obtain sufficient dietary energy to maintain normal, active, healthy lives. To achieve SDG 2 in the region, more than 3 million people must escape hunger each month from now until December 2030. In most countries in the region, the diets of more than half of all very young children (aged 6–23 months) fail to meet minimum standards of diversity, leading to micronutrient deficiencies that affect child development and therefore the potential of future generations. The high prevalence of stunting and wasting among children under five years of age is a result of these deficiencies. Only four countries in the region are on track to meet the global target of a 40 percent reduction in the number of stunted children between 2012 and 2025.At the same time, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is rising steadily among children and adults, negatively affecting health and well-being. Addressing the resultant burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases places great strain on national healthcare budgets and also causes productivity losses. Social protection is an important way of reducing inequality and mitigating the impacts of disasters, and it is expanding in the region. A special section of this report discusses how to develop social protection programmes that accelerate progress in eradicating hunger and malnutrition.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Booklet
    Policy Brief. Food prices: an effective way of shifting diets towards healthier habits in Sri Lanka 2019
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This policy brief examines food prices and responsiveness to food prices, focused on the main food groups in Sri Lanka. One factor that determines food choices are food prices, which then in turn impacts the nutritional status of a population. In Sri Lanka, the cost of energy-dense food (finger millet, cassava, sugar, edible oil) is relatively lower when compared to those of low-energy dense, healthier food (such as fruits and vegetables). Due to the rising tide of over-nutrition leading to a higher rate of non-communicable diseases, and the prevalence of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, Sri Lanka is in an urgent need to design robust pricing strategies rather than rely on short-term price fixing. While the cost of healthy and unhealthy foods is not the only factor determining diets and nutrition outcomes, it is nevertheless an important one, and therefore these policies should aim to transform population diets towards healthier and affordable food options. Despite the role of food prices in shifting diets, in Sri Lanka, pricing policies have not considered this potential and have been used to serve different purposes. In this respect, this policy brief examines prices and responsiveness to prices focused on the main food groups in Sri Lanka; discusses the role of subsidies and taxes as potential tools to effectively drive changes in Sri Lankan diets; and concludes with relevant policy recommendations.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Integration of environment and nutrition in life cycle assessment of food items: opportunities and challenges 2021
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This report is the outcome of a consensus-building project to agree on best practices for environmental and nutritional Life Cycle Assessment (nLCA) methodology, and identify future research needs. The project involved 30 nutritional and environmental LCA researchers from 18 countries. It focused on the assessment of food items (as opposed to meals or diets). Best practice recommendations were developed to address the intended purpose of an LCA study and related modeling approach, choice of an appropriate functional unit, assessment of nutritional value, and reporting nLCA results. An nLCA study should report the quantities of as many essential nutrients as possible and aim to provide information on the nutritional quality and/or health impacts in addition to nutrient quantities. Outstanding issues requiring further research attention include: defining a minimum number of nutrients to be considered in an nLCA study; treatment of nutrients to limit; use of nutrient indexes; further development of Impact Assessment methods; representation of nutritional changes that may occur during subsequent distribution and food preparation in cradle-to-gate nLCA studies; and communication of data uncertainty and variability. More data are required for different regions (particularly developing countries); for the processing, distribution, retail, and consumption life cycle stages; and for food loss and waste. Finally, there is a need to extend nLCA methodology for the assessment of meals and diets, to consider further how to account for the multi-functionality of food in a sustainability framework, and to set nLCA studies within the context of environmental limits. These results provide a robust basis for improving nLCA methodology and applying it to identify solutions that minimize the trade-offs between nourishing populations and safeguarding the environment.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.