Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T18:29:33.008Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Linking biodiversity, diet and health in policy and practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2007

Timothy Johns*
Affiliation:
School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada
Pablo B. Eyzaguirre
Affiliation:
International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Via dei Tre Denari 472/a, 00057 Maccarese (Fiumicino), Rome, Italy
*
*Corresponding author: Professor Timothy Johns, fax + 1 514 398 1020, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Simplification of human diets associated with increased accessibility of inexpensive agricultural commodities and erosion of agrobiodiversity leads to nutrient deficiencies and excess energy consumption. Non-communicable diseases are growing causes of death and disability worldwide. Successful food systems in transition effectively draw on locally-available foods, food variety and traditional food cultures. In practice this process involves empirical research, public policy, promotion and applied action in support of multi-sectoral, community-based strategies linking rural producers and urban consumers, subsistence and market economies, and traditional and modern food systems. Implementation of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute's Global Nutrition Strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa offers a useful case study. Relevant policy platforms, in which biodiversity conservation and nutrition are and should be linked, include the Millennium Development Goals, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Convention on Biological Diversity, Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, Food-Based Dietary Guidelines, Right to Adequate Food and UN Human Rights Commission's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The largely unexplored health benefits of cultivated and wild plants include micronutrient intake and functions related to energy density, glycaemic control, oxidative stress and immuno-stimulation. Research on the properties of neglected and underutilized species and local varieties deserves higher priority. In tests of the hypothesis that biodiversity is essential for dietary diversity and health, quantitative indicators of dietary and biological diversity can be combined with nutrition and health outcomes at the population level. That traditional systems once lost are hard to recreate underlines the imperative for timely documentation, compilation and dissemination of eroding knowledge of biodiversity and the use of food culture for promoting positive behaviours.

Type
Symposium on ‘Wild-gathered plants: basic nutrition, health and survival’
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2006

