Nutrition and National Policy

The problems of malnutrition that manifest themselves worldwide are not solely—or even primarily—caused by limitations in the supply of food. Although agricultural insufficiencies and inefficiencies certainly exist and the effects of climate and weather can be disastrous, still the food supply, even in most poorer nations, is at least adequate for providing nutritional subsistence. The heart of the problem is rather one of food distribution and the commitment of national governments to the nutritional well-being of their citizens, particularly those on the lower levels of the economic scale. These are among the issues taken up in Nutrition and National Policy. The book first presents a group of national case studies in which the nutrition policies of eleven governments are outlined and analyzed by prominent experts from these nations who are, or have been, directly involved in the nutrition activities of their governments. Ten of the nations are usually described as "developing"—Chile, Columbia, Ghana, Nigeria, Indonesia, Jamaica, Panama, the Philippines, Tanzania, and Zambia. The eleventh—the United States—is wealthy, but it has its own nutrition problems, some similar to those of the developing nations, others that are more symptomatic of affluent societies. These case studies are followed by a series of chapters that define aspects of nutrition policy from a global point of view. One explores the symbiosis of scientist, planner, and administrator in nutrition program implementation; others relate nutrition to culture, health policy, the politicial process, agricultural policy, and economic policy. Two summary chapters, written by the book's editor, take up the issue of political commitment to providing an adequate diet for all segments of a nation's population and address some specific questions regarding programs and policies.