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.

z 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 populations 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

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
felds in Trinidad in 2010. Their great numbers was
thought to be associated with the severe drought
conditions.
Photo: TTABA
In a Nutshell
Threats to Food and Nutrition Security
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.

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
q 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 limited 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.

The Vulnerable and Insecure

In a Nutshell
The Vulnerable and Insecure
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.

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 citys poor.

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
6 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.fles.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 amounts
of 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 bodys 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.

Basic Conditions to Secure Food and Nutrition

8 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 DONT 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.

What YOU can do!

Photo: Diana Francis, IICA Offce in
Trinidad and Tobago
Photo: Helen Francis-Seaman
Photo: Augustine Merchant, IICA Offce in
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Photo: IICA Offce in Trinidad and Tobago
In a Nutshell
A healthy diet - defined as meeting ones 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 Marleys 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 Marleys 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 dont 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 everybodys problem and
responsibility.
The Message!
Photos: Diana Francis,
IICA Offce in Trinidad and Tobago
Issue #19 September 2012
Prepared by:
Diana Francis
Brent Theophile
based in part on the research undertaken by
Stacy Rose-Richards
Caribbean Regional Agriculture
Policy Network

IICA in the Caribbean
www.iica.int
Financed by the
Technical Centre for Agricultural
and Rural Cooperation
www.cta.int
Printed by CTP Services and Supplies
For more information please contact:
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture (IICA)
Ofce in Trinidad and Tobago,
#10 Austin Street, St. Augustine,
P.O. Box, 1318, Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 645-5020; 4555; 8886
Email: Diana.Francis@iica.int and/or
carapnet@gmail.com
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 current
and 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 that
taking action to secure food
and nutrition, especially
feeding the vulnerable, is
everybodys problem and
responsibility.