References

Antony, U Chandra, TS (1998) Antinutrient reduction and enhancement in protein, starch and mineral availability in fermented flour of finger millet (Eleusine coracana). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 46 25782582.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burlingame, B (2000) Wild nutrition. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 13 99100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cockerham, WC Yamori, Y (2001) Okinawa: an exception to the social gradient of life expectancy in Japan Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 10 154158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewey, KG (1989) Nutrition and the commoditization of food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean Social Science and Medicine 28 415424.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eide, WB & Kracht, U (editors) (2005) Food and Human Rights in Development, vol. 1: Legal and Institutional Dimensions and Selected Topics. Antwerp and Oxford: Intersentia.Google Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization (2005) Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
Friis-Hansen, E & Sthapit, B (editors) (2000) Participatory Approaches to the Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources. Rome: International Plant Genetic Resources Institute.Google Scholar
Gidamis, AB Panga, JT Sarwatt, SV, Chove, BE Shayo, NB (2004) Nutrient and antinutrient contents in raw and cooked young leaves and immature pods of Moringa oleifera, Lam Ecology of Food and Nutrition 43 399411.Google Scholar
Hasler, CM (2002) Functional foods: benefits, concerns and challenges – a position paper from the American Council on Science and Health. Journal of Nutrition 132 37723781.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
International Food Policy Research Institute (2002) Sustainable Food Security for All by 2020 – Proceedings of an International Conference. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.Google Scholar
Jarvis, DI, Padoch, C & Cooper, D (editors) (2006) Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems. New York: Columbia University Press (In the Press).Google Scholar
Johns, T (2003) Plant genetic diversity and malnutrition: simple solutions to complex problems African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development 3 4552.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johns, T (2006) Agrobiodiversity, diet and human health. In Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems [Jarvis, DI, Padoch, C and Cooper, D, editors]. Columbia University Press, New York (In the Press).Google Scholar
Johns, T & Eyzaguirre, PB (2006) Biofortification, biodiversity and diet: a search for complementary applications against poverty and malnutrition. Food Policy (In the Press).Google Scholar
Johns, T Sthapit, BR (2004) Biocultural diversity in the sustainability of developing country food systems Food and Nutrition Bulletin 25 143155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, S Moon, S Popkin, BM (2000) The nutrition transition in South Korea American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 71 4453.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kurup, PG Krishnamurthy, S (1993) Glycemic response and lipemic index of rice, raggi and tapioca as compared to wheat diet in human Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 31 291293.Google ScholarPubMed
Leakey, RRB (1999) Potential for novel food products from agroforestry trees: a review Food Chemistry 66 114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lestienne, I Icard-Vernière, C Mouquet, C Picq, C, Trèche, S (2005) Effects of soaking whole cereal and legume seeds on iron, zinc and phytate contents Food Chemistry 89 421425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, SQ Zhang, QH (2001) Advances in the development of functional foods from buckwheat Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 41 451464.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mares-Perlman, JA Millen, AE Ficek, TL, Hankinson, SE (2002) The body of evidence to support a protective role for lutein and zeaxanthin in delaying chronic disease. Overview. Journal of Nutrition 132 518S524S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marsh, R (1998) Building traditional gardening to improve household food security Food Nutrition and Agriculture 22 414.Google Scholar
Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 7) (2004) Main outcomes of CBD COP6 & COP7. http://www.eu2004.ie/templates/document_file.asp?id=17113Google Scholar
Popkin, BM (2002) An overview of the nutrition transition and its health implications: the Bellagio meeting Public Health Nutrition 5 93103.Google ScholarPubMed
Popkin, BM Horton, S Kim, S (2001) The nutrition transition and prevention of diet-related diseases in Asia and the Pacific Food and Nutrition Bulletin 22 5158.Google Scholar
Reardon, T Timmer, CP Barrett, CB, Berdegué, J (2003) The rise of supermarkets in Africa, Asia and Latin America American Journal of Agricultural Economics 85 11401146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodriquez-Amaya, DB (1999) Latin American food sources of carotenoids Archivos Latinamericanos de Nutrition 49 74S84S.Google Scholar
Rosegrant, MW, Cline, SA, Li, W, Sulser, TB & Valmonte-Santos, RA (2005) Looking Ahead: Long-term Prospects for Africa's Agricultural Development and Food Security. 2020 Discussion Paper no. 41. Washington, DC: IFPRI.Google Scholar
Ruel, MT (2003) Operationalizing dietary diversity: a review of measurement issues and research priorities. Journal of Nutrition 133 3911S3926S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spigelski, DL (2004) Dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy in women of childbearing age in a Senegalese peri-urban community. MSc Thesis, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.Google Scholar
Stakeholders' Forum for Our Common Future (2002) The Indaba Declaration on Food, Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Development. Implementation Conference. Johannesburg: World Summit on Sustainable Development. http://www. earthsummit2002.org/ic/health/h_nutrition.htmGoogle Scholar
Stookey, JD Wang, Y Ge, K, Lin, H Popkin, BM (2000) Measuring diet quality in China: the INFH-UNC-CH diet quality index European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 54 811821.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trichopoulou, A Vasilopoulou, E (2000) Mediterranean diet and longevity British Journal of Nutrition 84, Suppl. 2 S205S209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, KL (2001) Eat a variety of healthful foods: old advice with new support Nutrition Reviews 59 156158.Google ScholarPubMed
UN Millennium Project (2005) Halving Hunger: It Can be Done. Task Force on Hunger.Google Scholar
United Nations (2000) The UN Millennium Development Goals. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/Google Scholar
Von Braun, J (1995) Agricultural commercialization: impacts on income and nutrition and implications for policy Food Policy 20 187202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, S, Ehui, S, Alder, J, Benin, S, Cooper, D, Johns, T et al. (2005) Food. Current State and Trends. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Washington: Island Press.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1999) Development of Food-based Dietary Guidelines for the Western Pacific Region. Manila, Philippines: WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2002) Globalization, Diets and Noncommunicable Disease. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2004) Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2005) Preventing Chronic Disease: A Vital Investment. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar